Being Happy with Half a Loaf

Psalm 50 • Psalm [59, 60] or 8, 84
Eccles. 3:16-4:3 • Gal. 3:1-14 • Matt. 14:13-21

Many would imagine that the key point of Christ feeding the 5,000 is the miraculous multiplication of five loaves and two fishes so there was not only enough for everyone but leftovers as well.

I think the more important miracle began when Jesus first broke the bread in front of the crowd, and nobody was recorded to have groaned and said: “The least we should be getting for following Jesus for a whole day is our own whole loaf.”

Such a complaint would have seemed reasonable because the most common loaf of bread in the Middle East, then, and now, is a pita, not some humongous crusty artisanal peasant loaf you might get at Whole Foods.

But instead He had somehow turned the hearts of the people that day towards being happy for small, unexpected graces, like a piece of that bread.

I haven’t yet figured out how to work the two fish into this interpretation, but it is noteworthy that the symbol for early Christians for centuries was not a cross or a loaf of bread, but instead the ichthys or ichthus (Greek for “a fish”). And while I have often seen people eat several larger fish filets at one sitting, I have not eaten or seen eaten more than one can of sardines or anchovies at a meal.

There’s probably a little miracle there too, because my office mates have been known to exclaim “Thanks be to God!” when I’ve finished my can and taken it out to the dumpster.

Written by Tony Stankus

Tony Stankus, now 69, the first librarian ever to be promoted to the rank of Distinguished Professor at the U of A, became an Episcopalian at age 66 because he could no longer resist the surpassing joy of its liturgies and the radiant warmth of its priests and people.