The Lesson

Based on a theory I've always had. I once expressed this to a Catholic guy and was told it was a heretical idea. That made me like it more.

The Lesson

The teacher was vexed. He was an extraordinary man who could have easily set himself up as powerful and respected physician or magician. Or, as an alternative, it would have been a simple thing for him to accumulate great wealth. And to then use the wealth to command armies for great political power. But the teacher saw quests for worldly goods and stature as unworthy goals. Instead, he was focused on teaching these people a few simple lessons that would greatly improve their lives and their societies. Simple lessons that would help them for centuries. But he was finding this to be an amazingly difficult task. The events of yesterday and this morning bore this out, and greatly vexed him.

Yesterday morning he learned that his friend John had been killed. Needlessly, almost at the petty whim of an unimportant local ruler. This shock made the day's teaching too difficult to face, and instead of meeting with the crowd, the teacher borrowed a small boat from another friend and began sailing up the coast. To a solitary spot near Bethsaida. A place where he could be alone and collect himself.

But there was little wind and the boat traveled no faster than the young men could trot along the shore. They followed the boat and at each village rousted the inhabitants and told them to follow, for the teacher had become very much a celebrity. Many viewed the teacher as the light of the world, while others were simply curious, but all wanted to see him.

When the teacher finally landed the boat, there was a huge crowd gathering to greet him. His friends would later put the size of the crowd at around 5000 people. There would be no solitary contemplation today, and the teacher regretted coming. He could have met with the crowd more easily in town. There was no need to be here, far out in the wilderness. But the teacher moved into the crowd and began speaking with them and bestowing his blessings. And the entire day had been taken up with this.

When the teacher finished, it was evening, and too late for most to make the trip back. People began spreading their cloaks for a night on the ground. Others began approaching the teacher and his friends and asking if there was any food to be had. The teacher and his friends really had nothing. Nothing but five barley loaves one of his friends reported.

And in this the teacher saw an opportunity for a great lesson. He knew that many in the crowd carried slightly more food than they really needed and that, if shared, none need go hungry.

He told his close followers to form the people up into groups of 50 to 100, so that instructions could be easily given to them. When this was done, the teacher approached the nearest group carrying a basket. He stood before the group and spoke:

“We have almost five thousand people here to feed. My people and I have only five barley loaves, but we will donate these to feed these people. Can anyone else contribute?”

A small boy stepped forward and offered two dried fish. These were also put in the basket.

“I will now pass the basket around. If you have nothing to eat, feel free to take something from the basket. But if you have food to spare, anything at all, I am asking you to put it in the basket so that others may eat. If we share, and care for others we would have them care for us, no one need suffer hunger.”

When that basket was finally returned, everyone in the group had received enough to eat and the basket was still almost full with varieties of food. This was repeated at each of the other groups and, in the end, twelve baskets of food were left over. This was set out for the people to take before their long walk home in the morning. The teacher then slept, feeling that a very important lesson had been delivered in a very graphic way.

After the teacher awoke in the morning, however, he was disturbed with some of the talk he heard. People were saying that the teacher was a great magician who had fed nearly five thousand people by creating wonderful food from thin air. All morning the rumor spread through the crowd. It was wondrous and captivating to them and they wanted to believe it. They wanted to believe they had witnessed it. People began to approach the teacher and to thank him for the magical gift of the night before. The teacher tried to dispel this rumor, but he was but one voice against a thousand.

Towards early afternoon the teacher gave up and decided that this would simply have to be attacked in another way on another day. He boarded his boat and began tacking back up the coast. The cheering crowd followed along the shore.

As he slowly sailed along, the teacher mused at how his simple message had been garbled. Instead of noting that there is usually enough for all if people would but consider their fellow man and share, the message noted that it was no problem if there were hungry people among us because the teacher would magically create food for them.

The teacher saw no good reason why his mission should be difficult, but it was.

Reviews

[Samuel Dickens]

This is a thought-provoking recreation/simulation of Jesus feeding the multitudes. Perhaps an example of socialism, also. I'll not try to argue the validity of the Bible story upon which this is based, but will say I think this well-conceived companion story is definitely plausible. Growing up in poverty as I did, I often saw this spirit of sharing/giving/caring in practice.

[Miss Fedelm]

I showed it to one guy and he literally got mad about it. Said it was heretical. But thanks for reading.

[barleygirl]

This is a great story & your storytelling is strong & compelling, as you always are. Even tho the teacher thought he was teaching one thing, an altruistic lesson, he actually ended up with a different lesson & this one wasn't acknowledged in your story, per se, but only as a silent lesson in how these things go. I feel your story says so much more about the way the masses "hear" things . . . which is at the crux of so much broken public discourse in the USA, in my opinion. My favorite paragraph is 4 . . . love how you show us this guy's reluctant acceptance of what he sees as his mission in life, at a time when he just wanted restful solitude. You really get across how this must've felt for this guy. Your stories are multi-layered & can be interpreted in a variety of ways! (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Miss Fedelm]

Glad you enjoyed the story. It's the favorite of a lot of people who read my stuff.

[Vivian Fisk]

A beautiful story, an idea that any thinking person might entertain. The Catholic guy and his heresy crap is why I'm no longer Catholic. Mind you, I have a lot of faith in my maker and I've seen bona fide miracles in my long lifetime, but this one would be no less a miracle for being plausible. In fact, it would be MORE of a miracle had it worked--oh, God, wouldn't it be nice.

But many people would rather believe in magic than charity. It costs them less.

[Miss Fedelm]

Thank you. I've always liked the "no magic" version better. It seems to be more of a lesson.