February 28                                                                           Mark 6:  30-46                                              

 

 

In the 6^th chapter of Mark, we learn of the day Jesus and the apostles fed five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fish.  The apostles had been so busy teaching the people throughout the day, that they hadn’t had a chance to eat.  As the apostles left to find a solitary place to rest and eat, the people saw them go and followed them.  As evening fell, the apostles asked Jesus to send the people away to get themselves some food, lest they go hungry.  Jesus commands the apostles that they ought to feed the people themselves.  He received a quick rebuke as the apostles complained it would cost far too much to buy enough to feed all the people.

 

Jesus took the apostle’s five loaves and two fish, gave thanks to God, and proceeded to break the bread and divide the fish, providing enough to feed all five thousand people.  When the people finished eating, there was bread and fish left over and all had been satisfied.

 

Reflecting on this story, I think of the many things that have been accomplished in our world that faith alone has inspired.  One example comes from our church in Florida, Faith United Church of Christ.  The congregation is about the same size as the Gilead Church.  One of its missions is the migrant farm worker camps in Wimauma, Florida.  These workers and their families live in cramped trailers, with many families to each trailer, and often times go without enough food.  Many of them don’t have blankets (much less beds) to sleep on.  Though the church had been donating rice and beans for some time, a few in the congregation thought it would be a good idea to buy some sleeping bags for the workers and their children.  Though it would be a huge challenge to raise money for the sleeping bags, on top of all the other things parishioners were already funding, they decided to proceed and see how it turned out.  I think they expected to get a few dozen sleeping bags.  Well, they got over one hundred sleeping bags that first year! Imagine, they thought they’d get only a few.  It’s been a couple of years now, and the tradition of giving continues.  The last I heard, the total for this past year was over 250 sleeping bags!

 

I could go on and on about all the missions that people take on in their lives that turn into successful examples of God’s love, but I don’t want to take up too much space.  We see it in our own church and community all the time.  I know that we don’t need to go back two thousand or even two years to see the power of faith as Jesus exemplified in the book of Mark; we have it all around us.  I pray that we will not behave like the apostles that day and complain of the cost, but rather that we will feel inspired by the way Jesus lived, and then, take action! If you believe in something, do it! If you see a need, fulfill it! If you have doubt, ignore it!  Have faith for today and always that God’s will be done.

 

 

~ Mark Hand