WONDERING GURU
17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, 28 July 2024
(2 Kings 4: 42-44;
Psalm 145; Eph 4:1-6; Jn 6: 1-5)
Introduction: Don Moen
wrote a famous song, "God will make a way, where there seems to be no
way" – and I think this could well sum up todays’ Gospel reading
-"The Feeding of the 5,000". The feeding of the five thousand is the
only miracle Jesus preformed that is recorded in all four Gospels. (Mat
14:13–21; Mk 6:31–44; Lk 9:12–17; Jn 6:1–14). Therefore, we can conclude that
it was a very important occurrence. It occurred during the Passover season
about one year before Christ’s death (John 6:4). Now here is the Christ, the
Son of God. He is the one who had provided manna and water in the desert for
the children of Israel (Ex 16:2-3 & Num 20:1-6). He is the one who provided
when Elijah and the widow lacked food (1 Kings 17:1-8). He provided when
Hezekiah lacked health (2 Kings 20:1), and when Job was sick with boils (Job
2:7). But you see the disciples still didn’t get it, Jesus assured them there
was no need to send the crowd away. Why should the people leave when the One
who opens His hand and supplies the desire of every living being is present?
Jesus really catches the disciples off guard by saying, “You give them
something to eat.” Can you imagine the look on the disciple’s faces; they must
have been floored? “Give them something to eat? We have nothing but five loaves
and two fish.” They however have forgotten, just like we do, they also had the
Christ, Jesus the Son of God.
The miracle can be interpreted in Three different ways
1. Jesus might have continued to bless, and break, bless & break,
and pass on to the disciples. But the real miracle would have been in the
distribution of it, to feed over 5000 men.
2. Or it might have been that the miracle happened after the Lord
blessed and broke and gave to the disciples. As they distributed it multiplied
in their hands, so that everyone could eat.
3. Or it might have been that Jesus appealed to the hearts of the people.
It would not have been unthinkable to believe that people traveling and
gathering would have brought enough food for themselves, and that there was
food available, but that no one was really sharing, but upon seeing the
blessing of God, and the disciples sharing from the Lord, that they too, began
to share with those around.
The miracle is a fact but we don’t have exact details as to how it all
happened. The title feeding of the five thousand is misleading but Matthew
tells us it was five thousand men plus women and children. For all we know if
each man had a wife, and just one or two children the numbers could have been
more like 10,000 or 15,000 or may be more.
Spiritual Lessons for disciples of every generation:
·
The
hungry are always around the corner.
·
There are
always a few with pitiful resources trying to reach out to them.
·
There is
the compassionate Savior.
Three
Christian principles about the character of God in this story.
§ We take our problems and concerns to God,
knowing that He is in control. Our problems don’t go away, but we acknowledge
that God can deal with them.
§ God uses our meagre resources in ways we may
not understand. God will make a way, where there seems to be no way sang Don
Moen.
§ When God acts, He supplies liberally. Even in
the parable of the Sower and the seed, God is generous in sowing (blessing) the
seed.
Conclusion: There will come a time in your life, when the problem
seems so overwhelming, that we might respond to Jesus and say, look God, I’ve
got this problem, and Jesus turns it around to use it as a faith lesson. A
lesson of trusting in Him. Jesus waits for teachable moments. As long as we live in this world, there will
be things that will vie for our attention. Children, taxes, work, recreation,
health, church. God has entrusted those things to us, and to live in balance
and harmony with them. Jesus showed the proper perspective in taking time to
get away, to refocus, before the demands of everyday life overwhelm us. When
there is such a large task before us, it is important that we begin to set
things in priority and have faith in the One who can make a way even when you
think there is no way.
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