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[ John
6:1-6 ] |
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Jesus
Feeds the Multitude
"...
And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His
disciples.
Now
the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. Then Jesus
lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming
toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where
shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” But
this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would
do."
The
problem, of course, was how to meet the needs of such a vast
crowd of people. Four solutions were proposed.
First,
the disciples suggested that Jesus send the people away (Mark
6:35-36). Get rid of the problem (see Matt.
15:23). But Jesus knew that the hungry people would
faint on the way if somebody did not feed them. It was
evening (Matt.
14:15), and that was no time for travel.
The
second solution came from Philip in response to our Lord’s
“test question” (John
6:5): raise enough money to buy food for the people.
Philip “counted the cost” and decided they would need
the equivalent of 200 days’ wages! And even that would not
provide bread enough to satisfy the hunger of all the men,
women, and children (Matt.
14:21). Too often, we think that money is the answer to
every need. Of course, Jesus was simply testing the strength
of Philip’s faith.
The
third solution came from Andrew, but he was not quite sure
how the problem would be solved. He found a little boy who
had a small lunch: two little fish and five barley cakes.
Once again, Andrew is busy bringing somebody to Jesus (see John
1:40-42; 12:20-22).
We do not know how Andrew met this lad, but we are glad he
did! Though Andrew does not have a prominent place in the
Gospels, he was apparently a “people person” who helped
solve problems.
The
fourth solution came from our Lord, and it was the true
solution. He took the little boy’s lunch, blessed it,
broke it, handed it out to His disciples, and they fed the
whole crowd! The miracle took place in the hands of the
Saviour, not in the hands of the disciples. He multiplied
the food; they only had the joyful privilege of passing it
out. Not only were the people fed and satisfied, but the
disciples salvaged twelve baskets of fragments for future
use. The Lord wasted nothing.
The
practical lesson is clear: whenever there is a need, give
all that you have to Jesus and let Him do the rest. Begin
with what you have, but be sure you give it all to Him. That
little lad is to be commended for sharing his lunch with
Christ, and his mother is to be commended for giving him
something to give to Jesus. The gift of that little snack
meant as much to Jesus as the pouring out of the expensive
ointment (John
12:1ff).
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Six
Myths and Facts about Hunger
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Myth
1: There Just Isn't Enough Food Produced In The World To
Feed Everyone.
Fact: World
production of grain alone is over 1.5 billion tons,
enough to supply the entire world population with two
pounds a day. This, with the current production of
vegetables, fruits, nuts and meat is enough to supply
each man, woman and child with 3000 calories a day -
equal to the consumption of an average American. There
is enough food: the problem is that some people cannot
afford to pay the price of available food. World hunger
and malnutrition is a matter of poverty and
accessibility, not production.
Myth
2: Hunger Is Caused By Famine And Natural Disasters
Which Cannot Be Controlled By People.
Fact: Most
hunger is not the result of famine or disaster. These
recurring conditions are devastating, but they are the
cause of only a small portion (10%) of the hunger
problem, even though they tend to be the most publicized
portion. People could still eat when famine and natural
disaster occur if they had enough food in storage
nearby. Furthermore, some famines are in fact man-made.
For example, wars and revolutions often produce famine
and mass migration of refugees. Primarily, hunger
results from chronic under-nutrition; people lack access
to enough food, lack the resources to purchase or grow
their own food, or the food they eat lacks sufficient
nutritional value.
Myth
3: Hunger Is The Result Of Overpopulation. If People Had
Fewer Children They Would Not Be Hungry.
Fact: Contrary
to popular belief, overpopulation is not the cause of
hunger. It is usually the other way around: hunger is
one of the real causes of overpopulation. The more
children a poor family has, the more likely some will
survive to work in the fields or in the city to add to
the family's small income and, later, to care for the
parents in their old age. High birth rates are symptoms
of the failures of a social system - inadequate family
income, nutrition, education, health care and old-age
security.
Myth
4: People Who Are Poor Are Unable Or Unwilling To Help
Themselves.
Fact: In
less developed countries people who are poor work for
long hours at low wages, sometimes only pennies a day.
