Ordinary Time

Pause

If I just breathe

Let it fill the space between

I'll know everything is alright

Breathe

Every little piece of me

You'll see

Everything is alright

If I just breathe

"Breathe" by Michelle Branch (2003)

 

Today, breathe in God’s abundant Enough.

Listen

When they had plenty to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather up the leftover pieces, so that nothing will be wasted.” So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves that had been left over by those who had eaten.

When the people saw that he had done a miraculous sign, they said, “This is truly the prophet who is coming into the world.”

John 6:12-14

Think

A report on food waste says: “Statistics show up to 40 percent of the food in the United States is never eaten. But at the same time, one in eight Americans struggles to put enough food on the table.”

Our leftovers matter.

Obviously, Jesus realizes this because he gathers them. My mind roams wondering to whom Jesus could possibly be giving these leftovers. It seems the entire town is on the mountain side with him. Who possibly couldn’t have tasted the savory fish and crusty baguette?

But much like our own churches, where those who fill the pews are not always the greatest representation of the world around us, I imagine that some people are missing that day. So, maybe Jesus makes carry-out boxes for the poor, the silenced, the powerless, and those who felt unworthy to sit in his presence.

We too should find ourselves giving out the leftovers. But before we settle to just give the leftovers, let’s find out who is missing from the table, invite them in, lavish them with love and grace, and send them home with more.

Timothy Peoples

Pray

God, give me a heart to invite the poor, powerless, and needy to the table, so that they may feel not as leftovers, but included into a community that welcomes all. Amen.

Go

Do all the good you can,

By all the means you can,

In all the ways you can,

In all the places you can,

At all the times you can,

To all the people you can,

As long as ever you can.

attributed to John Wesley