It was probably mid-day on a windy hillside in Galilee when Jesus turned to his disciple Phillip and asked, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” Incredulous, Philip blurted out, “Six months wages wouldn’t buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” At that moment, the miracle starts to happen. Andrew pipes up: “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” In full control of the moment, Jesus orders the people to sit down on the grass beneath their feet. He takes the loaves and fish, gives thanks to God, and passes them out to all who are there. The food kept multiplying so much so that “all were satisfied,” and still, there were 12 baskets of leftovers… one for each of the skeptical disciples. (John 6:1-15)
The boy could have kept his lunch to himself. I have no idea how Andrew learned the boy had it, but knowing children, my guess is the boy saw the problem and in his naïveté, believed he could solve the problem. We can debate at length exactly how this miracle happened, and all roads eventually take us to Jesus… but the first factor in the formula was a boy with some loaves and fishes and childlike generosity on a hillside a long, long time ago.
- Deacon Robert
“The saints did not become saints without
many a sacrifice and many of struggle.”
~ Thoughts of the Cure D’Ars
