When a Little Means Alot

John 6:5-9

5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages[a] to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

There was a young mother in Capernaum who had just given birth to her second child, a little girl. The midwife, who was the lady’s cousin, called the mother’s other child over to look at the new baby.

“See, you have a baby sister.”

The midwife took the boy aside and told him, “Now, you must go around the lake and tell your father, he is working on the fishing boats that are on the far side.  Tell him that your sister is born.”

The boy took his little staff out of the corner near the door and prepared to leave.  The midwife stopped him and handed him a small bundle.  “The journey there and back will take all day, so I have packed you a lunch.  It’s your favorite, those little barley loaves, and a couple of fish.  Now, go and be careful.”

The little boy was excited, not only did he have a new little sister, and not only was he going to get to see his dad - who he had not seen in several weeks - he had been trusted with a mission.  However, he did not know the true mission he had been sent on nor could he even fathom the effect it would have on the Chrisitan world.  I am sure you can see where this boy’s story is going - yes, it was his loaves and fishes Jesus used to feed the multitude.

This little boy’s story is not our subject today, and while it has the potential to be an entertaining tale, his journey is not the heart of our topic, but rather what that little lunch represented.  What we must see here is the fact that unknown to him, he was about to be the seed for one of Jesus’ greatest miracles.  God works in ways we cannot understand, and often puts His plans into action with the smallest, most mundane, and seemingly insignificant actions.  These five loaves and two fishes were a time when a little meant a lot.

How many times in our own lives do we ignore the small things around us.  How often do we go about our days thinking that our regular daily activities do not affect others?  It could be that your quick, “Good Morning” spoken merely out of habit when you pass a stranger on the street that is the seed that turns that person’s depression or dread around into a lighter mood - maybe even brings them a smile of their own that they pass unbeknown on to someone else.

You see, not all of God’s influence in our lives is of the grand, epic nature as was the fact of the simple, hastily prepared meal carried by that boy that day. The small package of food that was just enough for a young boy, but not nearly enough for five thousand.  God will be glorified and when it seems impossible to us, God is glorified all the more.

Jesus often uses the example of plants and seeds in his ministry.  I believe this is because he wants us to see the reality of the blessings that are not only around us now, but the potential of the blessings we have been afforded.  Jesus’ example of the mustard seed is a perfect place to start.  In Matthew 13:31-32, we find:

31 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”

This analogy could very well be continued in chapter 17 when he told his disciples after they were unable to cast the evil spirits out of the plagued boy.  They asked Jesus, “why could we not cast out the evil spirits?”

20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

This is evidence that something so small has the potential to be something great.  I began to think about this and how I could apply it to something directly in my life.  The blessings God has given me are far too numerous to count, and those are just the things I am aware of.  However, in coming up with my own analogy, I decided to consider one of my favorite things...the lowly cantaloupe. 

The cantaloupe seed is not tiny but is not a very large one either.  When planted and tended properly one seed will produce a vine which in turn produces, on average, six melons.  Each of these melons contains an average of two hundred seeds.  So our six melons should produce around 1200 seeds.  If we project this potential over 4 generations assuming only 20% germinate, we now have enough seeds to give every person in the world 53 seeds that have their origin with that one single seed that was planted.

If you showed an act of kindness to five people today, and each of those five showed an act of kindness to five, and so on, seven generations of your initial act has the potential of 78,125 acts of kindness...that is almost twice the population of our County.  But let us be a little more realistic and assume an efficiency of only two percent - that is still 1562 acts of kindness. - all originating from those five smiles you gave in one day.

I believe this is exactly what Jesus was showing us by feeding the multitude with the little boy’s lunch.  I believe this is what he was describing when he used the analogy of the mustard seed.  If we have but a little - God can turn it into a lot.

So, little faith, little joy, little peace, little hope...it is no problem because that is all God is asking for.  All God wants is for us to contribute our little bit, all that we have -  so that the glory of the Father can be manifested.  We can fool ourselves by thinking that we have nothing to offer, we can be deceived to believe that our little part is of no consequence...If we think this way, we are already defeated because God’s promises makes a little mean a lot.

Mark 12:41-44

41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

On its surface, this story gives the lesson of how we should be willing to give all that we have.  It tells us that when it is everything we have, the sacrifice is greater.  I do not believe it was a monetary lesson, but one of sacrifice.  Yet, as I often do, I began to look for more meaning in this lesson.  As we all know, Jesus’ teaching, while made simple for everyone to understand, always maintained an air of mystery.

