By Dr. Lani Wilson

Good Day, you fasting and praying faithful! As we prepare for the probable historic El Niño, let us also pray and fast for safe passage through this coming season for the vulnerable as well as those who believe that they are not: Both are exposed to dangerous elements, the natural elements and human elements of self-deception.

May we reflect on the word “here?” This word is used 526 times in the New Testament, according to lumina.org. 5-2-6. Obviously, the most common usage is as an adverb, as a locator, a place. It is also usable as an introduction, a sort of announcement, and thirdly, it can indicate that “a time, point, or situation that has arrived or is happening.” In short, it announces an event.

One of Jesus’ disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “Here is a boy who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what good are these for so many people?”

John 6:8-9 (TMB)

John’s Gospel is the only one that mentions a person, “a boy,” who has the fish and loaves for the multitude following The Nazarene or The Nazorean, as some sources read. The NASB, ESV, NET, ISV, HCSB, and TMB translations mention that there were “about” (TMB) 5,000 men besides women and children. If one adds one woman and one child for each man there on that mountain, it means that there may have been at least 15,000 people to feed.

One of his disciples, Andrew, who was Simon Peter’s brother, told him, “There’s a little boy here who has five barley loaves and two small fish. But what are these among so many people?”
John 6:8-9 (ISV)

John’s Gospel is different in other ways from the others and thus, it has given rise to “The Synoptic Problem,” according to biblica.com.

A careful comparison of the four Gospels reveals that Matthew, Mark and Luke are noticeably similar, while John is quite different. The first three Gospels agree extensively in language, in the material they include, and in the order in which events and sayings from the life of Christ are recorded. (Chronological order does not appear to have been rigidly followed in any of the Gospels, however.) Because of this agreement, these three books are called the Synoptic Gospels (syn, “together with”; optic, “seeing”; thus “seeing together”). For an example of agreement in content see Mt 9:2–8; Mk 2:3–12; Lk 5:18–26. An instance of verbatim agreement is found in Mt 10:22a; Mk 13:13a; Lk 21:17. A mathematical comparison shows that 91 percent of Mark’s gospel is contained in Matthew, while 53 percent of Mark is found in Luke. Such agreement raises questions as to the origin of the Synoptic Gospels. Did the authors rely on a common source? Were they interdependent? Questions such as these constitute what is known as the Synoptic Problem.
http://www.biblica.com/en-us/bible/online-bible/scholar-notes/niv- study-bible/the-synoptic-gospels

If we focus on the third adverbial definition of the word here mentioned above, we have a convergence of the metaphysical and the corporeal.

Why did John report that there was a child, a boy with fish and loaves when the Synoptic Gospels never mention him? Was he there alone? Surely, someone had to give him the food so that he would not go hungry while they followed after this amazing Teacher who seemed to have something people needed. For there to be “a little boy” with loaves and fish among the thousands, there had to be a mother who thought about the survival of her child while following this new holy Man.

One additional point is the correlation with the other gospels, for they all record this miracle. Luke says it happened in the region of Bethsaida, which would put it more to the north of the Sea; the other writers do not identify the place. We now know that there were two Bethsaidas, one on either of the tributary that runs into the north side of the sea. This would have been the western Bethsaida, although the exact location is far from certain.
bible.org/seriespage/21-feeding-five-thousand-matthew-1413-21

messiah-study.net

If we agree that it was the western Bethsaida, then the miracle took place at Bethsaida Galilee, although as many sources will report, there is no agreement on exactly where the miracle actually occurred. However, it is the only miracle that appears in all four gospels and thus, commands attention.

Jordan River Delta-April 2005
Israel Photos III—A Collectionof Photos from Israel
http://dqhall59.com/feeding_5000.htm

In the Gospel according to Luke it was indicated that Jesus withdrew to Bethsaida and fed the five thousand. One may consider that the Jordan delta area was Bethsaida as much as a metropolitan area also encompasses its suburbs. The presence of the walled city and its large houses, merchants, and houses outside the walls dominated the country beyond the city walls.
Jesus feeding the 5,000 near the shore of Lake Tiberius
Israel Photos III—A Collection of Photos from Israel
http://dqhall59.com/feeding_5000.htm

NASA
The yellow dot represents Capernaum [at the top in the middle
of the three lines]. The yellow lines were straight line distances
from Capernaum to mountains on the east or west side of the
lake shores opposite Capernaum where it was presumed Jesus
set out with his disciples to go to a remote place apart from the
village of Capernaum to teach and then feed his audience. Jesus
broke bread for the 5000 then [sic] instructed his disciples to
row back to the other side.
Ibid.

