Feeding the 5,000

Ok, so most people have heard the miracle Jesus performed by feeding 5,000 with just 5 loaves of bread and two fish (John 6).  I've always found this amazing, especially since, in the end they still had leftovers after each person had eaten their fill.

Today I was reading something which talked about how, for $6 you can get 21 loaves of bread from the day-old store.  Finally it hit me!  I know how we can reproduce Jesus' miracle.

We'll take 5 fresh loaves of bread and bring them to some bakery.  We'll turn them in for day-old bread.  I figure one loaf of bread should be worth about 50 loaves of day-old, right?  Then there's the fish.  No one really needs fresh fish.  I bet you can trade in two excellent fresh fish for boxes and boxes of frozen fish sticks (or even fish just past the expiration date).  With all of that we can feed 5,000 people, no problem.  So I ask you...  Was it really a miracle?  I bet Jesus just sent James and John off to the day-old fish and bread store.

Seriously though, this did get me to thinking.  Jesus made very clear that we would perform all the miracles he has done and more.  We do that by working together to really help others.

As I thought about this ridiculous joke above, I did think about the Atlanta Bread Company and Panera.  Both companies give away day-old bread.  My friend Linda from church goes each Sunday and fills her car with bags and bags of bread which she brings to the local soup kitchen.  Here you have a company working with individuals to make a serious impact on hunger in our local community.  All for the cost of gas to drive the bread (probably cheaper than 5 loaves and 2 fish would cost).

If that's not a miracle, I don't know what is.

Peace,
+Tom/Bob

posted by Tom at 1:07 PM