While lighting a candle to remind you of God’s Presence, have someone read the candle prayer.
Share some examples where you have seen this great reversal taking place in today’s world? How is the kingdom of God breaking through (even if it is small glimpses).
Take some time to pray for those who have been excluded or outcast in our community. Pray for the ways which you’ve seen glimpses of the great reversal.
One more thought:
I don’t think that this passage is about how we are excluded from God’s Kingdom by this great reversal. Rather, I think this passage reveals that God’s “criteria” for inclusion does not exclude. When the question “who belongs at God’s table?” is not answered by using the worldly standards of who has merit, but is answered by the inherent value of each human being a beloved child of God, we find that there is room at the table for all.
At God’s table we don’t have to hide who we are, so that we appear to be worthy and valuable to the world.
At God’s table we do not have to earn our place, we are good enough just as we are.
At God’s table we are worthy and valued, even with all our scars, flaws, hurts, and sins being exposed.
At God’s table we find we are in good company and can join in with the work of inviting others to come join us at the table.
The communion table reminds us of the “great reversal’ where the hungry are fed, the sick and hurting are healed, and sinners forgiven. If, as Brian Zahnd says, “grace runs downhill”, then this table is at the bottom of the hill.
With some bread and some juice, serve each other the body and blood of Christ as a sign of the good news we share in Jesus.
A blessing for when you’re tired of broken systems.
This is the only miracle that appears in all 4 gospels. Take a moment to read each account while thinking about the wonder questions below.
Mathew 14:13-21: Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”
16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.
18 “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Mark 6:30-44: Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
35 By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. 36 Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
37 But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”
They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages[e]! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”
38 “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”
When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”
39 Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 They all ate and were satisfied, 43 and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44 The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.
Luke 9:10-17: Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
10 When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, 11 but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.
12 Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.”
13 He replied, “You give them something to eat.” They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.” 14 (About five thousand men were there.)
But he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15 The disciples did so, and everyone sat down. 16 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. 17 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
John 6:1-14: Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Festival was near.
5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”
8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
14 After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
1. What are some differences between the different gospel accounts?
2. What are the similarities between them?
3. Is there one account you enjoy best and why?
4. Why do you think all 4 disciples wanted to include this miracle? What does this miracle tell us about who God is?
Visualize 5000
Five thousand is A LOT! In order to visualize how many people 5000 is, see if you can count out 5000 of anything. We suggest using rice or beans or maybe using small toys like hot wheels or lego blocks. You might find that completing this task is just too challenging, which in itself is a powerful demonstration of just how significant the number is. This visual context gives insight into just how giant 5000 is and how feeding that many people with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread is certainly a miracle.
Break Bread Together:
Kids prepare tuna melts for everyone. This is the perfect way to cement this story in our children’s minds by sharing a meal made with bread and fish. This is a totally kids friendly meal that you can have them prepare alongside you. If you have a recipe you prefer use that, but if you need a recipe this is from the Modern Proper and makes a total of 4 sandwiches:
Tuna Melt Recipe
from Modern Proper
Ingredients: 3 (6-ounce) cans water-packed tuna, drained
½ cup + 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
¼ cup capers, drained
2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
1 tablespoon lemon zest
3 tablespoons lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons salted butter, softened
8 slices crusty sourdough bread (about ½ inch thick)
8 slices extra-sharp white cheddar
Method:
1. In a medium bowl, combine the tuna, ½ cup of the mayonnaise, capers, onions, lemon zest, lemon juice, dill, mustard, salt, and pepper. Stir, breaking up the tuna with a fork.
2. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 2 tablespoons mayonnaise and butter. Spread one side of each slice of bread with the mayonnaise mixture. Spread ½ cup of the tuna mixture onto the opposite side of the bread slice. Top the tuna with two slices of cheddar and another bread slice, spread-sides up. Repeat with remaining ingredients to make 4 sandwiches total.
3. Heat a large skillet until hot over medium-low heat. Add 2 of the sandwiches to the skillet, before turning the heat down to low. Cook, undisturbed until golden brown, and the cheese is melted, 5-6 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining sandwiches.
4. Cut the sandwiches in half and serve immediately.
