The Boy Who Fed Thousands

They had followed him around the sea.

A great crowd. Thousands of people. All of them hungry.

His disciples said the place was desolate and it was late. Send them away to buy food.

Jesus said: You give them something to eat.

Philip said that two hundred days' wages wouldn't buy enough bread for each one to have a little.

Andrew spoke up.

He said: There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish.

And then Andrew said what everyone was thinking:

But what are they for so many?

Jesus said: Have the people sit down.

There was a lot of grass there. About five thousand men sat down.

Jesus took the loaves.

He gave thanks.

He distributed them to those who were seated.

So also the fish, as much as they wanted.

As much as they wanted.

When they had eaten their fill, he told the disciples: Gather up the leftover fragments that nothing may be lost.

They gathered twelve baskets full of fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.

Twelve baskets.

More left over than they started with.

The boy is unnamed. He has no lines in the text.

We don't know if he offered willingly or if Andrew had to ask.

We don't know if he watched what happened to his lunch.

We don't know if he ate with the crowd.

But his small, ordinary meal became the seed of something impossible.

He gave what he had.

And what he had became enough.

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