This mother of this little boy is the corporeal representation of being present, being aware, being there (notice that the word “there” is the word “here” with the letter “t” in front of it) in the moment to address someone’s needs. She carried the baggage of survival as most mothers do, for her little boy.

The following example was given to me years ago in a clinical training about the possible differences in how working mothers and fathers think as parents (forgive the gross generalizations). If Mom is awakened in the middle of the night by the sound of rain beating down on the roof, she probably immediately begins thinking, “Does my child have rain boots, warm socks, a clean sweater to wear to school? I have to put his lunch in a plastic bag in his backpack. Where is her rain hat?” If Dad is awakened by the sound of the same rainstorm, his thoughts might be, “I must make sure I have my umbrella in the morning. Is my raincoat clean, and where are the rubber shoe covers for my shoes? I wonder if there will be a traffic mess on the way to work?” This may be an anachronistic exaggeration, but it is probably still prototypic responses for many parents reflecting who carries what baggage, when, and for whom.

Then there is the spiritual presence of The Christ about whom those multitudes were unaware. He was here, in that moment to heal and teach, but they did not know that He was also going to be here millennia into the future for His church yet to be born. They came for the miracles; they came because they had heard that this Jesus was doing wondrous things. They had no idea that He was the Messiah. Charles Spurgeon talked about this little boy and his fish and loaves in a wonderful sermon in 1891 at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, England : “The Lad’s Loaves in the Lord’s Hands.”

I shall say of these loaves and fishes, first, that they had a previous history before being mentioned in our text; secondly, when we get to our text, we shall find these little things in a very grand position—"Jesus took the loaves"; and therefore, thirdly, they will trace have an after-history which is well worthy of being noted. When things get into Christ's hands, they are in the very focus of miracles.
The Spurgeon Archive
http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/2216.htm

Spurgeon contemplates how the boy came to be with the disciples with this food and how significant this point is. For our purposes it is worthwhile to think that there was a mother somewhere who had prepared for a long walk with this holy Man to places unknown…and she had a child to take care of.

Notice, first, then, the providence of God in bringing the lad there. We do not know his name; we are not told anything concerning his parentage. Was he a little pedlar [sic], who thought that he could make some money by selling a few loaves and fishes, and had he nearly sold out? Or was he a boy that the apostles had employed to carry this slender provision for the use of Jesus and his friends? We do not know much about him; but he was the right boy in the right place that day. Be his name what it might, it did not matter; he had the barley loaves and fishes upon which the people were to be fed. Christ never is in need but he has somebody at hand to supply that need. Have faith in the providence of God. What made the boy bring the loaves and fishes, I do not know. Boys often do unaccountable things; but bring the loaves and fishes he did; and God, who understands the ideas and motives of lads, and takes account even of barley loaves and fishes, had appointed that boy to be there. Again I say, believe in the providence of God.
Ibid.

Just what is the convergence of the metaphysical and the corporeal? Let’s consider a physics concept that has been the subject of avid research in the past few years: Quantum entanglement. Einstein described it in 1935 as “spooky action at a distance.” Basically, quantum entanglement is the theory that when two quantum objects, (quanta being “discrete” amounts of energy) particles of energy interact, they become “entangled.” This means that even when they are separated by physical distance they can affect each other. This theory that was dismissed by Einstein eighty years ago has just been proven.

In a landmark study, scientists at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands reported that they had conducted an experiment that they say proved one of the most fundamental claims of quantum theory — that objects separated by great distance can instantaneously affect each other’s behavior….