We see in this lesson that the widow gave all she had.  First, let us look at the time in history when this took place.  This was a time when women could not own property and everything they had was due to their husbands.  When a woman became a widow, she had no possessions, and relied on the care of others - either a male family member who took over her husband’s possessions, or simply the kindness of others in the community.

The simple fact that the widow had the small coins is within itself likely due to the act of another.  But, looking beneath the surface, I see not just an act of sacrifice, but one of faith.  The woman knew that with the small coins she could buy food, clothes, or pay for shelter.  She knew, however small, that she had some security.  Yet, she gave it to God.  Jesus said, “she gave all she had to live on.”  I believe she gave it knowing that God would take care of her and meet her needs.

The scripture does not tell us what happened to this woman, but I like to believe that her sacrifice did not go unnoticed by God.  Else, why would Jesus have even mentioned it or used it as a lesson if that was the extent of the situation?  Faith displayed, no matter how small, does not go unnoticed nor unrewarded.  

In the Old Testament, we see yet another example of the Lord taking a little and doing a lot.  When the prophet Elijah went to Zarephath he met a widow outside the gates of the city.  He asked her for a drink of water and she obliged.  Then he ask her to bring him a piece of bread.  The woman protested, telling Elijah that she only had a handful of flour and a little oil she was going to use to make her and her son a small meal, their last meal.  But Elijah knew the law of multiplication and spoke to the woman.

I Kings 17: 13-14

13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.”

The Lord turned that little bit of flour and that little bit of oil into life-sustaining nourishment for the widow and her son.  We need to look at why Elijah was in Zarephath in the first place.  He was fleeing - not from the Lord, but from King Ahab.  Elijah had delivered the prophecy that there would not be rain, not even so much as dew to come upon the land.  Elijah fled and the Lord provided for him, but eventually those provisions, quite literally, dried up.  The Lord sent him to the widow at Zarephath.  Now, as often happens, God’s help came just at the right time for the widow had already resigned herself to the inevitable starvation of her and her son.  But, that little flour and that little oil when given to the Lord’s purpose turned into a lot.

So we find the young boy nearing his destination.  As he got closer he noticed a large crowd of people gathered around a single man who was standing on one of the hillsides.  Off to one side, he saw his father, and in his excitement he rushed up to him, grabbing his hand.  In surprise the father looked down, he was still enchanted by the words of the man who had been speaking to them, this Gallelian.  

“Son, what are you doing here?” he asked as he raised his son from the ground and into a tight, loving embrace.

“Father, father, I have come with the news! Your daughter is born, my little sister!”

In his excitement, he dropped his little lunch bag, and as he bent down to retrieve it a man picked it up.  “Master, here is a boy with five small loaves and two small fishes...this will never be enough.”

The boy was so excited to be with his father that he did not even try to retrieve his lunch from the man who took it and brought it to the man on the hillside.  That evening the boy lay back against his father, putting his head on his shoulder and smiled.  He dozed off to sleep, still smiling, he had not remembered just how good a simple barley loaf and piece of fish tasted.  With a full stomach, he slept peacefully.

His father looked down at his son, so small and weak, and he smiled realizing that his small son with his small lunch bag had provided the means for the great deed he had witnessed that day.

Let us pray.

Kind and gracious Father, thank you for giving us assurance and confidence that by your mercy and grace we can come to you with what we have. And though it seems small in our eyes and our ways of thinking, we know that our little can be made into a wonderful bounty.  Thank you for the teaching and examples you sent to us through your Son, Jesus.  

We witness that by your magnificent design a beautiful flower can spring from a small seed and a forest can grow from a single acorn and a wonderful child from just a single cell.  We see every day how the simple song of the smallest morning bird can brighten our day, and how a single dewdrop can adorn and make beautiful the most common weed.

We ask that you make us aware that our gifts to you, no matter how small or insignificant, are to you the elements of creation.  Let our hearts and intentions be as pure as those of the widow who gave you her very last means of provision.  Let us look upon our fellow man and offer at least a smile and nod of appreciation.  For O Lord, are we not made in your image and by your love?  And when we open our hearts of compassion to others, are we not really doing it to you?  Let us show your love, by sharing love with those around us. - Amen