Matthew 14: 13-21
When Jesus heard of the death of
John the Baptist,
he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.
The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns.
When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.
When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said,
“This is a deserted place and it is already late;
dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages
and buy food for themselves.”
He said to them, “There is no need for them to go away;
give them some food yourselves.”
But they said to him,
“Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.”
Then he said, “Bring them here to me,”
and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.
Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples,
who in turn gave them to the crowds.
They all ate and were satisfied,
and they picked up the fragments left over—
twelve wicker baskets full.
Those who ate were about five thousand men,
not counting women and children.
he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.
The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns.
When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.
When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said,
“This is a deserted place and it is already late;
dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages
and buy food for themselves.”
He said to them, “There is no need for them to go away;
give them some food yourselves.”
But they said to him,
“Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.”
Then he said, “Bring them here to me,”
and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.
Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples,
who in turn gave them to the crowds.
They all ate and were satisfied,
and they picked up the fragments left over—
twelve wicker baskets full.
Those who ate were about five thousand men,
not counting women and children.
Bring
the Lord what you have. Trust in him and he will multiply it to give you an
abundance of what is needed. Know that you cannot do this on your own but only
through the grace of God can this be done. When your trust is in the Lord there
will always be enough.
His
heart was filled with pity for them for they were lost sheep in need of a
shepherd. They hungered for something more than what food could provide. The
Lord fed them with bred and fish but would soon feed them with his own body;
the living bread, true food that leaves all who gnaw upon it satisfied with
eternal life.
Today
people still hunger. They still search for the true food that satisfies. But
like the Israelites then we are a flock without a shepherd. We look for this
satisfaction from everywhere but where it truly is. We search for it in money,
power, and material things. We look for it in the disordered desires of our
heart. We will only truly be satisfied once we return to the Lord, who is the
bread of life.
No comments:
Post a Comment