Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-03-02
THE CLAIMS OF THE CROWD
The international Sunday School Lesson For March
IS, "Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand" John 6:1-14.
BY william L. Ellis

the nearness and might of Christ him
self.
A Boy-Plus.
A boy is always plus. Wise Andrew,
he with a genius for finding folk, had
discovered in the big crowd boy, plus
five barley loaves and two small fishes.
1t was only a boys lunch and not a
very big lunch at that. That it had
lasted until eventide is the most elo-
quent of commentaries upon the alb
sorbing character of the Lords words
and works. Imagine a boy forgetting
to eat.
And the boy was willing to share,
which is fine contrast to the disciples,
who had wanted to send the people
away. This story is crowded with q
needed lesson for our time upon hos
pitality. Jesus, true oriental that he
was, wanted the company to be His
guests. He never violated the un-
written law of the sharing of bread.
Many persons report that the habit of
hospitality is dying out in this busy
western world. A friend told me the
other day that she had been a member
of a home for year. and in all that
time the family, cultivated persons,
had not entertained guests more than
thrice. What we miss when we fail
to show hospitality is beyond imagina-
ton. Fewer formal dinner parties, and
and our daily bread is surely one of
the days needs.
1 have at times tried to imagine
this entire scene from the standpoint
of the boy what he saw and
heard and thought. An alert teacher
may present this entire lesson as a
story, told by the boy in the first per-
son, as he related it afterwards to his
mother. Imagine the wonder and
pride that his little portion-five fiat
barley cakes, with two small salt fish
for relish-had grown under the
Saviour's blessing into a feast for-five
thousand. Thus does the Master take
what we have, the Titles of our lives,
and transform it into greatness.
Nothing that we possess comes to it's
full power until it has been made over
to Christ.
The Wonder Wrought.
Johns pet word for such wonders
as this increase of the lads little por-
tion of food into more than enough
for five thousand men. is signs" Our
modern rendering might be "adver-
tisements." These works told the
character of the Worker. They We're
signs" of the supernatural character
of our Lord. OF coWse-and here is
where many stumble-Jesus himself
was a greater miracle than any of His
works. Believe in Christ as God and
there is no difficulty in the lesser
miracles. Admit the existence of q
Deity and the possibility of a miracle
is natural consequence" The poet
Young wrote:
admit God-that mystery supreme!
That Cause uncaused! all other won
ders cease:
Nothing is marvellous for Him to do.
Deny Him-all is mystery besides"
Many are the definitions of miracle;
and we pause to recall a few of them
in the presence of this one, done at a
strategic time and place, in the pres
ence of many and irrefutable wit
nesses. and of a nature which so i'm
pressed the people that they wanted
to make the Miracle-W Worker their
king. DR.. McCosh wrote that a mir
acle is "A work wrought by a Divine
mower for a Divine purpose by means
Beyond the reach of man." st. Angus
tine called it What God performs out
of the usual course of nature as it is
known to u.s." A miracle is a new
effect produced by a new cause, and
that cause the will of God" says DR..
A. Smythe Palmer, who adds, TN the
Divine economy a miracle is q sum-
mons to attention, a signal that He
who all along has been acting unseen