Sometimes the demands that we face in taking care of children seem overpowering. How do we get enough time? Where do we get enough resources? Hospitality for these children can be overwhelming when either the need of the individual, or the number of individuals is too great. Care at its extremes is neither cheap nor easy. This is a reality that the apostles soon discovered in their ministry:
On their return the apostles told Jesus all they had done. He took them with him and withdrew privately to a city called Bethsaida. When the crowds found out about it, they followed him; and he welcomed them, and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed to be cured.
The day was drawing to a close, and the twelve came to him and said, "Send the crowd away, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside, to lodge and get provisions; for we are here in a deserted place."
The number of hungry, needy people is overwhelming. The apostles know full-well how much food that they have; they’re hungry, too. So they choose to punt; we can’t handle this much neediness, so send these people away. Let them get their meals from the professional hospitality industry. Which is problematic. There really is no professional hospitality industry to speak of in the first century. However much there is, it’s certainly not large enough to accommodate this many needy people.
But he said to them, "You give them something to eat."
Notice what Jesus doesn’t do: he doesn’t say, “Who put you in charge?” Neither does he assert his own power in a way demeaning to the apostles. He acknowledges that they see the need (which is something that many people would have missed), and he redirects them toward a more appropriate response. Jesus assumes neither the position of power nor that of the host. He guides his apostles toward a risky hospitality - there may not be enough for a feast, but give them something …
They said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish — unless we are to go and buy food for all these people." For there were about five thousand men.
And he said to his disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each." They did so and made them all sit down. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And all ate and were filled. What was left over was gathered up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.
Jesus knows that hospitality, in this case a meal, is not just about sharing resources; it is about sharing relationships as well. He divides the people into smaller groups, and maintains the apostles as hosts of these groups. Can we see the power of godly hospitality here? If we will sit down to share a meal together, somehow there will be enough for everyone. Not just food, but relationship, and status, and power as well. May we have the courage, not only to be a community of hospitality, but to help our children discover how they can be empowered to serve through hospitality themselves.
Grace, and peace,
Ron
Luke 9:10-17 – NRSV
