Betting the farm

We go today from buying the farm to betting it (ha ha!!).

Here's a meditation on this coming Sunday's gospel that brought tears to my eyes. Why? Read it first.

Betting the Farm

They need not go away; you give them something to eat.
Matthew 14:17

Me?!? With what? The five little loaves of pita and two dried fish my wife packed for my lunch this morning? I'm hungry myself. I could eat three times what I brought and still be hungry.

So you're saying I should take the lunch that isn't even enough for me and give it away? Right. That should work.

Jesus didn't just ask his followers to share from their abundance -- he asked them to share from their scarcity. They didn't have enough for themselves, and he asked them to give it up.

And we know how it ended, of course -- there was no scarcity. There was more than enough for everyone. But the first person who laid his lunch down didn't know that. He was looking at a hungry evening ahead. And he did it anyway.

Talk about going out on a limb. Most of our giving isn't very risky, but his sure was. Most of us are risk-averse, but sometimes people find the guts to lay it all down, betting everything on what they need, with their hearts in their throats, with no Plan B. A scary thing to do. But there was more than enough. There still is.

(Copyright © 2005 Barbara Crafton - http://www.geraniumfarm.org)

So why cry? Because it's a good word for me today. Because I just resigned from my paying job to pursue unpaid internships, academic committee appointments, lots of expensive classes, and the knowledge of God, with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.

No more net.