Read: John 6:1-6

Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat? (v. 5)

My grandma is an excellent cook. She often cooks delicious meals, but Christmas is a feast. For weeks ahead of time, she plans and prepares, cooks, preserves, and bakes. As our family has grown, so has the spread of food, because every person’s favorite dish finds its place on her buffet line. For my grandma, this meal is more than just food. Rather, making food is her way of showing love.

On the hillside, Jesus shows love to the people by feeding them. He cares about their physical flourishing. “What will my hungry people eat?” he asks. Jesus cares about the answer to this question because God cares about every true need. Jesus shows God’s love to the crowd by providing abundantly for all who are hungry.

The people on the hillside were not the only ones who received God’s love through food. The entire world is bursting with God’s love for us. God’s “I love you” whispers through stalks of wheat waving in the wind and drips of water on dewy tomato vines on summer mornings. God’s abundance is seen in every seed, which becomes an entire plant, which in turn creates a bountiful harvest. God’s love for us in the form of food every day is no less a miracle than when Jesus turned loaves and fishes into a banquet. Both are “normal” miracles—gifts of God’s love to us that sustain our lives. —Amy Curran

Prayer: God who gives, help me receive your daily gifts of love to me.