A Boy Named Matthew

By Connie S. Arnold

I was privileged to occupy a seat among some of the most intellectual members of our congregation. It was a small class of super bright six-year-olds who had all the answers and were anxious to share their knowledge.  One even enlightened us as to the color of the hottest flame. The task of leading this class had fallen to me.

Back in the day, there was a well-known teaching method for youngsters that captured their attention while using some of their energy—it was called flannelgraph. An archaic, hands-on exercise, it consisted of paper cut-outs of Biblical figures placed on a flannel-covered board resting on an easel.

I told the children that if they listened closely to the story we were going to read, they would get their turn at the flannelgraph board. That particular morning the story was about Jesus feeding the 5000 men and their families and the unnamed boy who supplied the two fish and five loaves of bread. There were so many fish and loaves remaining that the food filled 12 baskets.

It was fascinating when the children took their turns retelling the story. Their imaginations let them underscore different elements of the same, familiar story. When the last child had taken their turn, one of the children raised his hand. I acknowledged him, and he asked, “what happened to the 12 baskets of food leftover?”

Now this question isn’t answered in the Bible, and theologians have bantered this mystery about for ages. Someone has said something about 12 regions which I know nothing about; one theologian, tongue in cheek, said that Jesus wanted each disciple to have a doggy bag.

A boy named Matthew raised his hand.

“Yes, Matthew,” I said. “What do you think?”

Without hesitation Matthew said, “Jesus gave the leftovers to the little boy.” His tone was matter of fact.

Who was I to refute his answer? I had no better answer. We aren’t told what happened to the overabundance of food, but didn’t Jesus say in Luke 6:38 “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together…”? Maybe this diminutive theologian had hit upon the correct answer. In his mind, it was clear that the giver should be rewarded.

We can’t see the boy dragging 12 baskets of food home, but we have evidence of this youngster’s generosity, so he may have continued to share his bounty with those around him, bringing further blessings upon himself. The Bible says nothing about his parents, but it seems they had taught him to give sacrificially as he gave all of his lunch. Since no word of complaint is recorded, we may conclude that he was also a cheerful giver.

CSA__________