The Life of Jesus Advent Calendar - Day 12: Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

Introduction

Oh, what generosity and grace from God we see in Luke 9:10–17. First, we’re told that Jesus welcomed the crowds. He didn’t view them as an interruption or an inconvenience, but as people to be taught, loved, and healed. Then, when the disciples quite sensibly suggested sending everyone away to find food, Jesus turned the moment into a lesson about God's generosity, love and care. He insisted the people stay, and he invited the disciples to take part in caring for them.

It wasn’t a small group either: five thousand men, not counting all the women and children who would have been there as well. Yet with just five loaves and two fish, Jesus revealed the overflowing generosity of God. Everyone ate, everyone was satisfied, and there were still twelve baskets of leftovers gathered up. It’s a wonderful reminder that God doesn’t simply give us enough; he delights in giving us more than we could ever ask for.

Assembling your stocking

The templates for the bread and fish are quite small, so you might find it easier to hold your template onto a small piece of felt, and cut around it, rather than trying to draw around the template itself. I chose to keep five loaves and two fish, but you could easily make more if you would like to reflect the abundance provision of God in this passage.

I chose to cut one loaf of bread in half and stitch the two pieces as though Jesus has just broken the loaf in half. The fish I tuck into the baskets of the two disciples, along with a loaf each. The other two loaves I gave to two of the crowds, but again, you divide things up however you would like!

The baskets are the water vessels from stockings 9 and 10. If you're struggling to fit your bread and fish into the basket, feel free to trim them down as you need.

The stocking is pretty straightforward to stitch together once you've worked out how you're placing everything.

You can watch a brief video of this stocking being assembled on my Facebook or Instagram.

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