Faith+ICS+HD

=January 6th, 2014 Gospel =

Mark 6:34-44
When Jesus saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. By now it was already late and his disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already very late. Dismiss them so that they can go to the surrounding farms and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” He said to them in reply, “Give them some food yourselves.” But they said to him, “Are we to buy two hundred days’ wages worth of food and give it to them to eat?” He asked them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">And when they had found out they said, <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">“Five loaves and two fish.” <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">So he gave orders to have them sit down in groups on the green grass. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">The people took their places in rows by hundreds and by fifties. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Then, taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">to set before the people; <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">he also divided the two fish among them all. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">They all ate and were satisfied. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">And they picked up twelve wicker baskets full of fragments <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">and what was left of the fish. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Those who ate of the loaves were five thousand men. =<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Summary = I<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">n this passage Jesus shows up in a deserted place and discovers many people with nothing to eat. Jesus felt bad for them and told the apostles to get some food for them. The apostles said it would cost over 200 days wages to feed the hungry crowd. Jesus asked the apostles how much food they had. They said that they only had five loaves and two fish and Jesus then said to bring the food to him.He split the bread and fish among the five thousand and they were all full.

=<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Reflection = <span style="font-family: Arial Black,Gadget,sans-serif;">I think that Jesus is teaching us all not be greedy but to share with the less fortunate and make what you have sufficient. Jesus not only wants us to love and worship him but he wants us to spread our faith no matter if we have a little or a lot because Jesus and God are and always will be the most important people in our life. We need to spread this faith even if we are scared of being criticized or looked down upon. You are doing the right thing if you are spreading the word of God no matter what other people think about it. I also believe that Jesus is trying to teach us that he will provide for you and give you many blessings throughout your life. We need to be thankful for these blessings because many people don't have as many as us. This now leads us into how we can live out this passage and share our blessings with others.

<span style="font-family: Arial Black,Gadget,sans-serif;">C.S. Lewis once said, “When we lose one blessing, another is often most unexpectedly given in its place.” This quote relates to this passage because sharing our blessing brings us joy. Sharing brings us joy because as soon as we donate the little thing to somebody who doesn't have it they are so grateful and happy and that makes us happy and this is how we receive that blessing back. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333339691162px; line-height: 21.6666679382324px;">To have JOY you must put Jesus first, others second, and then yourself. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5;">So now that this is all in perspective go out and do that little thing that you don't feel like doing and do it with a smile on your face because that is what Jesus is saying in this passage. Give more than you want to give because Jesus gave out more food than he had but there was still some left over for him and his apostles. The same will happen when you give more, you will receive a blessing in return because God is proud of you.

=<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Prayer = <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;"> Lord, please help us and guide us to share our blessings and not take them for granted. Help us to be thankful for all of our many blessings and to make sure that those around us are satisfied. Urge us to help when we don't want to and to make the sacrifice of sharing and caring. Help us to realize that you have given us plenty and that we need to share that with our earthly brothers and sisters. Make JOY(Jesus, Others, Yourself) present in our life and guide us to be your servants and worshipers. AMEN.