Unsung Heroes of the Bible: Children

October 19, 2025 homily on 2 Kings 5:1–14; John 6:1–14 by Pastor Galen

Helping Others

One of the greatest joys in life is helping other people. In fact, did you know that there are actually chemicals that are released in our brains when we do something nice for someone? When we help someone else, our brain releases dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins, which improve our mood, reduce our stress, and increase feelings of happiness, satisfaction, and pride. Additionally, helping others helps give us a sense of purpose and boosts our self-esteem. 

But often, we find ourselves facing a dilemma: We can’t help everyone who is in need. So, do we just keep what we have to ourselves, knowing that we can’t meet all of the needs in the world anyway? Or do we choose to help where we can, sharing what we have, even if it seems small, trusting that God can take our small acts of kindness and multiply them in ways far beyond what we could ever imagine?

This, I believe, was the dilemma that the two “unsung heroes of the Bible” that we’re going to look at this morning faced, and we’ll see how they responded in a few minutes.

But first, I want to tell you about a time when I was in need and someone was generous toward me.

A Teacher Who Shared Her Lunch with Me

When I was in Kindergarten, we had to bring lunch to school every day. My school did not have a cafeteria or school lunch program, and so every day my parents would pack a lunch for me in my little metal “Disney Express” lunch box that had a bright red train filled with Disney cartoon characters painted on it. And they would fill my matching thermos bottle with water and ice cubes and put it in my backpack for me to eat at lunchtime. I used to love that lunchbox, and of course, I loved lunch time and recess, which were two of my favorite “subjects” in school. 

But one day I either forgot my lunchbox, or I left it on the school bus and didn’t realize it. When lunchtime came, I ran to get my lunch from my backpack, but it was nowhere to be found. I don’t remember if I cried or ran to tell my teacher—but I do remember what happened next. And that is that the assistant teacher in the classroom, Mrs. Sandifer, offered to share her lunch with me. She had an egg salad sandwich, which she cut in half and shared with me along with half of everything else that was in her lunch. I don’t remember if I had ever had an egg salad sandwich before, but that sandwich was one of the best things I had ever eaten in my life, since I had fully expected to go hungry that day. And I remember being grateful for Mrs. Sandifer’s kindness and generosity in sharing her lunch with me that day.

Mrs. Sandifer could easily have reasoned to herself that she couldn’t possibly feed every hungry child in the world, or even every student who forgot their lunch at our school that day, so why bother? But she didn’t. She simply shared what she had. And even though we each only had half a sandwich and half of everything else, neither of us went hungry that day.

The Boy Who Shared His Lunch with Jesus

Mrs. Sandifer couldn’t feed every hungry child, but she could feed one, and that made all the difference to me that day. 

The same was true for the young boy in John 6. He knew he didn’t have enough to share with everyone in the crowd who had gathered to hear Jesus, but he offered what he had anyway, and God multiplied it beyond imagination. 

The story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 is found in all 4 Gospel accounts. In each of the accounts, Jesus was teaching a huge multitude of people — 5,000 men, plus women and children, and they were out in a deserted area where there was nowhere to buy food. In each of the accounts, Jesus took five loaves and two fish, and blessed it and broke it and shared it with everyone in the crowd. But the Gospel of John is the only Gospel that tells us where the bread and fish came from — that the bread and fish came from one little boy who generously offered his lunch.

Now, I would imagine that there were others in the crowd who also brought food with them. With 5,000 men, plus women and children in the crowd, it’s difficult for me to imagine that no one else in the crowd had any food. But perhaps when the disciples were asking around, everyone else stayed quiet, rationalizing to themselves that if they shared their food with such a large group of people, there wouldn’t be nearly enough for everyone. Why not just keep it for themselves, so that at least they wouldn’t go hungry?

But the little boy who shared his lunch with Jesus didn’t think this way. He was generous and selfless, and willingly gave what he had, even though it seemed small. And sure enough, Jesus took it and blessed it and broke it and shared it with everyone in the crowd, and the Bible tells us that everyone ate and was satisfied, and that when they gathered up the fragments of the food that was left over, there were twelve baskets full of food — way more than what they started with!

