When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist,

he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.

The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns.

When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,

his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.

When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said,

“This is a deserted place and it is already late;

dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages

and buy food for themselves.”

He said to them, “There is no need for them to go away;

give them some food yourselves.”

But they said to him,

“Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.”

Then he said, “Bring them here to me.”

Matthew 14:13-21

We followed you into your grief
when John the Baptist died,
but not to offer you relief:
For our own needs we cried.

And we who'd gathered at the shore
to hear him call us back,
we hungered then for something more
and followed in your tracks.

Although you sought a place to mourn,
we dogged your weary feet
and begged you'd not leave us forlorn:
You gave us bread to eat.

But not the bread of village shops
or new loaves for a guest;
what scraps we had, you took them all
and gave them to us, blessed.

No meagre crumbs to tide us o'er
or teach us how to fast,
but all our hunger filled and more,
as if all wants were past!

So John decreased and you increased,
and in that desert place,
you hosted his memorial feast
and fed us by your grace.