When I was in school, I disliked tests. I never studied enough. I never learned the rules for guessing on multiple choice tests (like “always pick ‘c’ if you have to guess.”) I didn’t like that I was about to be held accountable for what I had been doing for the past week or semester.

There are two exceptions. I liked standardized tests like the ACT and SAT and GRE. I looked at them as tests that would challenge my ability to take tests. I could beat them. And I did.

I also liked tests from professors I respected. A handful of people  asked questions that mattered. The answers to their questions forced me to look deeply inside, to assess not what I had memorized but what I had made part of me. And answering their questions well wasn’t about passing the class, it was about mastering the ideas.

Jesus gives exactly that kind of test to the disciples. They are facing a huge crowd. A huge hungry crowd. A huge hungry crowd far from home.

Jesus says, “where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” John tells us that he already knew the answer.

We could, at this point, look at Philip’s response. It was accurate, it was practical, it was expected. “We don’t have that kind of money.”

But that’s too easy, too smug.

Instead, I invite you to join me in the mirror. Think for a moment about the really big crowd in front of you. They could be kids, they could be coworkers, they could be congregants. You are pretty sure that you are there because you followed Jesus there. And now he’s asking “What should we do?”

Want a hint? Jesus includes himself in the “we”. He’s open to being trusted.

Ask him.