A miracle happened that day! It really did! But not the one people usually think of. Whenever anyone reflects about that day by the lake -- you know the one with Jesus and the 5,000 hungry people -- they always remember the part about the five loaves and two fish and how everyone got fed. But that was the easy part. There has always been enough food for everyone, and that day was no different. The trick is getting the people who have it to share with the people who don’t. And that was the miracle. He didn’t just break bread with those people -- he broke open their hearts of stone.

When the day began, all he wanted was some peace and quiet. It is difficult to even imagine how stressful his life must have been. He spent all his time trying to teach people who never quite understood what he had to offer and healing people who didn’t really know how to be well and loving people for whom hatred was a far more familiar approach to living. So on that day when he first heard about the death of the Baptizer, he just wanted to spend some time alone with God, sorting out what it all meant. But he never really got that chance. The crowds didn’t think about what he needed. They only thought about what they needed. And even though most of them wouldn’t have been able to put it in these words, somewhere inside them they knew they needed what Jesus had to offer. So they followed him. They always followed him. Moments of quiet solitude were rare treasures in his life and would prove to be illusive on that day.

He stepped out of the boat and there they were. It was always surprising how many of them came. They wanted to touch him and hear him and see him and have all of their brokenness made whole. And he did his best never to disappoint them. He spent all day with them -- healing and teaching and loving and pouring himself out for them. And in what seemed no time at all, the day had slipped away. Evening was fast approaching and hunger was beginning to dominate the moment.

Of course his disciples chose this moment to show up. Where they had been all day was anyone’s guess, but whenever there was a potential problem, they could be counted on to be there, usually making things worse. “We’ve got a problem, Jesus!” Sometimes he wondered if they knew any other way to begin a conversation. “The day is almost gone. The crowd is hungry and no one has any food. We are miles from anywhere. Things are going to start getting ugly if you don’t do something. Send them home so they can go feed themselves.” “So they can feed themselves?” he thought. “If they could feed themselves they wouldn’t be here in the first place. No, we are not going to send them home. We are going to feed them.” “Feed them?” they thought. “Wasn’t he listening? They were in the middle of nowhere and there was no food. Well, that wasn’t quite true. They had been able to find five loaves and two fish. Sure -- that will feed 5,000 men, plus all the women and children hanging around the edges! What were they worried about?”

He just sighed and said again, “We’re going to feed them. I’ll help you.” And he did. When it was all over, there were baskets of food left. There are those who say the food was there all along -- hidden up the sleeves of all those gathered who were too selfish to share. Maybe so -- maybe not. But it doesn’t really matter, because that is not the point. Or maybe it is precisely the point. What Jesus shared with the crowd that day was so much more than just fish sandwiches. He offered them compassion and he gave them nothing less than himself. And that is when the real miracle began to happen. The eyes of the blind were opened and the dead found new life. His disciples had wanted to send them away -- “Let them take care of themselves.” “No,” he said, “you take care of them.” The crowd had been hungry and far from home. And everything they needed was there, if they could just learn to trust God’s presence among them and risk sharing themselves with each other. Compassion was the miracle that day -- active compassion that does more than just talk about love. It gets up and does something to make a difference. “In the end only kindness matters. . .We are God’s eyes, God’s hands, God’s heart.” (from “Hands” -- a song by Jewel on her Spirit CD) A miracle happened that day! It really did!