All who hunger, gather gladly
This summer Gather offers a three-session study on hunger written by Audrey Novak Riley. Audrey was formerly on staff of the magazine and is now associate program director for the ELCA World Hunger Appeal.
We all know the story: A crowd of people follows Jesus out to the countryside, and by the time evening rolls around they’re all hungry. The disciples tell Jesus to send the people away so they can go get supper in town, and he answers, “You give them something to eat.”
All four gospels give us this story. Three of them give us the command from Jesus in exactly the same words: “You give them something to eat” (Matthew 14:16; Mark 6:37; Luke 9:13). Is Jesus talking to us?
Session 1
Hungry Hearts
Text: Matthew 14:13–16
Yes, those five loaves and two fish fed thousands of hungry mouths, but what about the people’s hungry hearts? How does Jesus feed them?
Session 2
Do We Have Enough?
Text: Mark 6:32–37a
The disciples thought it would be next to impossible to feed all those people, but with Jesus, all things are possible.
Session 3
All Ate and Were Filled
Text: Luke 9:10–13a
The five loaves and two fish turned out to be not just enough, but more than enough-—and look at all those leftovers!
You’ll find the summer Bible study sessions on the Gather website in late May. Print out the sessions for everyone or wait for the June and July-August issues of Gather to arrive in the mail (the July–August issue should arrive in mid-June).