Electric assist

 This week's verses are Luke 9:10-17:

When the apostles returned, they told Jesus everything they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew privately to a town called Bethsaida. But when the crowds found out, they followed him. He welcomed them, spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and cured those who needed healing. Now the day began to draw to a close, so the twelve came and said to Jesus, “Send the crowd away, so they can go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging and food, because we are in an isolated place.” But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They replied, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all these people.” (Now about 5,000 men were there.) Then he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” So they did as Jesus directed, and the people all sat down.

Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven he gave thanks and broke them. He gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. They all ate and were satisfied, and what was left over was picked up—twelve baskets of broken pieces.

Usually when we read these verses, we think about God's miraculous provision. Starting with five loaves and two fish, which would have been barely enough to feed the twelve, they fed thousands and even had more leftovers than they started with! It's similar to Elijah's miracle of the oil and the flour, where the normal limitations no longer seemed to apply.

But there's another lesson for us here. Jesus teaches us about paying the cost of ministry. People can be too expensive sometimes. We find ourselves being pushed past our limits. We think, "How can I help someone like that?" We withdraw into ourselves or try to send them away. But sometimes, like with the oil and the flour and the bread and the fish, God stretches what we have until it is able to meet the desperate needs of others.

Jesus and his disciples were about to get some much deserved rest after the end of an outreach event. They picked a private place, and didn't tell anyone where they were going. It was a little vacation they had planned to recharge. Except people followed them there! Imagine being them. So close, but denied a break.

Have you ever had that happen? You're tired after a day of work, or maybe you're just leaving church and are already running late for your afternoon plans, when out of nowhere someone wants to talk. For an hour. Or maybe they need help fixing something. Isn't it tempting to brush them off, or to remind them of your plans, or to sort of try to do the minimum possible? It would have been understandable if Jesus was like "look, we're closed now, come back in a couple days and we'll make some time for you." But that's not what Jesus did.

Instead, Jesus welcomed them. He invested time in teaching them. And he invested his power in them to heal them of whatever was plaguing them. None of  that stuff comes for free.

But then it was getting close to nightfall. There wasn't anywhere for people to buy food where they were. It was like Philadelphia International Airport after 9pm. The disciples saw a great opportunity to send people home, finally. "It's getting late folks, last bus out of here is in fifteen minutes. Don't forget your stuff." But Jesus wasn't having it.

Paying for these people would have been impossible, even if there was a place to sell food. Have you ever tried to cater last minute for over 5000 people? Even 50 can be an impossible challenge! They had good reason to send people away. They barely had enough food to feed themselves, let alone *everyone*. But Jesus still came through in welcoming the vacation-crashing crowd.

This isn't a call to burn yourself out, but to be open to the times when God wants to care for the people around you and is willing to foot the bill. Our ministry shouldn't be solely defined by our own human limitations. We have to be willing sometimes to risk being overdrawn if we are going to love as fully as Jesus loved the last minute crowd.