Sunday, March 18, 2007

Communion Meditation-Extravagant Love

John 6:4-13 4 And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. 5 When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? 6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, 9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? 10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. 12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. 13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.

The disciples did not think that there was enough food to feed the people. Jesus knew that there was. He likes it when resources are low. He wants to teach us that if we have Him then we have all the resources that we need. But there is more than that. Jesus does not just want to teach us to get by on a little. Frugality is perhaps sometimes a virtue but not on a wedding day, not on a honeymoon, not on an anniversary. Jesus is not frugal when it comes to His bride. God forbid that He should be such a frugal minded husband. He loves to lavish His bride with good things. He gives her fine clothing.He fills her table. He adorns her with beauty and she is lovely for Him.

In this story, what the disciples have is enough. It is somewhat insignificant. Anything they would have had would have been enough. He also could have created something from nothing, for, that is what He in fact, does.

It is significant that there is a great excess in this story. Jesus did not just break bread and fish until everyone was full. He kept breaking after there was more than enough, such that there was excess. He was extravagant. There are twelve baskets left over. Enough to feed every tribe of Israel. In Christ, we are the New Israel and the Church has now become Israel around the globe.

Canaan is no longer the Promised Land. The entire world is the Promised Land. In Jesus, there is enough to feed them all from the River to the utter ends of the Earth. That is what we declare here. So, let us eat and drink in thanksgiving for God’s abundant provision of life to all the world in Jesus Christ.

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