“He pulls it off again!”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Wednesday, November 10, 2021 Matthew 15:29-39 (Forward, p. 12) CEV p. 1003

So, here we have it again: Jesus pulls off something that quite plainly is rather incredible, feeding 4,000 men, not mentioning the women and children. Some commentators and scholars have suggested that this is merely a parroting, a duplication, of the earlier account of feeding 5,000. But then, there are significant details—other than the number of those who were fed:

-in the earlier account, it took place on the far side, the east side of

the Sea of Galilee. In this present account this is clearly not the

case as He crosses over to the east side, to Magdala after the

feeding (see verse 39);

-in the present account the hungry crowds had been aware from

their homes for three days (verse 32), while in the earlier instance

it was the same evening.

-in the earlier story, there were five small loaves of bread and two

fish; here we have seven small loaves of bread and a few little fish.

So, what this says to me is that Jesus’ miracles, Jesus’ wonder working power, isn’t a one-shot affair, limited in terms of time and place. Jesus remains able to do His work, His miracles, regardless of who we are or where we are located or when the request is made. Jesus is, as the Scripture says, ‘the same yesterday, today and tomorrow’ (Hebrews 13:8). And so we can always turn to Him, always trust Him, and always count on Him to help us in our hour of need. His help may not always be in the form we’d like or with the timing we expect, but it will be exactly what we need, for He knows us and our needs far better than we do. And so, we must trust Him, always. Amen.

Forward notes: “The disciples said to him, ‘Where are we to get enough bread in the desert to feed so great a crowd?’” (verse 33)

“I live in a time and place where there is a superabundance of fresh food at my disposal. I can go to the grocery store and make a purchase from an overwhelming selection of foodstuff at any time of the day.

“During the growing season, farmers plant an array of crops, and people plant their gardens. By harvest time, the bounty is plentiful and the produce fresh. The meat-packing industry processes a tremendous amount of meat for consumption daily. Much of what is grown and raised is turned into processed food products—and large corporations enjoy plentiful profits.

“In our reading, Jesus performs another miracle in feeding a few thousand people. His disciples, forgetting the miracle performed earlier in the story, wonder how it’s going to be done. Today there are no excuses to have hunger in this country. Maybe if people have more compassion, as Jesus does, we could feed everyone.”

MOVING FORWARD: “Learn more about food insecurity in your community. How can you help? Consider giving your time and money to help feed others.”