Mark 6:41-44
Have
you ever noticed when things get really bad, really life-threatening, that
people often look up and question? They raise their heads, sometimes their
fists, and ask why. Even people who deny God’s existence often do this instinctually.
You can see it in videos of the grieving family members from missing flights or
from sunken passenger ferries. They fall to their knees and look up. Their
words are often question or blame filled. They want answers and they look up.
Jesus
looks up. His disciples have presented Him with a problem. There are 5000
mouths to feed and their solution will cost them a fortune. Or it will mean
that they don’t meet the need and everyone must fend for themselves. Either way
their solution involves known resources and everyday solutions. But Jesus looks
up.
So
why does Jesus look up? I think He does it to signal to those who are watching
that the solution is not an earthly one. He holds their earthly solution in His
hands, the five loaves and two fish, which can’t possibly feed all these
people. But this is what His disciples have gathered. They have brought what
they have to Him. And Jesus looks up.
And
when He looks up He speaks. He speaks so that the people around Him can hear
what He expresses to the Father. He expressed thanks. This seems like a funny
thing to do. I can imagine thanking the LORD for the semi tractor trailer that
pulled up at that moment with the news that their refrigerator unit had just
died and that all the food needed to be given away before it spoiled. That
would deserve a Hallelujah. Or the local restaurant owner who liked Jesus and
wanted at that moment to express it by sending over 5000 boxed lunches free of
charge. Praise the Lord!
But
to look up and be thankful for five loaves of bread and two fish, that doesn’t
seem worthy of thanks. At least it doesn’t to me. There isn’t much of substance
there. To be thankful for so little seems counterintuitive. And yet, this is exactly
when Jesus gives thanks.
And
the bread and fish are broken, distributed and everyone, all 5000, are fed and
satisfied. And the leftovers are more than the beginning quantity. They didn’t
just break even in the deal. They have one basket for each of the twelve tribes
of Israel. The LORD has not abandoned His people. When Jesus looks up and gives
thanks so that all can see, He is showing us the way to live. When we live a
life of thankfulness, it is a life filled with provision.
Where
do you look when you need help? Is your first instinct to look up to the LORD?
Or do you look within yourself or to other earthly resources? Are you thankful
for the amount you have, or are you always looking to get more?