The Wednesday Word 6.21.2023

 

John 6:1-14

6 After this, Jesus crossed over to the far side of the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias. 2 A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick. 3 Then Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with his disciples around him. 4 (It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration.) 5 Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” 6 He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do. 7 Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!” 8 Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. 9 “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?” 10 “Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.) 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted. 12 After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.” 13 So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves. 14 When the people saw him do this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, “Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!”

 

I often feel for the Disciples in the telling of the Gospel Story. I try to put myself in their shoes. How would I react to the situations in which they found themselves? They had been with Jesus for a while and seen many healings and other amazing things, but this passage describes a whole different kettle of fish. Literally. Our minds are so limited by the rules of the physical world. We have puny people brains. God’s imagination is limitless. Jesus saw a need, and through the love of His Heavenly Father, the need was met. Even something as astounding as feeding thousands and thousands and thousands of people. 

 

Not all of us have witnessed a miracle with our own eyes. Most of the time we are seeing things through the filter of our puny people brains. These things are easy to miss. Every once in a while we may witness the extraordinary if we are looking. They may not be on the same scale as when Jesus walked among us. Then again, they might even be more astounding depending on the way we look at the world. Open your heart to the miracles in your life. Thank the One who makes them possible…something to pray about.

 

Don’t forget to look for the Lord today. Vicki H.