6th August 2017 – Sunday 18A

HOW WE ARE FED?
(Matthew 14:13-21)
The pastor earnestly broke off a piece
and placed it in my hands
(it seemed a centimetre square)
from a soft “biscuit”
the size of a drink coaster,
careful lest some were not fed.

We all thirty of us ate,
there was ‘biscuit’ left over
– in the pastor’s hand
(enough to feed us all again)
– and I left unsatisfied.

Watching television some months later
I saw a priest,
walking among his congregation,
several loaves, cob-like, full and round,
tucked under his arm,
smiling as he thrust the generous chunks
he tore from the bread
into the hands
of the joyful crowd.
All were fed – even me –
and there were leftovers.

Five loaves and two fish
offered, blessed, broken and shared:
a hungry crowd fed.

Food in abundance,
baskets full of leftovers;
a story to tell.
        Jeff Shrowder, 2017
 
 
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