Our mission is possible!

Reflecting on Luke 9:10-17

"You give them something to eat." (Luke 9:13)

The disciples see both the problem and the solution.
The problem is there are too many hungry people who need food.
The solution is to send them away to find food and lodging elsewhere.
This is a sensible and reasonable solution, one that I would propose too.
It would not have crossed my mind to expect Jesus to feed them.
Nor would I have known how I could feed them myself.

Yet this is what Jesus proposes: You give them something to eat!?
Did Jesus say this with a smile, or was He serious?
Was there a gentle rebuke in His words, was He correcting them somehow?
Personally I do not sense Jesus being harsh or critical.
Instead I hear an invitation into a new possibility, a new way of thinking.

When we face a challenge or a problem, our usual response is fight or flight.
We either aggressively try to fix things our own way?
Or we throw our hands in the air, and run away from the problem.
I am naturally a fixer, always looking for ways to fix problems.
But when some problems are beyond me, I also tend to hide from them.

Some big examples for me are: homelessness, politics, and the mess in Haiti.
I have imagined all kinds of solutions to these problems.
I’ve shared my opinions, accused others of being to blame.
But there is nothing I can do to fix these problems.
They are impossible for me, beyond me and so I turn away.
I have given up altogether on engaging the political problems.
I’ve given up having or sharing my opinions, or caring what others think.
But I have heard Jesus inviting me to rethink homelessness and Haiti.
I have heard Jesus saying to me, You give them something to eat!

This is not a solution, but it is an act of faith, hope and love.
It involves trusting God for the big stuff, and doing something small myself.
I can find ways to organize people and situations into manageable sizes.
I organized my church to start gathering food for the food bank every Sunday.
Every Sunday bring a can or box, just something small, but something.
Make this a weekly discipline, like going to church.
Will it be enough?… that is not my problem, it is something.
I also organized a Food for Haiti campaign, as part of my job with Mission Possible.
The goal was $15,000, and I found a few people willing to get it started.
In two months, the total raised is $18,500.
Is it enough?… that is not my problem, it is something.

My point in this is that Jesus invites us to do something.
If doing everything isn’t possible, don’t give up and doing thing.
We do not need to fix the problems, but neither should we turn them away.
We are motivated by love and hope, and we do something in faith.
Not faith in what we do, but faith in the God that cares!
Jesus is inviting us to join Him in doing something.
We are not meant to solve the worlds problems by ourselves.
For we are not by ourselves, we are partners with God in Jesus.

This story comforts me with knowing Jesus wants to use me.
I can do something, and He will help me do it.
I can pray, I can ask, I can share, I can serve, I can walk alongside.
These are but loaves and fishes compared to the size of the problems.
But the problems are nothing compared to the size of the God we work with.

This story also challenges me to stop trying to fix things.
As with homelessness and Haiti, I cannot fix politics either.
But am I praying, am I asking, am I listening, am I doing something?
Instead of refusing to talk about politics altogether, is there another way?
A way to look at the problem differently?
A way to approach it with faith, hope and love?

I am feeling called and compelled to change my approach to politics.
I don’t know what that looks like, but I can start by praying about it.
‘Do something‘, says Jesus, ‘even if it seems small, weak or impossible.’
‘You do not need to do this alone, for you are not alone.’
‘I am with you, and God is with us, and together we are enough!’

“You give them something to eat!”
I cannot do everything, but neither should I do nothing.
Jesus is inviting me into a new possibility of doing something with Him!
We are not able, but He is.
Our mission is possible… with Jesus and God!

PRAYER
Lord Jesus, I make the mistake of trying to do everything, or of giving up and doing nothing. Help me to step into the possibility of doing something with You. It is all that You ask, and with God's help it is more than enough.