Shared Like Broken Loaves--August 5, 2026

Shared Like Broken Loaves--August 5, 2026

"Then [Jesus] ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds."  (Matthew 14:19)

Maybe all we ever do is just to pass along what has first been given to us.

As I keep thinking about this story which many of us heard in worship this past Sunday, I am finding that it forces me to rethink my relationship with all the things I usually call "mine."  Maybe none of them are really mine permanently, but rather maybe everything I think of as a "possession" is something Jesus has entrusted to me for the sake of sharing. In other words, what if everything in my life--the money I make from my job, the resources I have at my disposal, the hours of life I get every day, and my particular talents and skills--is like broken and blessed bread that is meant to be shared so all can be filled?

Well, that certainly would change how I think of my stuff, my bank account, my time, and my abilities, wouldn't it? Instead of imagining that all of these are purely "mine" to hoard, to hold onto, and to leverage for maximum profits and my own enjoyment, I would see all of these things as gifts first given by God.  And if all of them have come from God with the purpose that they be shared, then I don't have permission to bottleneck them in my tightly clenched fists.

I mean, imagine for a moment what would have happened there on that hillside in Galilee if one of Jesus' disciples started taking the broken pieces of bread that Jesus was handing out to be passed around and just shoved it all in his pockets or the folds of his robe.  What would have happened if the disciples had said, "Well, he gave this stuff all to US--it must be meant for us to KEEP"?  How would Jesus have reacted if his inner circle of followers would have said, "There's barely enough bread and fish for one person, so I had better just keep this for myself" rather than doing as Jesus had instructed?

I bet you can picture it: Jesus would have asked them, "What are you doing?  I told you that was to be given out to the people!  This isn't just for YOU alone--this is for everyone!"  And pretty soon it would have been clear, I hope, that Jesus was doing something amazing there--providing bread and fish for all the thousands who were there, not just his own little circle of twelve.  When Jesus had the crowds sit down and passed out broken loaves to the disciples, it was clear he meant for them to share them with all the hungry mouths gathered on the hillside.  It would have been obvious that the abundance was meant to be shared, since it was clearly all coming from Jesus' miraculous provision.  And when Jesus puts a gift in your hands that is intended to be passed along so that all can receive its benefits, then you pass it along.  That's clearly what Jesus intends.

So, let me ask this question: why do we think our "stuff" is any different?  Is there anything in this life that didn't first come from God?  Is there any resource--our time, our treasure, our talents, our energy, anything--that isn't first a gift of grace?  Do we miss that truth because we take so much of our lives for granted, or think we are entitled to them?  Did we fool ourselves into thinking that our skills, our ability, our money, our muscles, or our minds were simply our own achievements, rather than having been given to us by God?  And if we can indeed recognize them as gifts of God, then why do we have a hard time considering the possibility that all of our lives are meant to be shared with others, and that their gifts, abilities, time, love, and resources are meant to be shared with us?  

What a beautiful vision of life this story gives us when you think about it this way!  All of our lives are meant to be lived like we are both the crowds being fed and the disciples passing out broken loaves: we are constantly receiving the good gifts that God sends us through other people, and we are constantly meant to give ourselves away for the sake of hungry neighbors around us, too.  In that sense, the feeding of the five thousand is not a holy fluke or a random one-off of divine power--it is the pattern and flow of every day of our lives.

Today, how might you and I do both: to let ourselves receive the good gifts that God intends to bless us with that come through the ability, love, and time of others, and to share with the people around us the gifts that God has placed in our hands?   What if all of our lives are meant to be passed and shared like broken loaves?

Lord Jesus, open our eyes to see all of our lives as gifts from you that are meant to be shared, and open our hands to receive what you have sent others to share with us.