Different is good

You're the biggest kid in your class, and everyone picks on you. A friend eats dinner at your house and says your mom's cooking is gross.

Both times, you want to yell: "Just because we're different from you doesn't mean we're bad!"

Jesus would understand doing things differently. Sometimes -- like in this week's Gospel (Luke 9:11-17) -- He had different answers to problems than anyone else!

Jesus had taught a crowd of 5,000 people all day, and it was getting late. "Tell them to go home and eat," the Apostles told Jesus. He answered, "Feed them yourselves." But all they had were five loaves of bread and two small fish! Jesus took the food, blessed it and gave it to the crowd -- and suddenly, there was enough for everyone! Every person ate their fill, and there were even 12 baskets of leftovers.

Lots of times, Jesus did things differently from other people. In the Gospel story, the Apostles want the crowd to go home, but Jesus wants them to stay. Then the Apostles think they can't feed everyone -- but Jesus does! The Apostles weren't bad; Jesus just had a different answer to the problem than they did.

It's easy to make fun of people who are different, whether it's the biggest kid in class or the one who eats food you don't like. But Jesus taught us that being different can be good.

If the Apostles had had their way, the people Jesus taught would have walked home in the dark to eat whatever food they had. But by trusting Jesus' different idea, they all had a feast!

When you're teasing someone or getting teased for being different, remember the story of Jesus. He wouldn't care if you're big or small -- and He'd like Polish food just as much as spaghetti!

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK: Jesus, help me remember that being different is a GOOD thing! Amen.

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