In Jesus’ famous miracle of feeding the 5,000, we often forget the leftovers. Yet they are the heart of the story (John 6:5-14)
When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”
Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
Jesus has the people sit down, gives thanks for the five loaves and two fish, and distributes them to the people. The Scriptures record no gasps of surprise, no high drama, no awe-struck wonder.
In fact, it is only when 12 baskets of leftovers are gathered that we realize something miraculous has happened. Jesus started with only five loaves and two fish; how could 5,000 men (plus an uncounted number of women and children) be fed and still 12 baskets of food remain?
In his commentary on John, New Testament scholar Dale Bruner makes this observation on the leftovers:
“Is the overflow to teach that Jesus always does more than enough whenever he acts?”
One of my writing themes this year is this idea of “overflow” in God’s being and acting. This story asks a good question: How often do we miss God’s work around us until we recognize the overflow, the leftovers?
- We have been praying for someone (perhaps a rebellious teenager or an angry spouse) but nothing ever seems to change. Then an unexpected word of thanks or empathy reveals that more has been happening beneath the surface than we realized.
- We have hoped without response for new beginnings (in our church, our family, our personal life). Then an event shows us the ground has shifted underneath our feet in new ways.
Or on the most basic, physical level: we enjoy a Thanksgiving feast and still there is much left over!
I have rarely experienced real hunger myself, but I have definitely lived surrounded by real hunger. When a feast is laid before real hunger, not a crumb is left over. Leftovers are unthinkable.
Fifty million children under 5 suffer from acute malnutrition, malnutrition that causes nearly one million child deaths each year. According to the Scientific American, after some notable years of decline world hunger is now on the rise again, thanks to wars and climate change.
Our response to our Thanksgiving leftovers need not be guilt, any more than I’d guess Jesus felt guilty at his leftovers. We may not call it a “miracle” that you and I never know real hunger, but it IS a tangible sign of God’s grace in our lives.
This Thanksgiving, perhaps our leftovers can prompt us to ask what else God is doing beneath the surface, beyond offering us comfortable material lives?
Where do WE see the overflow of God’s grace?
How is God’s grace prompting US to respond to this overflow, as the people did who pursued Jesus, saying, “God is at work here!”
