"what do you have"

We have this tradition of applying scripture verses to issues and concerns that are vibrant in our culture and society . . . like looking for magical formulae in the scriptures for everything from ingrown toe nails to the current pandemic, forgetting that the contemporary world of our making is not Matthew’s world.  Consider, then, that Matthew’s testimony of the miraculous feeding of the multitude is not a discourse on world hunger.  Nor is this testimony a call for more earnest sensitivity to the needs of others.
​

Matthew’s people (14:13-21) testified to that which they have come to understand and believe about Jesus and what Jesus says and does.  It’s all about Jesus, period.  And yet it’s also fair to note that what Jesus says and does, He chooses to say to disciples like us and to do through us.  He asks, “What do you have?”  Perhaps that move is the most miraculous aspect of these verses full of miracles.