Self Denial reflection 2: Before your throne
Self Denial reflection 2: Before your throne
2 March 2022
This year’s Self Denial Appeal theme, ‘The Ripple Effect’, reminds us that small actions taken in Christ’s name can become big, life-transforming outcomes for the Kingdom of God.
The Self Denial Appeal started in 1886 when General William Booth called Salvationists to give sacrificially and to deny themselves so that they could offer God’s love to a hurting world.
In this quiet moment, still, before your throne,
Conscious of your presence, knowing I am known.
In this quiet moment, set my spirit free.
In this quiet moment, make a better me!
- John Gowans -
Mark 6:31-44
31 Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat. 32 So they left by boat for a quiet place, where they could be alone. 33 But many people recognised them and saw them leaving, and people from many towns ran ahead along the shore and got there ahead of them. 34 Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. 35 Late in the afternoon his disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. 36 Send the crowds away so they can go to the nearby farms and villages and buy something to eat.” 37 But Jesus said, “You feed them.” “With what?” they asked. “We’d have to work for months to earn enough money to buy food for all these people!” 38 “How much bread do you have?” he asked. “Go and find out.” They came back and reported, “We have five loaves of bread and two fish.” 39 Then Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of fifty or a hundred. 41 Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward Heaven and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. He also divided the fish for everyone to share. 42 They all ate as much as they wanted, 43 and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftover bread and fish. 44 A total of 5000 men and their families were fed.
Reflection
Last week we thought about the cross, the source of the Gospel’s amazing ripple effect. This week focuses on three essentials to witness its continued outward momentum – compassion, faith, and action. There is so much to learn from Jesus in this reading of the miraculous feeding of the 5000.
Most people would feel annoyed if a mass of people invaded their privacy and rest time. Instead, all Jesus felt was compassion. He was moved to the depths of his being (verses 32-34). “Sheep without a shepherd” is a telling figure of speech. It may come to mind when we reflect on how people reacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some were aimless, having no idea of the way forward. Some could not find the spiritual nourishment needed to sustain them through this challenging period. Others felt defenceless against the impact of the virus. Being like Jesus means that we will be moved with compassion whenever we encounter physical or spiritual needs.
However, Jesus did not stop at the point of feeling sorry for the crowd. Late in the afternoon, the disciples came to the Lord with their concerns. The people were hungry. The disciples’ solution was to send them away to the farms and villages to buy food. Jesus’ solution was, “You feed them.” Immediately their minds were full of the immensity of the task and the smallness of their resources (verses 37 and 38).
Jesus expects us to do more than assess the need. This is where faith and action must be added to compassion. This was a life-changing lesson for the disciples. God took the little they offered him and miraculously multiplied it to feed a multitude. Faith and action were needed because the Lord immediately involved the disciples in organising the crowd to sit on the ground in groups of 50 and 100 (verse 39). They then had the joy of distributing the abundant supply of loaves and fish to the hungry people. The energy that keeps the ripple effect expanding is first an awareness of need, then compassion, faith, and action.
When we bring to the Lord our heartfelt concern about the ever-increasing needs and the limited resources and poverty of our overseas missionary territories, he still says to us, “You do something about it.” Decide in faith to give sacrificially to the Self Denial Appeal and look for the miraculous ripple effect that follows.
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