Thinking Differently About…Scarcity
Originally published at https://unitedchurch.love/blog/think-differently-about-scarcity
It’s human nature to fear scarcity. Once we get past the fear of not having enough food and water, we move to the fear of not having enough resources to be comfortable. Then, once we have enough for now, we worry about having enough for the future.
There are the things that are tangible, like ‘Will there be enough pie for all of my guests?’ And those that are less tangible but just as important—love, prestige, popularity, emotional security. There never seems to be enough to go around for everyone.
So, we compete. For that job, that guy, that house, that promotion. In an agrarian culture, like the one in first-century Palestine, most people had to compete for basic day-to-day survival. Hopefully, most people reading this post don’t have to worry about making it until tomorrow. But we live in a country where the Free Market is king and Capitalism a god; even if we have enough food for today, our neighbors might not. The focus often isn’t “Will there be enough for everyone?” but instead, “Will there be enough for me?”
I’m not immune, especially when the economy we rely on is crashing and the specter of an unknown and unpredictable pandemic lurks around every corner. Will there be enough for me and my family to make it through this unscathed?
There is even scarcity in religion. Some religions have actual number caps on who can get into heaven. Where is the comfort in wondering if you’ve been good enough to make the cut? Maybe someone in a place of authority gave you the idea that God behaves the same way. There’s only so much love, so much forgiveness, so much mercy to go around. Prove yourself. Fight to be the best (or at least look like it), show us all that you made the cut.
Jesus loved parables. He loved illustrating what the ‘Kingdom of Heaven is like’ using real-life scenarios to help his listeners understand. The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed or like a woman who has lost her coin. Here we see that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a large, hungry crowd—a crowd larger than most towns of the time (heck, it was two to three times larger than the town I grew up in)—wondering if there will be enough food for all of them. We’re not sure just how large the crowd was; the text says “5,000 men, not including women and children.” It seems to me that if you include women and children, an estimate of 10,000-15,000 people is not unreasonable. To put the size of the crowd into perspective, according to biblicalarcheology.org, several scholars estimate the Jerusalem that Jesus knew to have a population of about 75,000.
Jesus has his disciples go through this crowd and try to drum up some food. All they can find is one boy’s lunch: five small loves and two fish. All those people, and only one person thought to pack a lunch? Maybe there were fewer moms in the crowd than I originally estimated. Just kidding. Mostly.
So, we have one kid’s lunch, and at least 5,000 men who have been walking (according to one account running fast enough to try to beat Jesus’ boat across a lake) all day, wanting to hear what Jesus has to say. I’m getting hungry just writing about it.
Jesus has the disciples get everyone to sit down in groups of fifty (one of the unsung miracles, if you ask me) and hand out the food. Here’s the crazy part: Not only did everyone get some, but they all got as much as they wanted. Not needed, wanted, which we all know from Thanksgiving is way more than any of us need.
When everyone was done, the disciples gathered up all the ‘pieces that are left over.’ I always wondered about this. I realize this was before germ theory, but gross. Wouldn’t it have made more sense to let everyone keep the extra for that long jog home?
Anyway, after they collected it all, there were twelve baskets full of leftover pieces. I don’t know how big the baskets were, but I’ve always imagined bushel baskets. But even if they were Easter basket sized, it wouldn’t take away from the miracle of it. Not only was there enough for everyone, but there was extra for later. Each disciple got to go home with a gift basket! Ok, I don’t know that, but the numbers work out.
Of course, the crowd loves this. Free all-you-can eat? Let’s make this guy king! Jesus has to run away at this point, because here’s the thing: this isn’t about food. It’s another parable.
The Kingdom of Heaven is like always having enough. Enough for everybody. Enough to send home gift baskets.
Heaven isn’t a Free Market Economy. There’s no need to demand, because there is no end to the supply. This message is so important, it is the only one of Jesus’ miracles that is reported in all four gospels, excepting his resurrection.
There is enough of everything our souls long for. There’s enough love, enough forgiveness, enough grace, enough peace, enough salvation, for everyone. Everyone. No exceptions.