The Table of Compassionate Giving

The story in John 6:1-15 of feeding 5,000 must have spoken to deep needs among early Christians because it is the only miracle recorded in all four Gospels. In it Jesus, out in a wilderness, far from homes and sources of food, blessed five loaves and two fish and fed a huge crowd of hungry, needy people.

When Jesus told the disciples to feed them, they looked at the five loaves and two fish and asked, "What are these for so many people?" The need was so great and their resources were so few that they felt overwhelmed. Similar words are spoken in many places today. The countless numbers of hungry, homeless and desperate people in this world overwhelms us. How can my small offering meet such a vast need?

Often, non Christians also, simply out of human compassion, are moved to feed the hungry. Earl Woods, father of Tiger Woods, told of watching a documentary about a famine in Ethiopia. Tiger, who was 4, saw the distended bellies and the inability of the children to even swat flies off their faces. Tiger disappeared into his bedroom and came back with his gold coin collection. "Daddy, can we give this to help those little kids?" Woods said, "I accepted it, and sent the cash equivalent to a doctor friend who was serving in Ethiopia. tiger doesn't know it, but I still have those gold coins. One day, when the time is right, I'll give them back to him and recall that moment which brought tears to my eyes."

We too feel the call as human beings to help our fellow human beings. But our motivation as Christians is even greater. We believe in a God who gave his only son. We believe in a Jesus who saw the hungry crowds and had compassion on them. We believe in a Christ who gave his life for others. As Paul said, when some in the Corinthian church were questioning his sacrificial service, "the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if one died for all, then all died; and he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again" (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).

Yes, we give because we are human, but also because "the love of Christ compels us" -- the Christ who can bless our meager offering and use it to feed the world. He set the supreme example and we honor it each Sunday as we meet him at the table of compassionate giving.