Feeding the masses - Luke 9: 1-17
I hope this these first 10 days of Lent have been as much fun for you as they have been for me. The Journey is moving quickly. It is always amazing to see how each of us see Jesus in different ways.
Today we witnessed Jesus commissioning the twelve. I watched from a distance as he gave them directions. He authorizes them to go out and in essence do what he had been doing. Jesus was willing to share his power and authority with others. He did not appear that he needed to be the only one people were changing lives. It also impressed me that Jesus trusted them completely to do the right thing. Jesus modeled for me how as leaders at work, home, or church, we need to share the work with others.
Upon the disciples return, they were all a buzz. Their was great energy and excitement in their voices. I even think I noticed a few of them swaggering as they came back in to town. Jesus called them to follow him. I guess he was trying to get them off somewhere less public where he could listen to their stories and they could relax without large crowds around them.
Jesus didn’t know it, but someone heard Jesus and his disciples were hanging out near the town of Bethsaida. So we all went to go and see what Jesus was going to do next. Jesus welcomes all who showed up. He healed those who needed healing.
It was getting late in the day, but no one was leaving. The crowd had grown to over 5000 people. We all wanted to listen to what Jesus was teaching. I was getting hungry, but I didn’t want to leave. Then all of a sudden the disciples were instructing us to break into small groups. About an hour later, Jesus began to pray a prayer of blessing over a small group of loaves and fishes. I was not sure what Jesus was doing. Why was he blessing food for just him and his disciples? What about us?
The disciples did not eat, but they started walking out into the crowd with food. I was in the back, so I knew I was not going to get anything. It wasn’t long until one of the disciples showed up to our group. I was amazed. He had a full basket with fish and bread for us. We all eat from the basket and we even had a little left over. What an amazing day.
Questions for reflection and comment:
How would you respond to Jesus instructions to go and heal the sick?
Where would he be sending you today?
What part of the work would excite you most?
What part of the work would scare you?
What would your reaction been when Jesus said he was going to feed the crowd?
Would you have protested? Why?
1 comment:
I would be awed and at the same time somewhat unsure at the responsibility that I was being given. I think that would become more confident as I began to heal people. There are so many places today that people needing healing that I don't know where I would be sent. The exciting part would being able to help those who need it; the scarest part would be not knowing how others would react.
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