I often wonder how exactly this miracle happened, and what it would have been like to be there. When Jesus prayed and blessed the food, did the food all of a sudden multiply, and suddenly there were baskets overflowing with food? Or did Jesus divide up the food into itty-bitty little pieces, giving each disciple half a loaf of bread and a portion of fish, and every time they reached into the basket to grab food more appeared, and the baskets just never ran out?  Or, was everyone in the crowd so moved by the generosity of this little boy that when Jesus blessed and broke the loaves and fish they were all convicted of their selfishness and they too brought out the food that they had and shared their food with the people around them?

However it happened, Jesus certainly performed a miracle that day, and it all began with one little boy who refused to believe that there wasn’t enough to go around, and instead gave what he had for Jesus to bless and use. And with that, Jesus fed a multitude.

“Social Capital”

Sharing food or physical resources is just one of the many ways we can help others. Another important way is by sharing what social scientists call our “social capital” — our relationships and networks, the people we know and trust.

For example, if you know a plumber you can count on to do honest work at a fair price, that’s a form of social capital. Those who have lived in one place for a long time often take these connections for granted, but for new neighbors, that kind of information is invaluable.

I remember, for example, that when I first moved to Baltimore, I could not find a good mechanic. My car had a lot of problems, and every time I took it to the mechanic, not only couldn’t they figure out the cause of the problems, but they found a lot of other problems as well that were going to cost me a whole lot more, and I never knew whether what the mechanic was telling me was true or not.

But one day I was talking with a friend who told me about his auto mechanic who was located all the way on the other side of the city, but he said it was worthwhile making the trip because he was a mechanic who could always be trusted. He shared some of his social capital with me that day, and it made a lasting impact on my life.

Sometimes we’re hesitant to share our social capital with others. Perhaps because of some irrational fear that if we share our social capital with others then there will somehow be less available for us — when in actuality the opposite is usually true! 

Sometimes we’re hesitant to share recommendations with others because of previous times when it didn’t work out. I’ve had that happen too: I once recommended a contractor who’d always done great work for me, but for some reason, my friend had a bad experience and I always worried that they blamed me. It’s easy to let those experiences make us reluctant to help again.

But in 2 Kings 5, we meet someone who willingly shared her social capital: a young servant girl who helped a mighty commander.

The Servant Girl Who Helped a Commander

Normally, we’d expect a powerful commander to have more connections and influence than a servant. After all, this little Israelite servant girl had been forcibly taken far away from her homeland, and was forced to serve the wife of this military commander in the far-off country of Aram. What social capital could she possibly have?

But it turns out that the military commander, whose name was Naaman, suffered greatly from a terrible skin disease called leprosy. We can imagine that Naaman must have gone to every doctor and healer he could find. He probably tried every home remedy, every oil, every herb that anyone recommended. Maybe he visited the most respected physicians in the region, consulted priests, or sought out traveling healers who claimed to have special cures but no one could heal him. He had plenty of money and resources at his disposal, and yet he still didn’t know anyone who could help him.

But that’s when his wife’s servant girl spoke up, and shared that there was a prophet in her home country of Israel who could certainly cure Naaman of his disease. Her recommendation was not selfishly motivated – from what we can tell, she did not expect to receive any sort of reward or compensation for her recommendation; she simply saw someone who had a need, and connected him to the person she knew who could heal him. And for Naaman and his family, that connection made all the difference.

Conclusion

I know that most of us here today may feel like we don’t have a lot to give. The needs in our world are so great, and even the needs right here in our own community can feel overwhelming. Many of us are just trying to make ends meet, to provide for our own needs and the needs of our families. How could we ever begin to solve all the problems in the world?

But I hope the stories we’ve looked at this morning remind us that we’re not called to solve every problem in the world. We’re simply called to share the little bit we have—and to trust that when we take that small step of faith, God will not only provide for our needs, but will also multiply what we offer and use it in ways that we could never imagine.

Because the truth is, sometimes it’s the smallest acts of kindness that make the biggest difference. A kind word, a shared meal, a listening ear, an encouraging text message, a simple connection between two people—God can take even those small things and use them to change someone’s day, or maybe even change someone’s life.

So don’t ever think that what you have to offer is too small or too insignificant. The boy’s lunch was small. The servant girl’s words were simple. But when they gave what they had, God used it to work miracles. And God can do the same through us.

May God help us to be generous with all that we’ve been given—our time, our resources, our relationships, and our hearts. And may we find ways to share not only the tangible things, but also the love and grace and mercy that we ourselves have received from God—with a world that is longing to experience that same love and mercy.

Amen!