W/C 3rd October

Matthew 14: 13 - 21

Jesus Feeds More Than 5000

¹³ When Jesus heard what happened to John, he left in a boat. He went alone to a place where no one lived. But the people heard that Jesus had left. So they left their towns and followed him. They went by land to the same place he went. ¹⁴ When Jesus got out of the boat, he saw a large crowd of people. He felt sorry for them, and he healed the ones who were sick.

¹⁵ Late that afternoon, the followers came to Jesus and said, “No one lives in this place. And it is already late. Send the people away so they can go to the towns and buy food for themselves.”

¹⁶ Jesus said, “The people don’t need to go away. You give them some food to eat.”

¹⁷ The followers answered, “But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish.”

¹⁸ Jesus said, “Bring the bread and the fish to me.” ¹⁹ Then he told the people to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves of bread and the two fish. He looked into the sky and thanked God for the food. Then he broke the bread into pieces, which he gave to the followers, and they gave the food to the people. ²⁰ Everyone ate until they were full. When they finished eating, the followers filled twelve baskets with the pieces of food that were not eaten. ²¹ There were about 5000 men there who ate. There were also women and children who ate.

This week we have been thinking about Harvest and how we can help those less fortunate than ourselves. We thought about how harvest is a way of sharing with those less fortunate than ourselves. This followed on really well from our thinking last week about how it is sometimes really heard to share the good things. 

We also held our harvest festival in St. Margaret of Antioch Church in Toppesfield. In our harvest festival we used the following reading:

A READING from the Prophet Joel, Taken from Chapter 2 (verses 21-24 and verse 26)

“Fields, don't be afraid, but be joyful and glad because of all the Lord has done for you. 22 Animals, don't be afraid. The pastures are green; the trees bear their fruit, and there are plenty of figs and grapes.

23 “Be glad, people of Zion, rejoice at what the Lord your God has done for you. He has given you the right amount of autumn rain;[a] he has poured down the winter rain for you and the spring rain as before.

24 The threshing places will be full of grain; the pits beside the presses will overflow with wine and olive oil. 26 Now you will have plenty to eat, and be satisfied. You will praise the Lord your God, who has done wonderful things for you.”

Our Harvest Prayers: 

During this harvest time, as we see the rich bounty nature can provide, let us take time to give thanks to God.

We pray for farmers and all those who work on the land during harvest time. We pray that they will be safe as they go about their work. Lord hear us.

Lord graciously hear us.

We pray for a plentiful harvest this year. May the foods we receive from it give us strength and nourishment. Lord hear us.

Lord graciously hear us.

We pray for fine weather for this year's harvest. May we always remember the power nature has in all of our lives. Lord hear us.

Lord graciously hear us.

We pray for people in parts of the world who do not receive a good harvest and have not got enough food to eat. May we never forget to be generous towards them. Lord hear us.

Lord graciously hear us.

We pray for the health of our natural environment. May we all work to preserve and protect it. Lord hear us.

Lord graciously hear us.

We pray for the animals and birds as they prepare for the long winter ahead. May we never forget their importance in our natural world. Lord hear us.

Lord graciously hear us.