Boy with loaves and fish (Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:31-44; Luke 9:12-17; John 6:1-14)
I wasnt supposed to be there that day. I was supposed to be taking some supplies to my grandmother who lived in the next village. She was old and not able to walk very well so my job was to take her food every few days. That day my mother had sent me off with some bread and a couple of fish and told me to hurry up because she needed me to do other chores when I got home.
But I kind of got distracted. First I saw my mate Matteus who was with his cousin and he told me they were going to hear the Rabbi Jesus teaching up on the mountain. I told them I had to go and deliver the food to my grandma, but they said that I should do that after I'd heard Jesus cos he might have gone by the time I got back. They said the Rabbi had been doing miracles all over the place and that I really should go with them and check him out. They told me it wouldnt take long , and I thought I could probably get away with it, so I agreed to go with them for a short time.
We climbed up a little way and joined a huge crowd who were sitting on the grass and on rocks and even in the branches of trees. I could just about make out the figure of Jesus up ahead and I was pretty sure we werent going to be able to hear much . But oddly the air was really still that day and his voice carried clearly so we were able to hear everything. We listened intently as he spoke about the kingdom of God and explained that God loved everyone, had a plan for each life and wanted to be actively involved with each person, changing and refining them to be more like Him. I'd never heard anything like this before and I was entranced. And then, every now and again, Jesus would point to someone in the crowd, tell them that they were ill in some way and then tell them they were healed. The person would then shout or jump about or their friends would start to cheer and clap. It was obvious that what Jesus said would happen to people did happen. It was all quite amazing.
After a while I realised that lots of time must have passed because it was starting to get dark. The sun was setting but nobody seemed in any hurry to go home. Jesus stopped teaching and turned to talk to his followers. I heard one of them talking about food. I edged a bit closer to the group and someone said something about sending everyone away to get supper. I looked more closely at Jesus. I could see him properly now - he was about average height, dark complexion. He was wearing very ordinary clothes which were a bit dirty and his sandals looked worn and threadbare. He was sitting on a rock and I thought that he looked tired. I suddenly wondered if Jesus had had anything to eat that day. He had been talking to the crowd for hours. I looked at him again and thought that he was probably starving. So, summoning as much courage as I could muster, I wriggled my way through the people and tugged on the robe of one of the Rabbi's disciples. The man looked round and saw me. He smiled. I said ' Excuse me sir, but I was just wondering if Jesus might be hungry. I've got some bread and fish here which he could have for his supper if he wants it'. I pulled back the cloth which was covering the basket I should have delivered to my grandmother hours ago.
The disciple smiled again and thanked me. He took the basket and showed it to Jesus. Then he turned back to me and winked and whispered ' Watch this'. I wasnt quite sure what I was supposed to be watching, so I just kept my eyes on Jesus. Jesus stood up and told his followers to get the people to sit in small groups. The twelve men started ushering people into groups and barking commands across the hillside telling people to sit. The crowd shuffled about and organised themselves whilst Jesus took one of the loaves of bread out of my basket and prayed. He then took the cloth that had covered the basket and put it across his knee. He started to break the bread into pieces. And I swear, before my very own eyes, I watched him just break piece after piece after piece off the loaf and the loaf didnt get any smaller!!! After a few minutes the cloth on his knee was a mountain of bread pieces and he told one of the disciples to take it and start giving it to the people. Another disciple quickly took off his prayer shawl and laid it over Jesus's knees and Jesus continued to break the loaf into pieces and the loaf continued to stay the same size. I couldnt believe what I was seeing. I kept rubbing my eyes and pinching myself because i thought I must be in a dream.
Other people close to me were watching with their mouths wide open. There was silence in all the groups closest to me who could see what was happening. After a while Jesus took one of the fish out of my basket and started to break that into pieces too. Once again, the fish kept being torn apart but stayed whole. It didnt make any sense to me, but by now people round about me were starting to eat and were commenting on how tasty the bread was and how well cooked the fish was. After a long long time Jesus finally stopped dishing out food. There were a few pieces of fish left in his lap and he took one of them and offered it to me. I took it, realising that I was really hungry. Jesus took another piece and we ate together. The fish was delicious. Better than any fish my mother had ever cooked before. I did wonder how on earth I was going to tell my mother and my grandmother the food meant for granny had been eaten by a huge crowd of people on a mountainside. But I decided I would cross that bridge when I came to it.
