Give Them Something to Eat

"When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, 'This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.' Jesus said to them, 'They need not go away; you give them something to eat.' They replied, 'We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.' And he said, 'Bring them here to me.' "
-- Matthew 14:15-18 (from "The Feeding of Five Thousand," NRSV*)

This scene is all to familiar, not only in our Scriptural minds but in reality.

We don’t have anything.

We only have enough for us.

We are we and they are they so send them away ... to fend for themselves.

How often have we played out this scene in a variety of ways? There are times when we recognize that even though we have little, we still have something to give to those who come to us, so we give, we share. There are times when we recognize that we are we and they are they and we don’t share.

There are times.

In 2012 The General Conference of the United Methodist Church, the top legislative authority of the UMC will meet in Tampa, Florida.

Since I am in Tampa during the winter and will be in the area during General Conference, several people I know who are involved in a couple of the special-interest groups of the UMC approached me with a question.

"Tom. Do you know of any UM Church in Tampa that would be close to the convention center where we could hold our meetings?"

These three groups who asked this of me are what some might call "liberal." I call them advocates for welcoming all individuals into the family of God.

Having been in Tampa long enough to test the waters of the UMC, I sadly replied. I know of no church close to the convention center that will welcome you. I know of none that will open their doors to your meetings even though you represent the UMC in an official capacity.

I also responded, "I do know of a church that will welcome you. It’s not UMC. That doesn’t matter. That church will welcome you and in fact, that church will demonstrate to you what it means to be hospitable."

So, on a recent evening at the Metropolitan Community Church of Tampa, there was to be a gathering of people representing several organizations of the UMC to plan for their meetings during General Conference 2012. The pastor of the MCC Tampa church told me to convey to this group that the church can offer

• Hospitality
• Carpooling transportation to and from the Convention center
• Coordinating refreshments, food, perhaps more.

Is it not ironic that Jesus’ teachings continually convey hospitality to all people?

“Don’t send them away,” says Jesus to the disciples who are all too willing to sit down in their little circle around their hoard of fish.

The disciples are all too willing to let the crowd fend for themselves. Instead, Jesus instructs the disciples to bring them in, sit them down, spread out the board, feed them, eat.

It is time that the church, not just the UMC, but any group that calls itself a “church” in the name of the Christ, hear what Jesus teaches and does what Jesus does: welcomes all without judgment, restrictions, rules and regulations.

Come.

Sit down.

Eat.