This week’s Between Sundays is going to be a little shorter than usual.
It’s not because I’ve discovered the spiritual gift of brevity. Nobody who has heard me preach would believe that anyway.
It’s shorter because this has been one of those weeks. There’s been more to do than there has been time or energy to do it. I kept thinking I would find a proper block of time to prepare something. Instead, the week kept moving, apparently unaware that it was supposed to consult me first.
Maybe you’ve had weeks like that.
We can easily fall into the habit of thinking that if we can’t do something properly, we shouldn’t do it at all. If we can’t give it plenty of time, plenty of energy, or our very best effort, perhaps we should wait until we can. Honestly, I thought about just skipping it this week.
Sometimes waiting does make sense. But sometimes perfectionism disguises itself as good judgment. We decide that what we have isn’t enough, so we offer nothing.
That makes me think of the story in John’s Gospel in which Jesus faces a hungry crowd. Thousands of people need to be fed, and the available resources are laughably inadequate: five small barley loaves and two fish.
Andrew mentions the food to Jesus, but even as he does, he points out the obvious problem: “What are they among so many people?”
It’s a perfectly reasonable question. “This isn’t enough. It can’t possibly make a difference. Why even mention it?”
But someone brings what is available, and Jesus works with that.
I don’t think that story promises that every small effort will produce a spectacular miracle. Sometimes five loaves remain five loaves. Sometimes a few minutes are simply a few minutes.
But maybe the story reminds us that we don’t have to decide in advance that our small offering is worthless.
You might not have the energy for a long conversation, but you can send someone a message: “I was thinking about you.”
You may not be able to solve the problem, but you can listen for a few minutes.
Maybe you can’t pray eloquently, but you can manage, “God, please help.”
Maybe you can’t do everything you hoped to do this week. You probably can’t, maybe not even close. But you can still bring what you have.
You might notice a pattern. God has always been surprisingly willing to work with small things: a little bread, a mustard seed, a cup of cold water, a few minutes offered in the middle of an overcrowded week.
We don’t have to make our offering look more impressive than it is. We don’t even have to pretend it’s enough.
We can simply place it in God’s hands and see what grace may do with it.
Let’s pray.
Father, free us from believing that only our largest and best efforts matter. Help us bring you what we honestly have, even when it seems small. Take what we offer and use it with your grace. Amen.
