Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled.”
NL Daily Devotion for Friday, June 21, 2024
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Daily bread multiplies when love is involved. I’ve heard more than one recent sermon on this text change the focus from the idea of Jesus performing a miracle (and somehow multiplying enough food for maybe 5 people into enough food for five thousand) to the idea that maybe Jesus’ action inspired others to share what they had brought with them with those who had brought nothing, thus “multiplying” the initial offering into a communal experience of mutual care. I’m not sure how I feel about it, honestly, having grown up in the church believing that, well hey, Jesus was God after all and who’s to say he couldn’t have done such a miracle? But I do like the idea that when we follow in the Way of Jesus, miracles do happen—not necessarily the way we’ve always interpreted miracles to be instances of “magic” in some way, but simply by the definition “an extremely outstanding or unusual event, thing, or accomplishment” from Merriam Webster. When we reach out in love to support others with their daily needs, we can and do see lives transformed.
Does my interpretation of this story affect my experience of miracles in my life?
