St Matthew, Chapter 15,verse: 35-37a, Jesus feeds four thousand: All were satisfied.

Our paragraph topic is:  ( Jesus feeds four thousand) Part 1.

They were all in a desert place where there was not much to eat.  And the people came to him in the desert.  They came from the villages, from the towns, from districts far away.  They came into this desert place because the word came to them and told them about the one they heard people talking about.  The word told them that they would be healed.  The word told them that they would see.  The word told them that they would walk.  The word was God and God was with the people.

And they came to him that they would be filled, that they would be healed, that they would know the truth of who he was.  And Christ had compassion on the crowd.  He felt their pain.  He felt their sorrow.  He felt their love.  He knew their confusion, their loss, their fears, their hopes, and their dreams.  And he wanted to feed them.  He wanted to fill them.  He wanted to love them.  He wanted to guide them through the tricks and traps that they would face in the world.  For they had been transformed by Christ and now they would face a new world with all of its temptations.  And Christ had compassion on the crowd.  But time had not been fulfilled and the sacrifice had not been given and the absolution was not complete.

So he fed the crowds.  He gave them physical food for their bodies.  He gave them fish and bread that they would not faint on their return to their villages and towns.   And he bade the crowd recline on the ground.   Then taking the seven loaves and the fishes, he gave thanks, broke them and gave them to his disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowd.  And they all ate and were satisfied.     

How do you see a miracle?  If you watch closely will you see it happening?  If it happens before your eyes will you know that it is?  How did the lame walk?  How did the blind see?  How did the deaf hear?  How did the loaves multiply?  Christ blessed the fish and the loaves and gave them to the disciples to give to the people.  And they eat and were satisfied.  But how did it happen?  We are spiritual beings living in a physical world.  Do we recognize who we are?  Do we know that we are spiritual beings in a physical shell?  Are we aware of our spiritual nature?

Christ told us in the New Testament how to see ourselves.  He told us how we should look.  He gave us the words that indicate how we are to know who we are.  Yet, we live in a physical world not knowing that we are spiritual beings.  We strive for physical things not knowing that they are not eternal.  And we are unaware of the spiritual things that are eternal, everlasting, God given.  And we ask God  to help us in this physical world not knowing who we are.  Christ wanted to feed the crowd because he had compassion.  He wanted to give to them eternal food that would sustain them in this world, but the time was not fulfilled, the sacrifice was not given, and the absolution not complete.

Today, the sacrifice has been given, the time has been fulfilled, and the absolution is complete.  We are reborn in his image that we may share in eternal life with Christ.  But how can we share in something that we do not know?  How can we share in something that is hidden from us unless we seek it, find it, and know it to be true.  The miracle awaits those who seek it.  The knowledge awaits those who search for it.  The treasure is buried for those who want to find it.  And when it is found one will sell all to own it.  For Christ has completed the miracle.  The food awaits us.  Come!  Recline and partake of the the spiritual food that will awaken the spiritual life in you. 

Come! Know the truth of who you are. Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ.   Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself.   Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding.   Read it for knowledge.   Read it for faith.   Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you.   Christ seeks to know you.  Open the door and let him in!

St Matthew, Chapter 15, verse: 33, The Compasion of Christ: The Disciples are willing.

Our paragraph topic is:  ( Jesus has compassion on the crowd) Part 2.   

All were cured.  All were made whole.  All were given sight.  All were made to walk.  Christ cured them all that were brought to him.  They came from the villages, the towns, the districts, from everywhere to see, to hear, and to be cured.  For the word spoke to them.  The word was alive.  The word spread to all that heard, to all who belonged, to all who wanted to believe that their lives could change.  And Christ changed all their lives.

And they did not want to leave.  They did not want to go.  They did not want to return to the life they knew, even though their lives had changed.  Christ had compassion on them.  All evil had been cast out.  And the crowd was like lost sheep, not knowing what to do or where to go.  And Christ had compassion upon them.  He wanted to feed them.  He wanted to guide them.  He wanted to show them a way so that they would not be lost.  But the time was not right.  The time was not fulfilled.  The sacrifice was not made and the absolution was not given.  So Christ could not give them the eternal food that they needed for their journey.  He could only give them the physical food they needed to feed their physical bodies.

Jesus called his disciples together to express his compassion on the crowd.  He wanted his disciples to know his feelings and he wanted to demonstrate to them how they should feel for the crowd.  But the disciples were unwilling.  They wanted to disperse the crowd and did not have compassion for them.  For it was a desert place and there was nowhere to obtain food to feed the people.  The disciples had nothing to give nor anything to offer.  But Christ was unwilling to send them away fasting and hungry for more of what he had to offer.  So he called his disciples together.   And the disciples said to him, "But in a desert, where are we to get enough loaves to satisfy so great a crowd?"  Jesus said to them, ''How many loaves have you?" And they said, "Seven, and a few little fishes."   

They only had seven loaves and a few fishes to feed a multitude of people.  They did not realize that Christ was the food.  Christ was the bread and Christ was the wine that would feed the multitudes of people.  But the sacrifice had not been offered and the absolution was not complete.  So the physical body was what was fed.  Christ wanted to feed the spiritual.  Christ wanted to feed the soul.  Christ wanted to fulfill the eternal for he had compassion upon the crowd but the disciples were willing to turn them away.  The disciples did not understand that Christ through them would feed the sheep of the world.  They would provide the people with the spiritual food needed to feed the lambs of the body of Christ.

We call upon our Lord today to heal our wounds.  We call upon him to cure our sickness.  We call upon him to provide for us and to protect us from harm.  And Christ wants to feed us.  Christ wants to provide for us, to protect us, to heal us, to cure us from sickness.  But we are not willing.  We are not ready.  We do not know the truth of who we are in Christ.  We cling to physical life as though it was meant to be eternal.  We ask for protection and turn from our protector.  We ask that we are provided for and turn away from the provisions that are given us because they do not come according to our timetable when our God who created the universe provides for us for all eternity and not just for the moment. 

Come!  Know the truth of who you are.  Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ.  Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself.   Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding.   Read it for knowledge.  Read it for faith.   Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ.   The Holy Spirit awaits you.   Christ seeks to know you.  Open the door and let him in!