The new experiment, conducted by a group led by Ronald Hanson, a physicist at the Dutch university’s Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, and joined by scientists from Spain and England, is the strongest evidence yet to support the most fundamental claims of the theory of quantum mechanics about the existence of an odd world formed by a fabric of subatomic particles, where matter does not take form until it is observed and time runs backward as well as forward.
Sorry, Einstein. Quantum Study Suggests ‘Spooky Action’ Is Real. By John Markoff October 21, 2015 The New York Times
http://nyti.ms/1GTNy8l

If this sounds like an example from another ATBC Message a few months ago about Schrödinger’s Cat, it should. Einstein created this “thought experiment” and others in a debate with another physicist essentially about whether quantum mechanics was valid. In a nutshell, this new experiment just published in Nature magazine suggests that at the subatomic level there seems to be a web that connects all particles. This interconnectedness means that regardless the distance they are apart and whether they are in the same physical locale or not, what happens to one will inextricably affect the other. For we humans so grounded in the three-dimensional material world, it throws the concept of being here and there to the wind. What might this suggest for those of us who believe in the Mystery of all Mysteries, The Christ?

In Bethsaida Galilee on that mountain when Jesus the Christ fed the 15,000 that day, we could have been witnessing the convergence of a caring mother making sure her child survived and a caring Christ making sure His children survived. We saw the convergence of a flesh-and-blood parent and The Spirit in situ in Christ taking care of people in need. In the person of Jesus Himself we see the convergence of the corporeal and the metaphysical, the physical world and the world of quantum particles that are all connected. Spurgeon in his 1891 sermon said that it bespoke the “providence of God;” that no matter what, God would provide. God would show up.

Never despair about providence. There sits to-night, somewhere in a chimney corner in the country, a man that will turn the current of unbelief, and win back the churches to the old gospel. God never yet did come to a point of distress as to his truth but what suddenly one came forward, a David with a sling and a stone, or a Samson with a jawbone, or a Shamgar with an ox-goad, who put to rout the adversaries of the Lord. "There is a lad here." The providence of God had sent him.
The Spurgeon Archive
http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/2216.htm

It is so much more a human story with people who feel real to us 2000 years later when we read about this boy who had the fish and loaves. The other three gospel accounts seem less accessible, less relatable without him. And the probability that there was a mother who was attuned to her child’s needs on an unknown journey following this holy Man reaffirms the caring nature of God Manifest, of The Christ. To be present to someone else’s needs is at the heart of Christ Jesus’ message to us. Even in this ground breaking, esoteric experiment of quantum mechanics, we can extrapolate to what Jesus admonishes us:

• You must love the other.
• We can affect people here and there, simultaneously.
• What we do here affects others there.
• We are all connected by the love of a caring God.

For those of us who say we are in the Body of Christ, this convergence of the corporeal and metaphysical must be evident in how we behave, not just in how we talk. When we speak the jargon of Christianity, not necessarily of Christ Jesus, are we being present to someone else’s needs, especially those at the very razor’s edge of life? Or are we mouthing catch phrases, empty homilies, shibboleths to reassure each other that we are here to reflect each other’s patina of holiness? Perhaps, we in Allen Temple have missed the fact that here has shifted. Being here in the church isn’t so necessary; we’re scattered far and wide across the nine Bay Area counties. Maybe, we can “do church” by remote sensing? Maybe it doesn’t matter if people are present during the week or even on Sundays on the church campus? Maybe that’s the next evolution of church? Maybe we will watch services live stream, donate online, teleconference and/or Skype all meetings, have Communion with our own individual crackers and grape juice that we order online, and not even have to come in and be physically present to fulfill our do-good, touchy-feely, Christian commitments? There’s just one major problem with that. The Nazarene offered up His body in-the-flesh, bloody, bludgeoned, torn and tortured for a reason: So that the blood of God Herself would flow and flow and flow down through the centuries and wash our human foolishness away.

The blood of Jesus restoreth my soul
The blood of Jesus restoreth my soul

From the crown of my head
To the souls of my feet
I find peace in knowing of Calvary

Because the blood of Jesus
Restoreth
Because the blood of Jesus
Restoreth
Because the blood of Jesus
Restoreth my soul

My soul…My soul…
My soul.
By Otis Petteway

Your blood restores, Jesus, Your blood.
Rain down on me, LORD.
Rain down on me.

Rain
Down
On

Me.

Come and get us going, LORD, before we forget where here and there are.

Amen.