Devotion for 24 April

A brief prayer is offered that you can add to your daily prayers this week. The scripture is from our Sunday Service Bulletin for 24 April 2016. Today we continue a multi-part sermon on the miracle of feeding the 5000. The prayer is adapted from the LSB footnotes pp1669.

GOSPEL READING Mark 6:41-52 (English Standard Version)

And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all.42 And they all ate and were satisfied. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44 And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men. 45 Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray.47 And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48 And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night[a] he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, 50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” 51 And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

Devotion: What just happened?

Even though the disciples were part of the miracle of feeding the 5000 people, they somehow missed its magnitude and meaning. Possibly their collective minds were just not open to the possibility that Jesus was God and therefore could perform miraculous deeds. This would explain their astonishment when the next set of miracles happen, Jesus walks on water and he calms the storm. This must be the start of the realization of the twelve that Jesus was indeed God as He proclaimed. With this lesson in mind, let us be aware of God’s promise of salvation and not let our hearts be hard. Let us not be blind to Jesus’ death on Calvary for us.

We pray: Lord open our eyes and create within us the faith to recognize you. Amen.