God's Economy
A reading for Friday, January 31, 2014: John 6:1-15
In our economy there is not enough for everybody equally. That's a fact. I read recently that the top 40 hedge fund managers on Wall Street combined income is more than 300,000 NY school teachers salaries combined. That's not pointing a finger at hedge fund managers or accusing them or something bad, that's just a fact. It illustrates the point that in our economy everybody does not have the same thing and that's just how it works.
That being said, we should not misunderstand God's economy. It's different. In the economy of faith and life, all are blessed. All have an equal portion. Perhaps it doesn't seem that way? It seems as if some are better off, with an ample portion of faith, while others scratch out a meager one. The Psalms often rehearse the frustration and lament of being seemingly ignored by God, while others (our enemies) triumph over us. "Why, O God, am I like those who have no help?" (Psalm 88)
Jesus took the five loaves and the fish from the boy who brought them, and distributed them to the five thousand that gathered. All were fed, so much so that twelve baskets of leftovers were collected once everyone had their fill. In God's economy, in the Kingdom of Heaven, all are filled and have enough and nobody goes away without as much as another. That's the example of how God's economy works.
Truth is, we don't yet live fully in God's economy, and even our faith stories get translated through the lenses of our economy of scarcity and inequality. That's why it seems as if some have more than we do, even if they don't. God is abundantly present with all of us, from the heights to the depths and side to side (Ephesians 4). Some are chosen for special service and perhaps that's when it seems as if God is more present with them than with us. Like the boy with the loaves and the fishes. But the story of the loaves and the fishes demonstrates that in the Kingdom of Heaven, all are fed equally and there is plenty left over. All are fed!
When the people had been fed, sitting on the grass by the Sea of Galilee, they proclaimed “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.” Jesus has brought us the Kingdom of God, and someday all will be blessed with the abundance of Almighty God. Until then, we tell others what we know about God's economy...
In our economy there is not enough for everybody equally. That's a fact. I read recently that the top 40 hedge fund managers on Wall Street combined income is more than 300,000 NY school teachers salaries combined. That's not pointing a finger at hedge fund managers or accusing them or something bad, that's just a fact. It illustrates the point that in our economy everybody does not have the same thing and that's just how it works.
That being said, we should not misunderstand God's economy. It's different. In the economy of faith and life, all are blessed. All have an equal portion. Perhaps it doesn't seem that way? It seems as if some are better off, with an ample portion of faith, while others scratch out a meager one. The Psalms often rehearse the frustration and lament of being seemingly ignored by God, while others (our enemies) triumph over us. "Why, O God, am I like those who have no help?" (Psalm 88)
Jesus took the five loaves and the fish from the boy who brought them, and distributed them to the five thousand that gathered. All were fed, so much so that twelve baskets of leftovers were collected once everyone had their fill. In God's economy, in the Kingdom of Heaven, all are filled and have enough and nobody goes away without as much as another. That's the example of how God's economy works.
Truth is, we don't yet live fully in God's economy, and even our faith stories get translated through the lenses of our economy of scarcity and inequality. That's why it seems as if some have more than we do, even if they don't. God is abundantly present with all of us, from the heights to the depths and side to side (Ephesians 4). Some are chosen for special service and perhaps that's when it seems as if God is more present with them than with us. Like the boy with the loaves and the fishes. But the story of the loaves and the fishes demonstrates that in the Kingdom of Heaven, all are fed equally and there is plenty left over. All are fed!
When the people had been fed, sitting on the grass by the Sea of Galilee, they proclaimed “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.” Jesus has brought us the Kingdom of God, and someday all will be blessed with the abundance of Almighty God. Until then, we tell others what we know about God's economy...
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