Our gospel reading this Sunday is John’s telling of Jesus feeding of the 5000 with a small boy’s lunch of five loaves and two fishes. Whilst this story has something to tell us about God’s overflowing and abundant love for us, it’s clearly also a message about doing a lot with limited resources. Once everyone has had enough to eat there are twelve baskets full left over. Jesus is not put off by the meagre rations presented to him. In church it can often feel that we are limited by our lack of resources. If only we had more money, more volunteers, more people coming on a Sunday, we often cry. But, maybe a healthier and more productive way would be to take stock of what we have already; locate where the blessings already are in our churches and community and celebrate them. And by acknowledging them we will come to realise that God has richly blessed us already and continues to do so, and we can use the resources we already have to grow as a church and a community.
– Revd Liz