Jesus handed me back my basket and told one of the disciples to find the cloth which had covered it. After a bit of searching it was found and handed back to me . As I went to put the cloth into the basket I realised that the five loaves and two fish which had been in there in the first place were still there!!! This was beyond mind blowing. I couldnt work it out at all. I decided that my tiny mind was not going to be able to figure it out. And I wondered if I would be able to make it to grandma's house and home again before dark.
As I was thinking this Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice so everyone could hear ' Could you all please take anything you have not eaten and collect it up so that we dont waste any of the precious food God has given us'. I noticed then that people around me had still got chunks of bread and fish that they hadnt eaten. They started to amass them into small piles in the middle of the circles they were sitting in. Each of the disciples took off their prayer shawl or outer robe and started going round the groups collecting up the leftovers. Before long there were twelve makeshift bags of bread and fish sitting in front of Jesus. How was that even possible?? I had no idea how to even start to process what I had just seen.
By this time the sun was pretty much gone and it was almost dark so people started to move off the mountain and go home. I found Matteus and his cousin and the three of us made our way back to the road. All three of us were talking over each other with excitement at what we had seen that afternoon. The healings and the miracle of the bread and fish and the leftovers...... we were talking about it for weeks to come.... months.
I raced to my grandmother's house ready with apologies and explanations only to discover that a kind neighbour had visited that afternoon - right at the time I should have been arriving- and had brought Granny bread and eggs and cheese and fish!! She had eaten well and had enjoyed the company of her friend and was happy to see me, even though it was late. I stayed for a short time then made my excuses and raced home expecting to be in trouble for having taken half a day to do a job which should have taken an hour. But when I walked into the house I found my mother waiting for me beside herself with excitement. She had been on the mountain that afternoon! She had seen Jesus doing miracles of healing, had heard him teach about the kingdom of God and had eaten bread and fish - the best she had ever tasted. I told her to sit down, and then I told her that the bread and the fish she had eaten that afternoon were from her very own pantry. She laughed long and loud. Then she cuffed me round the ear for leaving grandma without her supper. So I told her that God had provided for grandma too - and she laughed again. We laughed together. We laughed so hard that we cried.
The day I met Jesus was a very good day indeed
But I kind of got distracted. First I saw my mate Matteus who was with his cousin and he told me they were going to hear the Rabbi Jesus teaching up on the mountain. I told them I had to go and deliver the food to my grandma, but they said that I should do that after I'd heard Jesus cos he might have gone by the time I got back. They said the Rabbi had been doing miracles all over the place and that I really should go with them and check him out. They told me it wouldnt take long , and I thought I could probably get away with it, so I agreed to go with them for a short time.
We climbed up a little way and joined a huge crowd who were sitting on the grass and on rocks and even in the branches of trees. I could just about make out the figure of Jesus up ahead and I was pretty sure we werent going to be able to hear much . But oddly the air was really still that day and his voice carried clearly so we were able to hear everything. We listened intently as he spoke about the kingdom of God and explained that God loved everyone, had a plan for each life and wanted to be actively involved with each person, changing and refining them to be more like Him. I'd never heard anything like this before and I was entranced. And then, every now and again, Jesus would point to someone in the crowd, tell them that they were ill in some way and then tell them they were healed. The person would then shout or jump about or their friends would start to cheer and clap. It was obvious that what Jesus said would happen to people did happen. It was all quite amazing.
After a while I realised that lots of time must have passed because it was starting to get dark. The sun was setting but nobody seemed in any hurry to go home. Jesus stopped teaching and turned to talk to his followers. I heard one of them talking about food. I edged a bit closer to the group and someone said something about sending everyone away to get supper. I looked more closely at Jesus. I could see him properly now - he was about average height, dark complexion. He was wearing very ordinary clothes which were a bit dirty and his sandals looked worn and threadbare. He was sitting on a rock and I thought that he looked tired. I suddenly wondered if Jesus had had anything to eat that day. He had been talking to the crowd for hours. I looked at him again and thought that he was probably starving. So, summoning as much courage as I could muster, I wriggled my way through the people and tugged on the robe of one of the Rabbi's disciples. The man looked round and saw me. He smiled. I said ' Excuse me sir, but I was just wondering if Jesus might be hungry. I've got some bread and fish here which he could have for his supper if he wants it'. I pulled back the cloth which was covering the basket I should have delivered to my grandmother hours ago.
