Words of Light and Hope from Fran Neale AWA

Words of Light and Hope Fran Neale AWA

I’ve been thinking recently about Jesus feeding the five thousand. It is described in all four gospels. One comment I read suggested the lad who offered his picnic lunch may have been a rather pushy young chap. Perhaps. Some people think his act of generosity may have spurred everyone else into sharing their lunch too. Maybe. Or maybe it really is quite simple. A young boy who heard one of the disciples   saying “However are we going to feed all these people?” knew he had some food and wanted to help. Perhaps he didn’t see the impossibility of his tiny contribution being any use at all. Perhaps he had heard    Jesus talking and was moved to loving action. He probably had no idea of just how many people there were. To quote a line from a hymn, “If our love were but more simple we should take him at his word.” Like the boy, Jesus didn’t see the practical impossibility of using five small loaves and two fish to feed at least five thousand people. So he thanked God for not just the food but blessed that, and the loving,  generous act of a young boy.

Another thought about this miracle or sign. Philip probably voiced what all the disciples were thinking, “How can we give everyone even a   little?” but what Jesus did was give everyone not just a little, but plenty – and lots left over. And even that wasn’t wasted! God doesn’t go in for the bare minimum, his giving is generous, super   generous.