In order to survive in these circumstances, they must be
hard working, innovative, and resourceful. Poverty
lending in Latin America, Asia and
Africa
has proven that by giving destitute people access to
credit (loans averaging $50) they are able to
successfully start a small business and work their own
way out of poverty.
Myth
5: We Need To Take Care Of Our Own Hungry And The Poor
People In
America
First, Before We Try To Help Others.
Fact: Actually,
there is no reason that we have to choose between
helping people in the
U.S.
and people in other countries. Both domestic and global
hunger and poverty are blights upon humanity; both cause
immense and unnecessary suffering and both must be
tackled simultaneously if the world is to prosper. The
resources are ample, if we decide to put people who are
hungry - wherever they are to be found - first. In an
interdependent world, the good done for any part will
benefit the whole.
Myth
6: Individuals Cannot Affect The World Hunger Situation:
Only Governments Or Very Rich And Powerful People Can
Make The Needed Changes.
Fact:
Individual citizens collectively hold public power. In
countries that adhere to democratic principles, it is
much easier for that power to be expressed. This ability
to influence and participate in public policy-making
gives each of us the responsibility to act. Not only do
we have the power to influence the course of events, but
the moral obligation to exercise that power. Recent
history shows what individuals working collectively can
do to affect policy (Civil Rights, Environmental, and
Eastern Europe
Democratic movements, for example). Changing government
policies and achieving sufficient funding of programs
that work to empower poor people are essential. Each of
us can help create that change.
Courage
on Quiet Days
There
are a great many helps to courage in numbers and
display. The music of marching feet, the brilliancy of
uniform and flag, and, above all, the military band with
its martial tunes which make the air vibrate with
martial feeling. A woman in an American town hurried to
the window not long ago at the sound of the band, to see
the soldiers marching. “If I were a man,” she
exclaimed, “I should be a soldier myself! I know I
could shoot if they kept the band playing all the
time.” How many who can fight the battle of life while
the band plays faint by the wayside when they must go
out in cold blood and sternly struggle with the hard
duties of quiet days! But the noblest heroes among men
and women are those who in silence and in quiet, in
unreported battles do their duty for Christ’s sake and
for the love of their fellow men. The newspapers may not
herald their bravery, but God recognizes it, and they
shall have something better than the medal of the Legion
of Honor in God’s good time.
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[A
Nibble] |
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Who
is Your Neighbor?
Mr.
Jacob A. Riis, whom President Roosevelt once
declared to be the most useful citizen in New York
City, tells an interesting story concerning his work
among the poor in New York. A while ago he went to
visit a friend in a suburban town. On the evening of
his arrival, as they sat at his table, the host
looked around at his flock of five healthy children
and said: “I wish you could find for me in the
city some poor family—if possible, a widow with
children about the age of these—who would be ours
to work and advise with and to help over the rough
places when they came along. Then each of mine could
have his own friend, and he could get more out of it
than he would give, I know. Here they are shut off,
as you see, from that. All the neighbors are
well-to-do.” Mr. Riis promised to try, for he knew
the man was right. They were sadly handicapped. The
best in them was being starved by the
ultra-respectability of their surroundings. So one
day he found in a tenement-house on the East Side a
brave little woman who was making a noble fight to
keep her flock together. The oldest boy was about
old enough to go into an office, and his face fairly
shone with delight at the prospect that he was soon
to “help mamma.” She was a custodian, she told
Mr. Riis, and worked in a public building a couple
of miles away, on the west side of town. Mr. Riis
started for his office to telephone to his friend
that he had found what he wanted. On the way it
struck him that he had forgotten to ask where the
widow scrubbed and he went back to find out. “Once
or twice,” says Mr. Riis, “in my life it has
been given to me to see, as it were, the veil rent
asunder and the hand of the Almighty working in my
sight. This was one of those times. I shall not soon
get over the thrill that went through me when I
learned that she worked in the Mission Building, at
my friend’s very door. Just the thickness of it,
two inches of wood, separated the two, each in need
of the other, and asking vainly, as the years went
by, ‘Where is the neighbor who will give me a
hand?’”
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