Even if both the loaves and the fish were small, this would be a good meal in many parts of rural Zambia where fish or meat is often only a monthly occurence.
These folks were the original vegetarians, although some of the indigenous dishes were impossible for me to swallow, they use all kinds of leaves, roots, fruits to make a wide variety of vegetable dishes which are served with rice or nshima, a corn meal porridge. Pr. Chana once remarked, "When there's nshima on the table, there is a meal." This tells you how important this starch is to the people's diet.
Pr. Chana was reflecting on the story of the 5 loaves and 2 fish with the Zambezi congregation the other day and his primary interpretation was, "Jesus is concerned for people's physical needs". It is such a straightforward reading of the story that I certainly am prone to jump right over it to deeper meanings.
But when a few vegetables and a scoop of porridge constitutes a good meal, perhaps there is no deeper meaning than Jesus' compassion and concern for the physical needs of his people.
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