The disciple smiled again and thanked me. He took the basket and showed it to Jesus. Then he turned back to me and winked and whispered ' Watch this'. I wasnt quite sure what I was supposed to be watching, so I just kept my eyes on Jesus. Jesus stood up and told his followers to get the people to sit in small groups. The twelve men started ushering people into groups and barking commands across the hillside telling people to sit. The crowd shuffled about and organised themselves whilst Jesus took one of the loaves of bread out of my basket and prayed. He then took the cloth that had covered the basket and put it across his knee. He started to break the bread into pieces. And I swear, before my very own eyes, I watched him just break piece after piece after piece off the loaf and the loaf didnt get any smaller!!! After a few minutes the cloth on his knee was a mountain of bread pieces and he told one of the disciples to take it and start giving it to the people. Another disciple quickly took off his prayer shawl and laid it over Jesus's knees and Jesus continued to break the loaf into pieces and the loaf continued to stay the same size. I couldnt believe what I was seeing. I kept rubbing my eyes and pinching myself because i thought I must be in a dream.
Other people close to me were watching with their mouths wide open. There was silence in all the groups closest to me who could see what was happening. After a while Jesus took one of the fish out of my basket and started to break that into pieces too. Once again, the fish kept being torn apart but stayed whole. It didnt make any sense to me, but by now people round about me were starting to eat and were commenting on how tasty the bread was and how well cooked the fish was. After a long long time Jesus finally stopped dishing out food. There were a few pieces of fish left in his lap and he took one of them and offered it to me. I took it, realising that I was really hungry. Jesus took another piece and we ate together. The fish was delicious. Better than any fish my mother had ever cooked before. I did wonder how on earth I was going to tell my mother and my grandmother the food meant for granny had been eaten by a huge crowd of people on a mountainside. But I decided I would cross that bridge when I came to it.
Jesus handed me back my basket and told one of the disciples to find the cloth which had covered it. After a bit of searching it was found and handed back to me . As I went to put the cloth into the basket I realised that the five loaves and two fish which had been in there in the first place were still there!!! This was beyond mind blowing. I couldnt work it out at all. I decided that my tiny mind was not going to be able to figure it out. And I wondered if I would be able to make it to grandma's house and home again before dark.
As I was thinking this Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice so everyone could hear ' Could you all please take anything you have not eaten and collect it up so that we dont waste any of the precious food God has given us'. I noticed then that people around me had still got chunks of bread and fish that they hadnt eaten. They started to amass them into small piles in the middle of the circles they were sitting in. Each of the disciples took off their prayer shawl or outer robe and started going round the groups collecting up the leftovers. Before long there were twelve makeshift bags of bread and fish sitting in front of Jesus. How was that even possible?? I had no idea how to even start to process what I had just seen.
By this time the sun was pretty much gone and it was almost dark so people started to move off the mountain and go home. I found Matteus and his cousin and the three of us made our way back to the road. All three of us were talking over each other with excitement at what we had seen that afternoon. The healings and the miracle of the bread and fish and the leftovers...... we were talking about it for weeks to come.... months.
I raced to my grandmother's house ready with apologies and explanations only to discover that a kind neighbour had visited that afternoon - right at the time I should have been arriving- and had brought Granny bread and eggs and cheese and fish!! She had eaten well and had enjoyed the company of her friend and was happy to see me, even though it was late. I stayed for a short time then made my excuses and raced home expecting to be in trouble for having taken half a day to do a job which should have taken an hour. But when I walked into the house I found my mother waiting for me beside herself with excitement. She had been on the mountain that afternoon! She had seen Jesus doing miracles of healing, had heard him teach about the kingdom of God and had eaten bread and fish - the best she had ever tasted. I told her to sit down, and then I told her that the bread and the fish she had eaten that afternoon were from her very own pantry. She laughed long and loud. Then she cuffed me round the ear for leaving grandma without her supper. So I told her that God had provided for grandma too - and she laughed again. We laughed together. We laughed so hard that we cried.
The day I met Jesus was a very good day indeed
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