April 15 Lenten Devotion

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April 15 Luke 9:16 Abundant Blessings "And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd..." Interestingly, the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 is the only miracle besides Jesus' resurrection that is recorded in all of the 4 gospels: Matthew 14:15-21, Mark 6:35-44 and John 6:6-13. Clearly, a remarkable event with an enormous impact to be so emphasized. In addition, Jesus performs a very similar miracle chronicled soon after this in Matthew 15:32-38 and Mark 8:1-9; the feeding of the 4,000. In all of these biblical accountings Jesus' compassion for his followers and their needs prompted the feeding of the crowds. In each account, Jesus gave thanks to God for the meager amount of bread and fish that he had and then directed the disciples to divide and distribute it so that his followers would be nourished and their hunger satisfied. Furthermore, all accounts record there was an abundance of leftover food, enough to be gathered so that none would be wasted. In Luke 9:16 and in the others that describe the miracle, Jesus looked to heaven and blessed the food before giving it to the disciples to distribute to the people. There seems to be a great similarity between Jesus' actions in the miracle of feeding the multitudes with the biblical events of the Last Supper. Were the events of these miracles of feeding His followers a prologue to His final meal with His disciples? When Jesus blessed the wine and bread and gave it to the disciples He asked them to do this in remembrance of Him.  Jesus' sacrifice, which we remember each time we celebrate Communion, was given out of compassion and everlasting love for us.    For me, this bible verse is a call to have faith; to have confidence that God will provide. It is also symbolic to me ofGod's immeasurable love for us. He provides us with spiritual blessings that nourish us beyond our human expectations and understanding. Finally, giving thanks to God reminds us of His constant and loving presence in our lives and recognition of our abundant blessings. 'Praise God, from whom our blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.' Nancy Godbehere

First Presbyterian Church | 883 Highway 34 | Matawan | NJ | 07747