March 18, 2026
Food for Thought - Part 3
John 6:5,8-9
03/18/2026
5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large
crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip,
``Where are we to buy bread, so that these people
may eat?'' ...
8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's
brother, said to him,
9 ``There is a boy here who has five barley loaves
and two fish, but what are they for so many?''
(ESV)
Sunday's Gospel lesson was Saint John's account of the
feeding of the 5,000 men, plus women and children.
Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large
crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip,
``Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may
eat?'' ... One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's
brother, said to him, ``There is a boy here who has
five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for
so many?''
The disciples knew there was a problem, the people who
followed Jesus would need to eat. Although the disciples could
find a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish, they knew their
own efforts would fail. Jesus, however, had the matter well at
hand. In the same way the disciples' efforts at feeding the
5,000 was doomed, so are our efforts to pay the price of our own
sins against God and neighbor. Jesus also has that matter well
at hand.
Last Sunday the Church prayed:
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, Your mercies are new
every morning; and though we deserve only punishment,
You receive us as Your children and provide for all our
needs of body and soul. Grant that we may heartily
acknowledge Your merciful goodness, give thanks for all
Your benefits, and serve You in willing obedience.
God gives us our daily bread through the work of farmers,
through the work of processing plants and transportation
companies and all the people who produce and distribute the food
we eat. God gives us the forgiveness of sins through His Word of
truth, both as we hear it and as it is joined with the bread and
wine in the Lord's Supper.
May our Lord grant us faith to see and acknowledge His daily
gifts, both of bread and redemption. Amen.