Dec. 8, 2021
20And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.
We know that at His birth, the angels sang praises, the shepherds came to see Him, and that the Wise men were already on the road to find Him and give Him gifts. He started drawing people to Him immediately at His birth.
In His earthly ministry, people of all nations – the folks that lived and worked or visited the areas in which He preached – were drawn to Him. Some came as curiosity seekers, some as truth seekers, some desperate for healing. Great crowds of people were drawn to Him; how? There were no cells phones, no internet, no television or radio so how are all these people drawn to Him? Word of mouth. Those that saw Him and listened to Him told their friends and family about Him. It’s easy enough to think of the word about Jesus traveling about but consider – the crowds became so big that they created a crush about Him, a throng, big enough that in some instances, the disciples feared for His physical safety that He might get crushed by the crowd.
That’s a lot of word of mouth advertising. Those folks who spread the stories of what Jesus was saying and doing must have spoken of little else to any and all that would listen. That’s what we’re supposed to be doing. We’re to be spreading the Good News of Jesus to any and all with whom we come into contact. Church outreach is not something the priest does – his job is to teach the people once they come; it is our job to bring people to the place where they can hear about Jesus, see how worship is done, learn about the Good News. “To tell of thy loving-kindness early in the morning, and of thy truth in the night season;” (Bonum est confiteri – page 27, Evening Prayer, BCP)
The Baby and the Man. Forward and back.
Words on the Word 