Alive; Chapter 141, Food for Body and Soul

 When Timothy, Joachim, and Elias were out of sight because Jesus and His disciples had walked a ways in silence Jesus suddenly stopped. It was clear that His Father had been speaking to Him and He wanted to tell it to His men. 

“Men, we are going back to Galilee instead. I have gotten what I came for from this place.”

The disciples knew better than to ask questions and just nodded. Except that Thomas looked  at Peter and said, “Can we take a caravan back?  Where would we even find one out here?”

Jesus answered, “No, we will walk.” 

Knowing that it would be far, and that whatever money Peter had would have to be used for food for the journey, the compliant disciples nodded and waited for Jesus to turn and start walking eastward. Andrew was sorry to be walking away from the massive Mediterranean that he admired so much but kept the disappointment hidden in his heart. 

As he walked Bartholomew wondered what Jesus received from Tyre, but didn’t ask. As the holy troupe was walking they noticed more and more people respectfully following them at a distance. At first they figured it was just fellow pilgrims heading randomly here and there, but the group of followers soon out-numbered the disciples and then kept growing like a zygote as both the curious and the desperate, young men and middle aged men, and middle aged widows followed Jesus. 

Jesus stopped and looked back at the crowd which also stopped when they did. He said, “It looks like Timothy told the whole town. I told him not to tell anyone!” Bartholomew replied, “Did you really believe he wouldn’t. Poor man had no choice as soon as words came out of his mouth, they knew he was healed. If he didn’t speak at all, what would have been the point of healing him?” All the disciples nodded and smiled, some discreetly, others with a loud chuckle. Jesus shrugged and resumed walking. Their trek took them to a hill which looked easier to climb over than around and so they hiked upward following a well worn trail.

The view from the top of the bald hill showed them just how large their tail had grown. By James’s estimate, who over the last year had gotten pretty good at judging crowd size, their followers number around 4000 people!

When they reached the summit they stopped. Jesus said He should teach these people as He did those on the Mount of Beatitudes. So they stopped and set up camp. It was a beautiful sunny day, but no breeze to cool their hot cheeks and arms.

The people gathered around and as if told what to do, they set out their blankets and sat around Him. When they were all settled, Jesus found a natural rock-podium and said in His loud preaching voice, “It looks like our God has arranged for us to be here together.” He saw the people smile and nod in agreement. For the next three days and two nights, Jesus repeated what He had taught others about what His Father expects from them, about correct interpretation of the laws. Everyone was so mesmerized by His teachings that no one even thought of food or drink. In fact, the crowd who had left their homes in a rush to find Jesus hadn’t prepared for such a long journey. They brought no food or water. But that didn’t matter. The crowd was so fascinated by Jesus and His teachings it was as if they had become like a school of angels who needed no food or water. It was Jesus who, during a break said to Andrew  “This is the third day, and they have nothing to eat. If I send them away fasting, they will faint on the way.”

Andrew replied, “Where are we going to find enough food for all of these people out here?”

Jesus replied, “How much bread do we have?”

Andrew looked over at James and repeated, “James, how many loaves a bread do we have?”

James went over to where he laid the food satchel, looked in, counted, and shouted , “seven loaves.”

Jesus replied, “That’s good. Men, have everyone prepare the crowd to eat.”

The disciples disbursed themselves around the crowd and told them that before they go home, they would share a meal. He admonished the people to stay seated and be quiet.

It wasn’t until then that so many of the people even noticed how hungry they were. The crowd, filled with these teachings had been ushered into an awareness of God, the Creator of heaven and earth, that they had never before imagined. They seemed to have left their bodies behind and at the thought of food were gradually reentering them. They learned that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was a protective and loving Father, but also a Father who disciplines His children to make them fit for this dangerous world of decadence and demons. 

They were ready. The scene was set. Jesus lifted His eyes to the heavens and gave thanks for the food they had, the seven loaves of bread and some smoked fish that James pulled out from his satchel. After the prayer, Jesus had His disciples distribute the food from the baskets seven disciples each carrying a basket starting from the back forward, pass out bread and fish and return to Jesus for refills. Jesus was sitting on the large ledge, eating His own portion of bread and fish. As each man returned, Jesus stopped to refill the baskets. When everyone was fed, and disciple after disciple returned, He told him, “Sit and eat, here, I have plenty.”

The disciples formed their own group sitting in a circle. John couldn’t contain himself with his enthusiasm. “That was amazing wasn’t it?!” he exclaimed. “Your basket never got empty! It was like Your words and Your healings, there is no end to Your Wisdom and your ability my Lord!”

Jesus smiled a smile that was like a pat on John’s head. He wondered if John would ever take for granted what He showed him. Knowing that he never would was why Jesus loved the lad so much. His sense of awe and wonder were beautiful.

James sat nearby listening and munching on his own bread and fish. He was reminded of the time Jesus told them that He would feed them His own flesh and blood. He thought of how ethereal that would be, but likened it to the multiplication of the loaves and fish. So deep in thought, James couldn’t tell if he thought it or voiced it when he said, ‘This man is a bottomless well of Life.’

About an hour later, the mystical meal having ended, Jesus told His men to gather whatever was left and put it away for their journey back to Galilee. 

Then He stood up on the podium rock, and thanked the crowd for their attention, “Now go back and tell your people what you have learned. Go with God.”

In twos and threes the old and the young, the men and the women went up to Jesus to thank Him before departing. Many kissed His hand. Some hugged Him. Each person walked away with the sense that those days had been the highlight of his or her life and that he or she would forever be transformed, redirected. They had been given commands to be merciful, and generous, to focus their criticisms on self rather than in others. 

After the last person left, Jesus and His disciples headed out on their trek back to Galilee. Besides saving money, Peter was glad to be walking as it gave them space between each other to dive into their own spiritual development. They walked so much that without knowing each other’s thoughts, at one time or another the disciple, and Jesus were reminded of the Exodus. 

The long journey from the western shore, the land of foreigners, back to Galilee was an unusually quiet one. Day after day of walking reminded Phillip of the Exodus. He thought about how God led His people from slavery to freedom, and he wondered how that was different than their journey from Tyre where most people were ignorant of God any His desire to lead them to the knowledge of Himself. Phillip thought of how amazing it was that they could live with Jesus, the Son of God, here, on earth, in time. It was as if they were walking from ignorance to awareness, from darkness into light, from night into day as they returned to Judea.