March 27                                                                 Mark 6:30-46

What if Jesus had said, "You only have a few loaves of bread and two fish?"  What if Jesus had dismissed this boy on the hillside offering his lunch to the crowd, saying, "It's only a little.  It's not enough."  The story of the feeding of the 5,000 either would not exist, or at the very least it would have been a story about scarcity.     

We hear a lot about scarcity in the church and not a lot about abundance.  This language may have become stale from overuse, but the message has not.  Language and the way we use it can have a powerful effect on what we see as "only a little" or "not enough."  So, I'm going to suggest you try giving up one word for Lent:  the word, "only."  It is a dangerous word in direct opposition to the gospel of "enough" that Jesus preaches.                               

When you strike the word "only" from your vocabulary, the whole complexion of the conversation changes.  Try it:  "I only got a B on my exam."  "I got a B on my exam!"  "We only have $200." "We have 200 bucks!"  "Only ten people showed up for our program."  "Ten people came!"  "Only" always seems to have a frown of judgment attached; its natural replacement is an exclamation point of joy and gratitude.  Eliminating the "only" steers us away from the language of evaluation toward an attitude of celebration. Jesus

did not tell that boy he was only giving a little.  As it turned out, a little was far more than enough.  Put yourself on that hillside and join the 5,000 in celebrating abundance.  

Heather Annis