How Many Loaves Do You Have?

How Many Loaves Do You Have?

Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.

Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.

His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?”

“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.

“Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”

He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

Matthew 15:29-37

In May this year, I experienced one of the most painful yet beautiful reunions of my life. I was visiting Nisreen Al-Azzeh and her children in Hebron, a Palestinian city with a long history of struggle. Ten years earlier, I had spent time with Nisreen’s family, mostly her husband, Hashem. He had shown us the brutal daily reality of life under sustained military occupation. In 2015, Hashem was tragically killed by the occupation. Nine years later, I returned to offer my condolences.

Their neighbourhood, deep within Palestinian territory, had been overtaken by Israeli settlers, backed by the Israeli military. For Hashem and his family, this meant living under an apartheid system. His life was controlled by checkpoints and restricted movement. There were roads he could no longer walk. He needed a permit just to walk the road to his own house. No Palestinian vehicles were allowed, not even ambulances — a major factor in his early death at 54.

In Matthew 15, we find Jesus making His way to a mountaintop along the Sea of Galilee. A crowd of more than four thousand people gathered around Him, bringing “the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them” (Matt 15:30). As their time was coming to a close, Jesus called His disciples and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry” (Matt 15:32).

Faced with an enormous crowd in a desolate area, the disciples questioned how they could possibly feed everyone. But Jesus, ever compassionate, simply asked them to bring what little they had. Just seven loaves and a few small fish. And you know how the story ends.

Reflecting on this passage, I am reminded of my friend Hashem. After sharing his story, he asked us to share it with anyone who would listen. He knew the enormity of the challenges faced by his family and the wider Palestinian community, but he didn’t ask for the impossible. He simply asked us to do what we could. Nothing more — but crucially — nothing less.

As disciples of Jesus today, faced with the enormity of crises in our world, it is easy to feel overwhelmed like the early disciples. This grips me especially when faced with the continually spiralling refugee crisis. 120 million people displaced. The scale of suffering is paralysing. 

Yet, amid the despair, I hear the words of Jesus in my heart, as if He is speaking directly to me about Sudan or Gaza: “I have compassion for these people… [they] have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry.”

In this Advent season, may we not let despair lead to inaction but be reminded of the peace and perfect justice that Jesus brings. May we quiet our hearts and respond to Jesus' question to us, His disciples: “How many loaves do you have?”

James Harris is the co-founder of Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimages, and leads the The Welcome Home Project with NAYBA. James has also recently stepped into the role of Common Grace’s Justice for People Seeking Asylum Coordinator. He has previously served in many roles globally, including being based in Jordan with World Vision and Nauru with Save the Children. He sees community refugee sponsorship as the perfect vehicle for Christians to not simply say they love their neighbour, but to know and walk alongside them. 

Find out more about James’ work helping coordinate calls for humanitarian visas for people seeking asylum in Gaza here. 

This devotional is part of a series of daily email devotionals for Advent 2024 reflecting on the life-giving, thirst quenching justice of Jesus we long to see flow across these lands. A justice overflowing with love and compassion, bringing forth hope, healing, nourishment and flourishing for all.

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