The Hungry Ten Thousand

A Children's Homily on Matthew 14:13-21 The Feeding of the Five Thousand
Godly Play style

First we’ll put down a place for the story to happen. This is a wild and a far-away place!

(Spread out the round green circle)

Once there was someone who just loved to feed people.

Sometimes he fed them with words, sometimes he fed them with love, many times he healed them of sicknes, and sometimes he fed them with food!

Now this man was someone who said such wonderful things, and did such amazing things that people followed him wherever he went. His name, as you may have guessed, was Jesus.

(Lift up the Jesus figure)

One time many many people had followed Jesus all the way to a far away, wild place. This was a place with no food in the neighborhood. In fact, this was a place with no neighborhood! But still the people wanted to stay with Jesus.

(Put a few figures on the green circle)

Thwo of Jesus’ frinds were concerned and they said to him,

(Lift up two “friends”)

“Teacher.” (this is what they sometimes called him) There is no food here, this is a far away wild place and it’s getting dark. Don’t you think you should send the people away so they can buy food for themselves and their families? (there were children there too)

The man who loved to feed people said, “They don’t have to go away- YOU give them something to eat.”

His friends were very surprised by this. They said,

(Lift up empty hands, then get loaf of bread and the two fish)

“We have nothing to eat- nothing at all! Jesus looked at them and then they said, “Well, we DO have a little- five loaves and two fish- but that’s only enough for us!”

(Place bread and fish on the green circle)

Jesus said to them, “Bring them here to me.”

(Hold bread and fish and lift them and put them back down on the circle)

Then he told the crowd to sit down in that wild place, and he took all the loaves and both of the fish and he looked up to heaven and he blessed them and broke them, and he gave them all to his friends and his friends gave them to all the people.

(Take basket of goldfish crackers and give three goldfish to each child)

Everyone was able to eat and everybody was all full when they finished.

And the most amazing thing was that after everyone had eaten, still there were twelve baskets full of broken bread.

(Show the basket full of goldfish)

Now on that day, whoever counted the people forgot to count the women and children. So we only know that there were five thousand men.

(Make the sign of the five fingers)

But if they had counted women and children too, there might have been 10,000 people

(Make the sign of ten fingers)

or even more who were all fed all they wanted with more left over on that wonderful day.

Now I wonder what was your favorite part of the story?
I wonder what was the most important art f the story?
I wonder who you were in the story?