Ordinary Miracle

In the weeks following Shoshanna’s announcement about needing food at her house, Angela and I begin collecting and bringing food. Angela, saint that she is, is a social justice veteran and has lots of contacts she can call in. We put out the word at our church, whose 40 active members are already donating to a number of social justice programs, and they come through with a vengeance. When I was freshly divorced and fresh out of grad school, and receiving no child support, I was very poor and became good at finding inexpensive food. I revived some of those skills and started visiting bakery outlets, dollar stores, any place where food can be got on the cheap.

On our next trip to Southwood, we’re loaded for bear. We set up one of our tables with an assortment of food: macaroni and cheese, boxed dinners with canned beef or tuna to add, cereal, bread, canned vegetables, and the ubiquitous peanut butter and jelly. At this point, many of the residents are still wary of us, but word gets around that someone is giving out food, and we have lots of takers. Throughout the morning, people come every few minutes, and though we take some food with us when we leave, it’s not much.

A few weeks after we start bringing food, more of the residents begin to come out and interact with us. People who haven’t talked to us before come and stand a short distance from the table, and after “Hellos” are exchanged, the question: “So, are you selling this stuff?”

“No, it’s free for everyone. Do you need food?”

“Well, I could use a little…”

And some interesting things happen. Single people tend to wait until after the families have picked up their food. Several people tell us, “No, don’t give me any milk. Give it to someone with kids. I’ll just take some cereal.” Some people bring things out and place them on the table: boxes of cereal, cookies, and clothing. Other people go and get residents that they know are in need, but who aren’t out of their rooms yet or who are still too shy to come out.

I start wondering if I’m witnessing a story from the Bible being acted out in real life. I’ve always wondered if the miracle in the feeding of the five thousand occurred because Jesus magically made food materialize out of thin air, or if his example of taking his own food and passing it around to everyone didn’t inspire people to bust out their own stash and also start handing it around. Was there really always enough for everyone, but no one could see it because people were hoarding what they had, afraid there wasn’t enough? Is the reality that there’s always enough, if we just share?