The boy in the Multiplication of loaves
Encounter with Mercy leading to abundance
We have the beautiful event of Jesus multiplying the 5 loaves and 2 fishes to feed 5000 people. The initial capital was provided by a small boy, brought to Jesus by Andrew and the rest is a miracle. Some of our common readings of the passage are..
- Abundance provided by Jesus (we see abundance in the case of the wedding feast of Cana and in a few other miracles too).
- The contribution of the boy, something insignificant compared to the final output, is significant for the miracle.
- God takes care of his people.
I just wish to look at the boy a little more closely; and I believe the character of the boy brings to our understanding something that’s common in many other Biblical narratives.
The boy gave 5 loaves and 2 fish. Whether he had only that much or he kept his food aside and offered the extra to Andrew? There is no clue to say he did keep aside, though it can be a possibility. Whether he offered it freely or it was taken from him by Andrew or others. Again nothing in the passage supports that view explicitly.
The boy (hopefully in full freedom and willingness) offered 5 loaves and 2 fishes. Even if, we can suspect how it was offered, the fact is that the offering took place. So applying a hard critique on that boy, we can say that the boy offered something, but it was far from being anything perfect. Or the imperfect offering was transformed into abundance.
Check into the stories of the prodigal son (repentance was imperfect), Zacchaeus (a sinner) etc… everywhere we see an offering of imperfection transformed into abundance. This is God’s mercy or the potential of God’s mercy. We have to offer; our offerings are always far from perfect. But God can create abundance from there.
