The scenario in which  many people in the crowd had a bite to eat hidden away in the folds of their clothes or their carry bags, but didn’t cough up until after they saw the little boy made his offering and they were moved to follow suit, sharing their provisions with the people standing nearby. I like that because it’s a version of the miracle which replaces a holy conjuring trick with human agency. And I believe that God works best when we humans act out to recreate his generous ways. For the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand teaches how God will provide enough food for everyone to eat: and it teaches us that everyone will eat when everyone takes just what they need and shares the rest with others... This is not religious magical thinking: it’s an achievable scenario which the World Food Programme has broken down into five steps which world leaders can take...
A talk for the Twentieth Sunday after Trinity, 17 October 2021.
Find the text to this and all my talks at bit.ly/johndavies-talks.

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