Blessed by "Whats Her Name"

 

            One of the miracles that we read about in the gospels is the feeding of the five thousand.  It is the only miracle we find in all four gospels.    The gospel of John tells us a few details that the other three gospels leave out.  Read again these words from John 6: 1- 15: 

 ¹ Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), ² and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. ³ Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. ⁴ The Jewish Passover Festival was near.  ⁵ When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” ⁶ He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.  ⁷ Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages^[a] to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”  ⁸ Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, ⁹ “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” ¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). ¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.  ¹² When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” ¹³ So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.  ¹⁴ After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” ¹⁵ Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

One of the things that is different in John’s version of the story is that he tells us that the loaves and fishes that Jesus used to feed thousands was contributed by a little boy.  An unknown boy.  Thousands of people were blessed with full bellies because of the generosity of that little unknown boy.   It occurs to me that the same is true for us.  We know blessing after blessing each and every day because of the actions of people whose name we do not know.  If you ate a meal today in a restaurant, some person whose name you probably do not know prepared your food or grew your food.   Some unknown person made the clothes you wear… or made the chair in which you sat.    Day after day, there are countless people blessing us whose names we do not know.    You may not be able to thank each and every one of them, but surely you can thank God for them.   Have a joy-filled week.- Pastor Randy Wall

PRAYER:     O God,  you have blessed me on this day and in this life in so many ways. You have given so much to me through people whose names are unknown to me.  As I have been blessed, help me to so live that I might be a blessing;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.