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Friday, June 3, 2022

Feeding the Five Thousand

 


“Art thou certain?”  I whispered to the fair maiden who was sitting beside me.

“Yes, Honey,” Elaine replied with a knowledgeable tone in her voice.

“I have attempted to number the people in church this morning,” I whispered a little louder.  “And even after removing my shoes and stockings it is more than I can count.  I am afeared that there is not sufficient food for such a multitude,” I finished in a slightly anguished voice.

My wife remained serene.  “We have plenty of repast for all of these and more besides,” she told me flatly.  “Stop thy worrying!”

I remember well that Sunday, for we were one of the families responsible for the "Luck of the Pots."  I found the whole experience Nerve Wracking.  For what if it came time to open the line of food and three Professional Wrestlers with voracious appetites had come to visit and as visitors, they went through the line first.  Perhaps women and children would go hungry.  Perhaps they would Starve.

Fortunately, as usual, my bride was right.  There were no wrestlers and there was plenty of food.

Within the Gospels is found a story about Jesus and a group of 5,000 hungry people.

Of course, the reasonable thing to do in such a situation (and the one that I would have done) would have been to send the people away to the nearest McDonald’s to deal with their hunger.  Perhaps as a backup plan, Jesus could have turned local stones into bread.

Jesus did neither of these things.

Instead, Jesus was presented with five loaves and three fish that a boy had brought with him.  With that coarse bread and dried fish, he proceeded to feed the multitude.

God hath no limitation.  He can do all things without the meager help that humans can offer.  One who can Create the world from Nothing needeth nothing from frail Children of Dust.

Despite this, He chooseth Two-Legged fallible humans to perform His will.  Sometimes He hath chosen someone like me to do a task.  I look at it and wonder, just as the five loves might have, how I can accomplish such a task.  Surely, God Almighty would be wise to use someone more talented and courageous.

The miracle is not that Jesus fed 5,000 people.  The miracle was that Jesus chose to use the offering of a small boy to meet that need.  It is told that not only was that gift sufficient for the need, there was Plenty Left Over.

This is not to say that we will feel strong enough for every situation, but we need not despair.  God has chosen us and He will give us the Ability to meet His purposes, if we are willing.

Even a purpose as crazy as feeding Professional Wrestlers with a tiny bowl of soup.

1 comment:

  1. "The miracle is not that Jesus fed 5,000 people. The miracle was that Jesus chose to use the offering of a small boy to meet that need. It is told that not only was that gift sufficient for the need, there was Plenty Left Over."

    Wow. This turned on a lightbulb in my brain! I never thought of it this way. The boy, if he had been older, might have thought there was no use in offering his small lunch. Maybe there were some adults there who did have a small lunch to offer. But it was the faith of a little child that fed them all, because he brought the little bit he had to Jesus.

    That's all we can do: bring Him the little bit we have. I do pray it multiplies. I do pray that my little light would shine from my little hill. I hope it is enough to make a difference.

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