Welcome to Trinity Church, Newport
Trinity Church is a friendly welcoming community which seeks to enable people to explore the Christian life of faith, worship and service.
We regret that church services and activities have been suspended for the time being.
August 2nd 2020
Reflection by Revd Fiona Brown
Jesus has just had some bad news – his cousin John has been murdered – and he would like to have some time to himself but the crowds came to him for healing and he was filled with compassion and so he spent time with them. He could not ignore their needs.
Read: St Matthew’s Gospel Chapter 14 verses 13 – 21
13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 17 They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Reflection:
Imagine what the disciples must have thought when Jesus told them to feed the crowds and they had no resources of their own to do it with. I would have been panicking! Fortunately Jesus had the answer. He took what was offered – 5 loaves and 2 fishes – and did amazing things. Everyone was fed.
Sometimes we feel that Jesus is asking us to do things that we have no resources of own for and yet we learn with experience that he never asks us to do anything that we can’t and that if we give him what we have – ourselves – he can do miracles with it and we are astonished. He never calls us without enabling us. He takes the ordinary (us) and transforms us.
Prayer:
Dear Lord, thank you that you provide for us with such abundant generosity. Help us to share what we have and what we can offer, not only with material things but with love, kindness, tenderness and generosity. We pray for families worried about being able to put healthy food on the table for their children. Amen.
Read Singng the Faith 706 verses 3 &5
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