Mark 6:42-44
They all ate and were satisfied. And they picked up twelve wicker baskets full of fragments and what was left of the fish. Those who ate [of the loaves] were five thousand men.
Winter Jam is less than two weeks away. Every year we get the opportunity to welcome the massive crowd from a tiny stage at the center of the arena. Last year there were around 17,500 people at the show, but once we walk up those steps and the crowd cheers, the faces pretty much disappear. I can't imagine being one of Jesus' disciples staring at the crowd of 5000 (that's men - there were more when you counted women and children) and then looking down at two fish. Two! And five loaves of bread! My family eats this much bread at a night at Carrabbas!
Sometimes the obstacles we face are in the form of not having enough resources. Other times the obstacles come at us like the Red Sea - a big wall or a bump. In a way, the feeding of the 5000 is both. The resources are meager AND the crowd is huge. No matter the obstacle or problem, whether it's cancer or unemployment or divorce, not enough food on the table or a coworker who won't stop being really horribly difficult, God is present and a miracle is possible.
I don't know what Jesus' disciples expected when they started distributing the small amount of food they had. But I would bet the bank that they didn't expect to feed 5000 people. I definitely wouldn't have imagined it. So pray and expect the unexpected!
