Music Video:YOU RAISE ME UP (by Selah)

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The Baloney Sandwich

I wrote this a few weeks ago. It was actually born during the second morning service. I am the pianist at our church, and I have to attend both services. I have the chance to listen to the sermon the first time and then digest it the second time around.

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Pastor told us yesterday about the young man who arrived at the church picnic with the only food he could harvest from his bare pantry: a stale baloney sandwich. A large family was decking out their picnic table with the choice of foods: fried chicken, potato salad, corn on the cob, and tempting desserts. The grandmother saw this young man with his lonely sandwich, and she called him over.

“Why don’t we just put your lunch and ours together, and you sit with us?” she invited.

This story caused my thoughts to wander to another one about sharing:

Little Ben-Omri was at the rear end of the crowd, listening to the man who was addressing them in a gentle voice. They said he was Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph the carpenter, and that he could do miracles. It was fascinating to see how the crowd was lapping up every word he said. Ben-Omri did not understand everything the man talked about, but something prevented him from leaving and pushing on to where his brother was tending the sheep in the meadows beyond the hills. The people lost track of time, and soon hunger pangs reminded them of delicious home-cooked meals. Some of the older women could not stand the heat anymore and sat down on the ground, depleted of energy but also reluctant to go home. Some smaller children tried to rub the sleepiness out of their eyes, and a few cried because they did not want to stay anymore.

Some of the men who came with Jesus wanted to end the meeting. A short bulky one with a wild beard pointed to the west where the sun was making a rapid decline, and another was trying to nudge the people closest to him to turn around and go home. It had been a long and sweltering day for all of them.

“You give them something to eat,” Jesus said and pointed to those closest to him. Ben-Omri could see them gasp, almost as if in shock, confusion in the way they looked at one another. One of them counted the money in his purse and had a concerned look on his face.

“There are at least five thousand men here, not even counting the women and children! This is impossible!” another exclaimed.

Ben-Omri pressed through the crowd to the front where Jesus was standing. He was certain that he could help. With him, he had five tiny loaves of bread and two small fish. He was shy, but at the same time he felt compelled to go forward to the man with so much love in his eyes. He opened his bag, took his lunch in both his hands, and held it out to Jesus.

One of the guys next to Jesus smirked and some of the others whispered among themselves. Ben-Omri felt as small as one of the ants that ran across their earthen floor when he had dropped some crumbs. His mom got so mad at him for doing that, but Ben-Omri liked watching the ants at work.

Suddenly the people became quiet, curiously contemplating. Jesus squatted in front of Ben-Omri, smiled at him and ruffled his hair. He then took the loaves and the fish and said grace, just like papa always did at their table at home. Ben-Omri could see his uncle Thomas there close to Jesus. He looked perplexed and puzzled.

Jesus started breaking the bread and the fish into sizeable pieces, large enough to fill the tummy of a hungry boy without him having to ask for seconds. “Hmm,” Ben-Omri thought, “he is not going to get very far with that! He should pinch off smaller bites!”

Uncle Thomas and his friends were distributing the food to the crowd. Ben-Omri couldn’t believe his own eyes. Jesus kept on breaking, breaking, breaking, and yet there was always more left to break. He wondered if Jesus’ hands got tired, because this crowd was awfully big, and Jesus had to break, break, break for a long time. Jesus looked at him, winked, and gave him the biggest chunk of all. Ben-Omri smiled. It felt as if he was sharing a secret with Jesus, and it made him feel warm inside.

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I made an inventory. All my gifts and talents, everything that I have achieved, gave me a meager five loaves and two fish in my bag. Compared to the size of the need around me, the offering in my two hands seemed totally inadequate. I handed it to Jesus, and he smiled at me and said grace.

He gave me the biggest chunk, and I smiled back. He gave me mercy for my misery and set me free. He gave me grace for my guilt and removed my load. He dressed himself like a pauper, so that I could cover my spots and sins under his regal robes. He became humble so that I could feel at home. He emptied himself and filled me up. Then the most wonderful thing happened:

He took me in his arms and sang me a song, and in his eyes I saw a reflection of the crown of gold on my head, the same one which he had exchanged for my crown of thorns. Then he whispered something to me:

“Why don’t we just put your lunch and mine together, and you sit with me?”