Newtonian laws of physics are not flexible. Atoms and molecules do not just “shape-shift” willy-nilly.

And yet we know and believe that the wondrous, the marvelous, the unbelievable, the miraculous still occurs every day. Surprises happen, things that should not occur – do occur. Miracles do abound…still.

We say that with our God, all things are possible…we shake our heads in agreement…to that and we relegate to our God the power that we, ourselves do not have or possess.

We are finite – God is infinite. God is all knowing, all seeing, all powerful, we have difficulties – focusing…for even a few minutes of time.

This is not a story about sharing, well it is—and it isn’t.

There is the little boy… who initially shares what he has…and others may have followed suit – and shared their meager foods as well.

Which, if you think about it – is “a little bit miraculous” coming from us, who prefer to store/hide-away-and-keep forever…whatever it is… that is ours – like chipmunks. It is hard to part with our stuff. Is and always has been.

Nope, this is not a story about “us” and what we “are” or “are not capable” of….this is a story “about God.” Not everything always has to be about us…

Remember the Bible is about him…

John the evangelist likes to take us back to the beginning. Remember his prologue was about “in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God?”
Yep, he’s at it again…

If you go back to Genesis, it is a story about how our God actually called things into being. He created out of nothing – creatio-ex-nihlio. He did not need something to begin with…he could create out of nothing.

God said, and it was so. He called things into existence, into being…

Genesis says that we have a God who created the universe out of nothing.

Ezekiel tells us how God can put flesh on dry bones and sinews and muscles…and call them into being…all out of nothing.

The story of Abraham and Sara tells us how God can put life into a dry old womb…even at the age of ninety.

Out of nothing, out of emptiness, out of a void, he makes something. Our God brings forth life.
“Nothing” or “nothingness” may even be God’s favorite material to work with.

Perhaps our God looks upon that which we totally dismiss as being nothing, useless, worthless and completely insignificant and he says, “Now that’s something I can do something with!” I can work with that…

And Jesus was confronted with more than 5,000 people and a few loaves and fishes…

The disciples were right, “but what are they” among so many people? They were right. It was nothing. Ten or fifteen people would have each only had a little. They could never eat of their fill. It was as good as having nothing.

But I am here to tell you that God likes to work with nothingness. He likes to pull off the unimaginable, the seemingly impossible.

Jesus looked out and all he saw was hungry sinners in need of a savior…people very much like ourselves, people who needed to be forgiven, loved and shown some mercy in what can be a very merciless and uncaring-unkind world.

A little sustenance was no big thing. Elisha did it. Then there were the stories about the first Hanukkah and the small amount of oil that lasted for 8 days. The oil did not run out and the Temple was once again cleansed and made holy.

With God all things are possible. All. Things.

So this Jesus…this prophet, this holy man…this itinerant preacher, this man of sorrows, the friend of whores and other sinners…the one who came to bring wholeness to our brokenness took the bread, looked up to heaven, giving thanks and then he broke it…and broke it, and kept on breaking it…and so to, with the fish…then he distributed it. He gave…and then he gave 5,000 times more.
Out of almost nothingness he gave and then he gave some more. He kept on giving.

The people could not stop talking about it, it was miraculous, it was wonderful, it was stupendous, how this one man seemingly fed so many.

For my God…it was nothing. For those present, it was really-really-something.