|
DATE |
CHURCH |
SUBJECT |
PREACHER |
BIBLE
REF. |
|
03.08.08 |
All Saints Church |
The Feeding of the
10,000 |
Tony Higton |
Matthew 14:13-21 |
|
Yes it probably was about 10,000!
The 5000 didn’t include women and children.
I worked out that dividing loaves
between all that crowd would have provided each person with the
equivalent of about one hundredth of a modern slice of bread.
Yet they were all satisfied and 12 baskets full of scraps were
gathered up. To me this brings home the amazing nature of this
miracle.
But the problem with familiar
stories is that they wash over the brain without making much
impact. The first thing I saw in this reading was:
Jesus made
time for prayer
Matthew writes: “When Jesus heard
what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary
place.” (verse 13). What had happened was that John the Baptist
had been executed and Jesus was naturally deeply upset about it.
He needed to get away alone with his Father. How we need to do
the same. Prayer is such a comfort because it reminds us of the
presence of God, of his love and of his healing power. It also
gives us a wider sense of perspective on the situation.
But we shouldn’t only pray when
things are difficult. Jesus often went off to be alone with his
Father, sometimes overnight. If he needed to do that, how much
more do we.
Why should we pray - because we
or others need help, or because it is a religious duty?
No, the most important reason why
we should pray is to maintain and develop our relationship with
God. The main purpose of prayer is to get closer to God, to get
to know him better, to take notice of him, to show our love to
him and to show we need him: we can’t succeed on our own.
Do you make time to pray?
We may never have time to
pray – we have to make time. Secondly,
Jesus was
compassionate about others
“Hearing of this, the crowds
followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a
large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick”
(verses 13-14).
Think about it and relate it to
your own circumstances. Jesus just wanted to be alone – to
grieve and to pray. He needed peace and quiet. And the crowd
turned up again! Have you ever had such an experience? It could
be frustrating and even irritating.
However Jesus didn’t say: “Sorry,
I need some peace and quiet” or “Sorry we’re closed until
tomorrow.” Rather he immediately had compassion on them and
healed their sick.
This is the wonderful thing -
Jesus is always available. He’s never too busy to
respond. He’s never out. He’s always there.
Thirdly,
Jesus
multiplies our good deeds
Jesus takes the five loaves and
two fish and gives some 10,000 people a good, filling picnic,
with plenty of food left over for later. “They all ate and were
satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of
broken pieces that were left over” (verse 20). That is a
wonderful picture of what Jesus does with us.
He takes our little prayers and
multiples their effect. God does act in response to prayer. We
might sometimes ask: “Why doesn’t the government do something
about this?” or “Why doesn’t the United Nations do something
about that?”
But our prayers can release the
greatest power imaginable, far more than governments and world
leaders.
Jesus takes our little words and
multiplies their effect. A short comment from us can, in God’s
hand, be life-transforming for someone else. I remember one
such incident. I was about to enter my final year at college and
wondered what God wanted me to do with my life. I had thought
it would be overseas missionary work, perhaps teaching. But God
had made it clear that wasn’t right.
One afternoon my future father in
law said to me out of the blue: “Have you ever considered going
into the Church of England ministry?” I certainly hadn’t
because I wasn’t a member of the Church of England! But those
words had a profound effect on me. I realised it was God
speaking to me. And now look where I am!
Jesus takes our little deeds and
multiples their effect. A little act of kindness can have a
profound effect on another person’s life. People normally need
to take a number of steps towards Jesus before they commit
themselves to him in faith. And your little act of kindness, as
a Christian, can move them a step closer, maybe even the final
step.
So I often pray that God will do
that with my prayers, words and deeds. Why don’t you? |
