When Is Enough — Enough?
DATE: July 26, 2009
SCRIPTURE: John 6:1‐15
Perhaps you saw the cover story in last week's Sunday Times magazine. Written by food critic Frank Bruni, it was intriguingly titled "I Was a Baby Bulimic."
Bulimics, of course, suffer from the eating disorder bulimia. The word comes directly from the Greek word which means “great hunger." Webster defines it as “an abnormal and constant craving for food . . . . characterized by compulsive overeating usually followed by self‐induced vomiting . . . ." (Merriam‐Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition) It is a dreadful disease that can lead to all‐manner of other ailments, and, if left untreated, often results in death.
Bulimics suffer from a deep‐seated concern that there is never enough. And at root it is a fear that there is never enough love to fill their needs, a fear that gets played out in their relationship with food.
Bruni's article documents some of his childhood behaviors and beliefs. They are classic. He talks of his obsession with candy and the way he always cleared away the ice cream bowls from the living room so that he could finish off the last bits of sweetness. He recounts how he devoured lamb chops, "not just the meat," he writes, "but also the curls and strips of fat at the edges." (The New York Times Magazine,7‐19‐09, 29) And, most telling of all, he recalls his parents approach to food. "[W]herever we lived, we had a separate freezer in the garage. [My mother] was mystified by . . . families who didn't. How could they be sure to have enough kinds and cuts of meat on hand, enough varieties of ice cream to choose from?" (Ibid)
It is a difficult article to read, about an often hidden, but very real, illness. But an illness that seems, in some ways, to symbolize our culture. For we are often caught up in the push for more. More food, more money, more power, more knowledge, more health, more love. And because of our obsession with having more, we are rarely satisfied with what we already have. Enough is never enough.
Our scripture lesson from John is the familiar story of the feeding of the five thousand. It is all about having enough. It is such an important story to the early church that it appears in one form or another six separate times in the four gospels.
John's version takes place on a mountainside near the Sea of Galilee. Jesus has been preaching all day—and the crowds, far from home, are hungry. Turning to his disciples, Jesus asks, "How are we going to feed all these people? Where will we get enough bread?"
Phillip has been wondering the same thing. "I don't know, Master, by my calculations it would cost us six months wages!"
"Yeah," says Andrew, "I did a little checking around and it looks like all we’ve got are five tiny loaves of dry bread and two sardines some kid brought for his lunch."
"Well," says Jesus, "That should be enough. Have folks sit down and we'll have some supper."
The disciples, no doubt, had their own misgivings about the whole undertaking. But to their credit they do as he says, and get the crowd seated. Then Jesus thanks God for what they've got, and starts to pass it out. And eventually, everybody has enough to eat. And then some. In fact, there are twelve baskets of leftovers! One doggie bag for each disciple!
Now scholars have long debated the hows and wherefores of this story. Traditionally, it's been thought to be a miracle. Somehow, someway, Jesus magically transforms a little boy's lunch into a meal for thousands. Others have offered up a whole different explanation. They have suggested that most folks came to that mountainside with a bit of food stashed in their pockets and rucksacks. But they were far from the villages, and when suppertime rolled around, they were afraid if other folks found out about their stash, they'd have to pass it around, and there wouldn't be enough for themselves. But then, certain scholars argue, inspired by the generosity of the little boy, they decide to open up their packs and empty their pockets, and share the wealth.
Who knows? It could be either explanation. As one scholar writes: "Whether the miracle is a supernatural multiplication of food or the unleashing of compassion and generosity among the people is not altogether clear." (Robert Bryant, Feasting on the Word, B:3, 287)
But listen friends, either way, the reality is there was enough! However it was provided, there was enough. It's as if Jesus was saying, "Sit down folks, be satisfied with what you have, for it is enough—know that where there is love, God's love for you, and your love for each other, there is enough."
Poet Mary Oliver, reflecting on this story, offers up her poem "Logos":
"Why wonder about the loaves and fishes?
If you say the right words, the wine expands.
If you say them with love
and the felt ferocity of love and the felt necessity of that love,
the fish explode into many.
Imagine him speaking,
and don't worry about what is reality,
or what is plain, or what is mysterious.
If you were there, it was all those things.
If you can imagine it, it is all those things.
Eat, drink, be happy.
Accept the miracle.
Accept, too, each spoken word
spoken with love."
Accept the miracle. Accept the love. Know that there is enough. For in knowing there is enough, you will be freed of the compulsive need to acquire more. In acknowledging that in and through God there is enough love for one and all, you can be freed of the obsessive drive
to acquire more and more and more. As St. Augustine put it, "Our hearts are restless, until they find their rest in thee." Think how such a belief can and would transform our world. What if politicians recognized
they already had enough power and spent their time using it wisely instead of trying to acquire more? What if first world nations realized they already have enough food, enough medicine, enough clothing, and used their resources to feed the hungry of the world instead of trying to acquire more?
Sisters and brothers, we don't need and extra freezer in the garage, so to speak, instead we need to trust that God's love for us is so great that it spills over into extra baskets. We are called to believe we have enough—more than enough. And we are called to embody that love in the ways we use and share our many, many blessings. It is then and only then, that we will find a cure for our for our great hunger. Accept the miracle. Accept the love. It is enough.
Amen.
John H. Danner