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    Jesus had compassion on the people who gathered before him in the solitary place He and His disciples sailed to. These people, who were amazed by this man Jesus, who taught with authority, healed the sick, and drove out demons, were willing to seek Him out wherever He might go to see what He might do next.
    But Jesus understood what they really sought. He saw this gathered mass of curious souls a sheep without a shepherd, exposed to the brutal predation of sin and the devil and without hope of finding their way. While the story of the feeding of the five thousand is often remembered because of Jesus great miracle of feeding, but we often forget that Jesus did not only feed those peoples’ bodies, but more importantly their souls as well.
    And that is what Jesus does for us even today. Through the Word and the Sacraments, Jesus comes to us to strengthen us in our faith through the power of the Holy Spirit. He gives us the strength to do God’s will in our lives by acting as our guide, our shepherd, even as He did to those people gathered and waiting for Him then.
DLH
