Earthquake response

The seismic waves that emanate from the capitol city of Haiti are unrelenting. The headlines will not leave the front page. The aftershocks appear not only under the ground but in our dreams and nightmares. It’s overwhelming – and we’re not even on the island! What do you do in the face of such monstrous need?
It takes me back to the story of Jesus and the disciples facing the hunger of the 5000. Scripture says that that number was just the men. So count three or four times and that was the human need that surrounded Jesus and the twelve. In the face of this earthquake of hunger the disciples cried to Jesus, “Send them away! The crowd is too big!” But Jesus’ response is, “You give them something to eat.” So they scrounged up what they and others had: five loaves and two fish. They gave it to Jesus and scripture says that Jesus blessed it and handed it out. Somehow everybody got fed.
What’s the takeaway? In light of what we see on the news – what’s the teaching for us?
The earthquake in Haiti awakens us to the needs of the whole world and the needs of the whole world are enormous. But for Jesus the issue is never “How big is the need?” The issue is, “What are you willing to give?” In other words, don’t let the enormity of the issue paralyze you. Just give what time you have, what talent you have and what treasure you have to Jesus and let him bless it. He’ll take care of the rest.
Need surrounds us in Sarasota too. Everyday people are hit with the earthquakes of unemployment, foreclosure, bankruptcy, loneliness, sickness … you name it. We might be tempted to just “send them away”. But our Lord seeks to equip us by saying – “You give them something.” Our surrender to Jesus’ hands of whatever we’ve got – though as little as some loaves and fish – is all it might take the feed the world.