This is a message for the Church. You see, very often, the people who are in deep difficulty, deep problems, are in problems and difficulties because they are responsible for some of the actions that they've taken. There's an attitude in the Church that sometimes says, "These people have got themselves in the mess they are in, and it's not our problem to get them out. They got themselves in it; they can get themselves out of it! I think, Jesus still says to the Church, no, they're still your problem. You feed them.

Now it's very interesting to notice that we have no record at all of the majority of the disciples as to what they did. Two of them, however, we know what they did. One of them, Andrew, he went around looking to see what he could find and came across a little boy with five loaves and two fish. He brought the boy to Jesus and said the immortal words, "There's a boy here with five loaves of bread and two fish, but what are they among so many?"

Andrew was active but apologetic. So often that is the case when we look at the enormity of human need, and we hear down through the centuries, Jesus says, "They are your problem. You reach out and do something about this human need." The attitude very often is that we become active, but with an underlying apologetic sense. It won't do any good, so what possible difference can we make? But I guess we better do it, because He says so. Andrew is active, but apologetic!

The other one of whom we have some information is Philip. Philip immediately begins to calculate how much money they have, what the going rate for wholesale bread is, and if they spent all their money, how much bread they'll get, divided by five thousand families. He comes to the conclusion that it's a sheer waste of money. They simply would get rid of all their money, and it would only give a little to everybody else. So, he's essentially practical about the whole thing, but he throws his hands up in despair, for Philip is practical and powerless. What a picture very often of the Christian Church! "Send these people away ..." we tend to say, "... they are not our problem." Jesus says, "No, you feed them." We say, "Okay, we better get active, but we'll do it with an apologetic air, and we had better be essentially practical, but we know we're powerless to make any discernable difference."

However, we have one little clue to this story. We are told that in the midst of all this turmoil, Jesus was standing there serene and thinking to Himself, "I know exactly what I will do!" And that's the key! We can be active and apologetic, we can be practical and powerless. The thing to realize, of course, is this: In the work of Christ it is what He knows He will do that is important! Which leads us, of course, to something very specific. Jesus takes the lunch from the little boy, and He gives thanks, and He begins to break it, and He starts to distribute it to the people around. Amazingly, they were fed. In fact, they were over fed. Jesus' commentary on the event the next day says rather bluntly, "You stuffed yourselves like pigs." There was an enormous amount of food left over. Jesus told His disciples to collect it up, and they finished up with twelve baskets full, and they then go down the hill.