Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-09-19
N The Religious World;
fREv1Ew OF SUNDAY SCHOOL IEssoN)

imam in the company had figured out
that it would take thirty-three dollars
worth Of bread to satisfy that hungry
host and thirty-three dollars wal
more than the pooled resources Of thu
Christian church at that time could at
. ford. The sum seemed small for sucf
a large provision. but it was only
bread that tht people wanted-the
large fat loaves such as are still eaten
/ in the Holy Land today, and may be
bought two for a cent.
i The selfish, easy way out Of the
predicament was pointed out by some
fof, the apostles; send the hungry
hordes away; let their plight be upon
their own heads; we wash our hands
Of them; their hunger is their own
fault; they are too shiftless to look
out for themselves, and therefore they
deserve to suffer. The arguments
sound familiar, do they not? But
they were not such as Jesus needed.
The Small Boys Part.
A study Of this miracle from the
angle OF the small boy who figures
prominently in 1t appeals to the i'm
agfnation. He was only boy, 9
venturesome, restless, high spirited
lad, eager for excitement. and more
interested in great things than his
elders imagined. He was but one OF
the ubiquitous boys who always ap-
pear on the scene when there Is ex-
citement afoot.
This lads thoughtful mother had
put up for him q lunch. We have
an insight into his character from
the simple fact that he had been too
engrossed in the teaching Of Jesus
to think OF his food and when a
boy Is so interested in anything that
Re forgets to eat. his interest may
be counted real indeed.
The end OF the day found this lad
still in possession of his forgotten
lunch, and thus Andrew, who had q
genius for getting close to people,
found him and brought him to the
masters attention. Surely Andrew
had no thought Of miracle. The
closest to a miracle he saw In the
occasion was the fact that amid all
these hungry people it was a boy
who had saved his food. That what
was a meal for a small boy should
become a feast for multitude was
beyond his widest imagining.
An Al Fresco Banquet.
The homely old lesson that lies
Titles may be made much when given
Into the hands of Christ was
taught by Jesus when he took the
five loaves and the two wee fishes
that the boy gladly contributed. and
prepared to serve the five thousand.
He disposed the company in ordered
array upon the hillside. There was
a dignity and seemliness about the
ARRANGEMENTS that impressed the
simple folk with the idea that some
thing extraordinary was about to
happen.
Then the food was distributed by
the apostles. When and how and
where the five loaves and the two
small fishes multiplied, we know
not. The story is told without any
embellishments. The rare simplicity
of the narrative gives 1t grandeur.
We only know that the food that
was meant for one sufficed for five
thousand, with twelve wallets full
left over, and gathered up that there
might be no waste.
Our Daily Bread.
The wonder OF LIES every-dayness
awes the reverent. We are con-
stantly in the presence Of miracles.
A dock strike interrupts the steady
flow of food supply to a metropolis,
and then men perceive for the first
time the marvel of the orderly dis
tribution of food in our civilization.
Follow aught Of life back far enough
and we find ourselves receiving our
daily providences from the hand OF
the father. Maltbie D. Babcock's
beautiful lines. "Our Daily Bread"
convey the lesson: 49,.
Back of the loaf is the snowy
flour,
And back of the flour the, mill;
And back Of the mill is the wheat
J. and the shower,
And the sun and the Fathers
will" ...
Christ the satisfier energies in
grandeur from this lakeside scene.
He meets the needs of man. He Of
fers himself as the bread of life.
In reverence we find ourselves crying
the words of Mrs Mary A. Lathbury:
.sBreak Thou the Bread Of Life, dear
Lord, to me,
AS Thou didst break the loayes by!
Galilao." Hs