The Peanut Butter Gospel

"Then Jesus ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to the heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children." (Matthew 14:19-21)

I still remember the flannelgraph version of this story. I'd be willing to bet it's still in its giant purple envelope at my parents' house. But it was never one of the Bible stories that I was entranced by. It was just always there, always talked about, always preached on, always taught in Sunday school. It was there, normal. That makes sense, actually. Because while the feeding of so many with so little is miraculous, the food itself and the act are mundane.

Most people who will read my words eat multiple times a day. Most of us can even afford to be somewhat picky eaters. We have our staple foods, the things we buy at the grocery store every single week. I'm pretty sure we all have our fish and bread equivalent, something we eat a few times a week and we'll grab if nothing else is available.

That's how my church started collecting peanut butter. Yes, it's one of the most often requested items by food pantries. Culturally, though, it's a staple.

I did not grow up in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich household. I didn't have a PB&J until I was in college, to which the person handing it to me replied, "What did you eat when you were a kid?"

I ate peanut butter and crackers. "Eat a spoonful of peanut butter," was usually the advice to a ravenous kid still an hour away from supper. I still don't like peanut butter and celery, but peanut butter and apples is a whole other story. Toast with peanut butter and raisins was also a pretty common snack in my childhood home.

While food allergies mean peanut butter is not as common at school as it once was, it's still a childhood staple. And an adulthood staple for that matter. That's a pretty good thing to remember when we fill up our church shopping cart with peanut butter once a month.

When Jesus fed thousands of people, he didn't call forth a banquet or wait to until someone brought a delicacy to share. He fed them what they might eat again tomorrow in their lunch.

And people haven't stopped talking about it.