The crowds had been following Jesus for several days. He had cured the sick, the blind, and the mute who came to him for
healing. The crowds couldn’t get enough of Jesus, so they stayed with him as
long as they could. Jesus also feels pity for them, responding to their hunger by giving
them something to eat in the miracle of the loaves and the fish. We wait and prepare with
expectation during Advent in coming of our Savior into the world. The birth of Jesus into the world is all about the divine made visible
to us in the world. Jesus’ identity and a glimpse of what God’s Kingdom would be about was
made visible to the crowds in the healing of the sick and the afflicted, in the
miracle of the loaves and the fish that fed them. We are looking for signs and wonders in our world today as well, that
is for sure. Perhaps we ourselves or a loved
one are going through an illness or struggling with an addiction - we are praying for healing in the midst of
that pain and suffering. Perhaps we ourselves or a loved one are out of a job, and we want to
find work that will bring us dignity and respect and a way to support our
families. Perhaps we are looking for a sign from God – a visible sign of the divine in
our lives – some healing or encouragement or hope. We walk by faith during those tough times in our life. We might be placing our hope in a miracle that we want to occur during
this holy season of Advent. Receiving the meal of the loaves and fish did not satisfy all the
different hungers that the crowd had on that day. And perhaps all of our hungers will not satisfied this Advent season
as well. Yet, we place our hope in the Lord.
We look for those little miracles and little messages of encouragement
that we receive, sometime very unexpectedly. May these signs we receive during Advent help us on our way.
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