But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”

Mark 6: 33-37a (NIV)

He was sitting on his front porch when we drove by, a can of beer his only companion. We waved and announced who we were, and he motioned us to pull in and visit.

There were frayed lawn chairs beside him.  We sat carefully, concerned that the chairs would buckle or rip, though none of us were very hefty. Our host resembled the chairs: frayed and fragile, having seen many years and exposure to inclemencies of weather and of health. He was gracious, though I could see that he suffered.  There was a chemo port in his leg; he said nothing about it.  He was emaciated; his threadbare pants were cinched with a string.

He offered us drinks, but we declined.  He had been a childhood friend of one of us, and we enjoyed listening to them go back and forth, trading news of old neighbors and friends and the village where they’d grown up.

When finally we realized that we had to leave to be on time for a family gathering, I felt sad.  It was hard to leave this gracious man, knowing he lived alone.  There was a good chance we might be among his last visitors.

We said our farewells and headed back to the car.  I prayed silently, “Please help him, Lord.  Send someone to comfort and bless him, maybe tell him about you…”  

“You give him something to eat,”  I heard the words of Scripture come back to me.

“You please help him, Lord.  He doesn’t know me - I can’t go back to him after we’ve already said goodbye.  Please send your friends to him, Lord.”

“You give him something to eat.”

My heart beat in time with the rhythm of the words.

Feeling sheepish (“How do I know this is YOU, Lord?”), I backed out of the car.

“Where are you going?” My friends asked.

“Be right back,” I said.

Approaching the porch, I said, “Sir, you have been so gracious, I’d like to return the favor.  May I pray for you before we leave?”

“You give him something to eat…  You give him something to eat… You give him something to eat…”

His face lit up.  His beautiful face lit right up.

“I’d like that very much.  You go ahead and do that.”  The gracious host continued to put his guest at ease.

After I prayed a blessing over him, he looked at me.  (Trembling me.)

“I liked that very much,” he said.

Beverly