ABUNDANCE FROM LITTLE
Matthew 14:13-21

Once upon a time there was a very happy community. The reason was that everyone was given, at birth, a small soft fuzzy bag. Anytime a person wanted to they could reach into the bag and pull out a warm fuzzy, which they would give to someone else and it would make that person feel all warm and fuzzy and loved. People who did not get warm fuzzies regularly were in danger of developing a sickness in their back which could even cause them to shrivel and die. In those days it was easy to get warm fuzzies. Sometimes people would just give them away spontaneously. At other times all a person had to do was say “could you please give me a warm fuzzy?” and they would; because people trusted that even though they were always giving away warm fuzzies, there would always be more in the bag when they reached in.

The concept of much coming from little, or the inexhaustible supply of goodness, is well attested in folklore in the scriptures. The prophet Elijah, having been fed by the destitute widow from the remnants of her flour, blesses these remnants and she is fed by them from then until the end of the famine. The story of the feeding of the 5 000 holds multi-layers of truth, among them that when we give of ourselves, though our resources be few, the good things that flow from this giving not only replenish themselves but can actually increase in quantity and quality.

The context of the feeding story is instructive. Jesus has just received news of the death of John the Baptist, his head on a plate the gruesome fruit of the revelling of Herod and his brood. Jesus withdraws to grieve and have his spirit replenished, but he is hardly out of sight when he is found by the physically needy and spiritually hungry crowds. Putting his suffering aside, he reaches out to them with spiritual healing power and words that transform their lives. Then, when the disciples notice their physical hunger, Jesus blesses the handful of food for distribution.

The feast they then enjoy is the result of the generosity and compassion of Jesus, who continues to give of what he has. The store of spiritual resources from which he draws is that which comes from his grief and his suffering. For some people, living through loss creates compassion for others which provides good things they never new they had. Kalil Gibran asserts that the deeper suffering carves into your soul, the more joy it can contain. Matthew Fox teaches that the Via Negativa, the way of grief, is one of the ways to God. In it we find deep riches indeed, if we are prepared to delve in the dark places of the grieving soul.

Others give freely from their store of positive energy. Such people also seem to have an exhaustible store of good things from their little fuzzy bags. For example, any of you will remember the late Don Heer, a member of this congregation, who always had a positive word, and warm affirmation for whoever he met. Others speak words of encouragement; or give generously of their listening time. Another example is the recently retired ABC Gardening show host Peter Cundel, who has had a lifetime of generous giving, from his war service in Korea to his spreading of wisdom and enthusiasm about making things grow. His joy is heartfelt and infectious.

The principle is this: there are certain things which, when we give them, not only replenish themselves, but actually increase in quality and quantity. When the disciples had fed the crowd, they were able to gather twelve baskets of food that was left over!

But the story of the warm fuzzies has a twist. The community was so happy that the wicked merchant of salves and potions was going broke, as the happy and healthy people hardly needed her medicine. So she spread a rumour that the supply of warm fuzzies was not in fact inexhaustible, but would run out if you gave too many. So, people started to hold back, and warm fuzzies became in short supply. People started to get more sicknesses. The wicked merchant then became afraid that people might start to die, which itself would not be good for business. So she began to market an alternative to warm fuzzies, called cold pricklies. If someone asked for a warm fuzzy you could then offer a cold prickly instead. They did not feel nice, but as negative attention is sometimes better than none at all, people put up with it, and at least did not die; rather they just survived.

The contrast to the abundant nourishment that emanates from the great feast Jesus provides on the mountainside, is the dreadful harvest of obscene violence that flows from the feasting and revelry of Herod. Herod’s party does not begin with the intention of killing John the Baptist, but as the tone sinks lower and lower, greater and greater destruction comes out of the store of evil. The same principle applies. There are certain things that, when we indulge in them, not only replenish themselves, but increase in quantity and destructive quality.

Aggression breeds escalating violence; and even though it seems to some that overwhelming force such as was exploded over Hiroshima and Nagasaki was a necessary evil to bring awful conflict to an end, it was not all that long before the same aggression was building again, be it in Korea or Northern Ireland or Lebanon or Vietnam or Iraq. Violence always begets greater violence.

It is only when we draw the line right at the beginning, when we refuse to tolerate a certain level of so called necessary evil, of cold prickliness, that the escalation can be prevented, and we do not need twelve baskets or twelve thousand body bags to collect the leftover body parts.

And so the church that gave us the joyful celebration of World Youth Day also reminds us, in this week when we remember the terrible consequences of nuclear war, where we need to take our stand against Herod:

‘In the face of the man-made calamity that every war is, one must affirm and reaffirm, again and again, that the waging of war is not inevitable or unchangeable. Humanity is not destined to self-destruction. Clashes of ideologies, aspirations and needs can and must be settled and resolved by means other than war and violence.’
Pope John Paul II, Appeal for Peace, Hiroshima, Japan.

‘Nuclear deterrence as a national policy must be condemned as morally abhorrent because it is the excuse and justification for the continued possession and further development of these horrendous weapons.’
US Catholic Bishops, The Morality of Nuclear Deterrence

‘The time has come to rid planet Earth of nuclear weapons-all of them, everywhere. Nuclear weapons, whether used or threatened, are grossly evil and morally wrong.
Cardinal Danneels, Statement to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Preparatory Committee

The principles that apply to nuclear weapons apply to all forms of violence, even at that seemingly low level of personal criticism or interpersonal abuse. The little that we draw from our store of cold pricklies always leaves room for more, and the more we do it, the more we do it. And the more we do it, the less we replicate the generosity and compassion of Christ whom we purport to serve.

Again, the same principle applies to capital punishment. In our country, thank God, there is bipartisan support in the Parliament against it. And yet, when responding to the news that the Bali bombers will finally be executed, Prime Minister Rudd said words to the effect that ‘we will not be opposing this outcome for these dreadful terrorists’. The temptation to play on the understandably strong emotions of the community for reasons of political popularity, leads to the abandoning of the principle; or at least a failure to reaffirm it, and so the same door of expediency that was left ajar to allow principle to escape in the case of David Hicks and Mohamed Hanif is once again left unguarded. It’s NOT OK, just this once, or just this twice, or just this three times to give righteousness a holiday, because there are certain things, and these are among them, that, when we allow them, will not only self replenish, but grow in quantity and strength.

In last week’s parables we were reminded of the escalating power of the mustard seed and the leaven in the loaf. Our faith in the power of God’s Spirit will enable us to do far more than we could otherwise have imagined. Whether or not you take the feeding of the 5 000 literally, the principle is rock solid and scripturally attested. There are certain things which, when we give them, not only self replenish, but actually increase in quantity and quality. Whether our lives bring forth ever increasing warm fuzzies or cold pricklies depend upon which bag we choose to keep dipping into.

AND THE OUTCOME REALLY DOES MATTER, FOR WHAT WE PRODUCE WILL EITHER BE THE FOOD OF LIFE OR THE FARE OF DESTRUCTION

Brian Brown 3/8/08