Gospel
Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee.
A large crowd followed him,
because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick.
Jesus went up on the mountain,
and there he sat down with his disciples.
The Jewish feast of Passover was near.
When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him,
he said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?”
He said this to test him,
because he himself knew what he was going to do.
Philip answered him,
“Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough
for each of them to have a little.”
One of his disciples,
Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him,
“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish;
but what good are these for so many?”
Jesus said, “Have the people recline.”
Now there was a great deal of grass in that place.
So the men reclined, about five thousand in number.
Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks,
and distributed them to those who were reclining,
and also as much of the fish as they wanted.
When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples,
“Gather the fragments left over,
so that nothing will be wasted.”
So they collected them,
and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments
from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat.
When the people saw the sign he had done, they said,
“This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.”
Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off
to make him king,
he withdrew again to the mountain alone.
….
Have you ever met someone who saw opportunities no one else sees to make money?
I met someone recently that share with me their life and all the times that they saw a situation and realized there was an unmet need. They seem to see supply voids where the right person with the right product can make a lot of money easily.
I wonder about the boy who appeared with fish and barley loaves. I can envision an entrepreneurial spirit deciding that morning to catch fish and convince his mother to make the loaves for him to sell. Earlier he must have seen the crowds following Jesus and new a good market opportunity when he saw one.
So, he arrived at the mountain top with merchandise to sell for a profit.
And the disciples assumed they were available for everyone. Maybe the boy had heard Jesus speak and was inspired to share. Maybe he had to be convinced.
But either way he was present that day and was an important part in the miracle as recounted in the gospels. It was his fish and bread and his desire to be there with this food that Jesus new in advance he would use to feed the people.
It was a case of Jesus using what was available to perform a miracle and it was also a case of what can happen when we think we are going about our day and then wham!
One movement business as usual and then we see we are being asked to stop everything and be part of the kingdom of God.
Many times we will be put in situations where we are given a chance to be part of the mission of Jesus to reach others. Many people will cross our path who need our help as we are busy earning a living. Some may not need our fish or bread or money but just us to listen to them. To befriend a stranger.
Today while there is so much going on in this familiar text there are also lessons to learn about being ready to be part of building the kingdom right where we live doing what we do every day.
Be ready.
Be aware.
Not all interruptions in our life are to be ignored. Some interruptions are opportunities to say yes to loving others as we have been loved.
Hopefully we can see opportunities around us where we can fill a void, provide a needed commodity like charity and hope and love in a place that could use it.
Let us be aware of opportunities to serve Jesus Christ by supplying the love we have to offer to help others. For most of the world and people around us do not know they are loved and need to hear it in our words or even in our offering to be present to them and see them as Jesus sees them. With love.
Happy Friday everyone.
Deacon Tony Pynes 
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