Red Letters – Fish and Chips – April 20

RED LETTERS
April 20, 2021

Fish and Chips

Mark 6:31-34, ‘Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, He said to them, “Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So He began teaching them many things.’ (NIV)

I can only guess the frustration and fatigue the boat full of disciples faced as they ran ashore. I imagine it filled the vessel and spilled over as they arrived, having been promised rest and having not had opportunity to eat due to the demands of the previous crowds they had been amongst. They are navigating to a solitary place, we are told, with their Master, and I assume are relieved and anxious for food and solitude. But the crowds have guessed where they are going and have run on ahead and have arrived first. Imagine the surprise and consternation. They encounter what they do not expect and don’t encounter what they do expect. It is a recipe for a potential powder keg, but Who should be onboard? Exactly! The Son of God! Who’s mission is not a nap and a sandwich, but Living Water, the Bread of Life and eternal rest. He is moved to compassion with a heart that inclines to the lostness of the people who are so eager to hear more teaching that they have run the distance on foot so as not to miss a word. We find Jesus more concerned about the hunger of their souls than the hunger of His disciple’s stomachs, so He begins ‘feeding’ them.

After many hours of teaching, Jesus is interrupted by a disciple. Does the man remind Him of the hour because he is hungry or because the crowd is hungry? We don’t get that piece of information but I think I hear Philip’s stomach growl when I read this passage, and maybe catch a whisper from another disciple or two that says, ‘Hey, go tell Jesus what time it is and tell Him we are starving!’ Imagine telling the Designer of day and night what time it is, ‘Uh, Jesus, have you checked the time lately?!’ Jesus does not seem bothered at all by any of it. Simply, He says, “You give them something to eat.” Surely, He can count and sees the vast number of people before Him sitting on a grassy lawn. Likewise, Jesus knows there isn’t DoorDash or UberEats. We find though that Jesus does know there is bread because He asks, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” So the Bread of Life instructs His disciples to go and see about bread for life (sustenance). There isn’t any surprise, I have to remind myself; the omniscient God knows exactly what is available and precisely what He intends to do with what is accessible.

The God of the universe isn’t surprised by any lack or need you have or the emptiness I face. He knows our deficiencies before we even know of them, and He knows accurately His inventory to supply the necessity and fill that void. We see Jehovah Jireh provide first for the emptiness and lostness of their souls and then produce provision for their bodies, serving more than enough so leftovers remain. In fact, in Jesus’ hand there are more leftovers than the amount of food with which He began! First, He took what was available, what a little boy was willing to let Him have, then He blessed it, like asking God to grant His permission, and finally He broke it and what was broken was multiplied for use. What happens too frequently in my own life is I make reservations for what God gets and what I get. I don’t make accessible to Him what He can use in my life. I think the breaking process frightens me, paralyzes me; therefore, it never receives the blessing because it was never first offered, and then instead of brokenness the Lord can always use, there is loss when I hold on too tightly. I want to encourage you and me both to remember that the fragments of our brokenness in the hand of the Savior will produce more benefit than wholeness retained in our own hands.

I’ve been reading RED LETTERS all my life, but never with my heart.
During the month of April, let’s JOURNEY where JESUS journeyed,
and listen with our hearts to all He came to proclaim.