EDITOR'S NOTE: On Oct. 23, 2021, I was ordained as a minister of word and sacrament in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and installed as pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. I also served the same church for four years from October 2017 to October 2021 a synodically authorized minister. The journey together these past four years has been an amazing one, full of learning, growing and a deepening of my theological mind. This sermon took place on Aug. 9, 2023.
This week's gospel: Matthew 14:13-21
Feeding the Five Thousand
13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. 15 When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 17 They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And all ate and were filled, and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
The message:
I’m convinced that much of the world’s division and conflict is a result of our human perception of the scarcity of things in this world.
I’m not talking about the expensive luxury goods known and available to only a percentage of the world’s richest people.
I’m talking about the very basics, for which there truly is an imbalance around much of the world.
Such as the perceived scarcity of land, the perceived scarcity of freshwater, the perceived scarcity of enough food, of clean air, etc.
Now, it’s certainly true that in some parts of the world these things aren’t plentiful. … Even here in the U.S. we see kids going hungry, rivers and lakes running dry and the vast majority of land being owned by a small percentage of people.
But, if we were to take a more global look at all of the resources available to us, we’d find that there are food resources enough that people wouldn’t have to die from hunger, that there are medicines enough to cure the world’s ill, and that there is enough fresh water so that none would have to thirst and plenty.
But, there’s a hitch. … When it comes to us messy humans, isn’t there always a hitch?
You see, if you look around this great big earthly creation, God created enough. … Enough of all the necessities … if only we as humans could learn to share
If only we as humans could learn to be equitable with all of the nations … if only we as humans acted as one, big body of Christ in cooperation with each other … rather than shortsighted and greedy humans who are out to take care of their own first.
The conflict and division comes from our perceived scarcity of all important things. … Can you see it? Can you feel it? … Look at the root of any human division, and it centers on the division of resources.
However, tonight’s gospel contains a message so counter to what this earthly kingdom tells us that it makes the parable seem supernatural, an unbelievable tale told to emphasize Jesus’ goodness.
In fact, I think we far too often dismiss this particular parable as a feel good story. … Kind of in the sense of the miracle at the wedding at Cana.
Oh how cute, look at that: Jesus took five loaves of bread and two fish and fed the masses. Some 5,000 plus if we count women and children, as we learn in other versions of this parable.
But that’s not what this parable is about in the least.
Fundamentally, this parable is a story about God’s abundance.
And maybe even more importantly, this parable is a foreshadowing of the Last Supper that will come later in the Gospel of Matthew.
So, let’s unpack both a little …
Remember the context of the problem here mentioned in the gospel?
A large mass of people had followed Jesus out of the city to find him where he was in the wilderness, then evening descended. And they found themselves in the middle of nowhere, with thousands of people without food.
Think about it. This was a Middle Eastern desert wilderness. … It wasn’t like Jesus could call up DoorDash to save the day.
No, there was a real problem here. There was no food, likely little water. … And the disciples were rightfully concerned about what they were going to do.
So they begged Jesus to do the only thing they could think of … send the people away. Give them a chance to go back to town to find food before night sets in.
It seems a very natural human response. … After all, I suspect the disciples were probably as susceptible to seeing scarcity as we are still today.
“Jesus, we have nothing here but five loaves and the two fish,” they say. … Just as, I think, we’d say the same thing in a similar situation.
But what is Jesus’ answer back to the doubting disciples? … “Bring the bread and fish to me.” … And afterward, he tells the disciples to go forth and feed the people themselves. … And miraculously everyone was fed until they were full, and there were still leftovers for folks to take home in Tupperware.
Twelve baskets of leftovers! … An amazing abundance provided by Jesus. … No scarcity in sight. No one needed to worry how in the world that all would be fed! … No need for division or greed or selfishness.
“And all ate and were filled.”
Faith Family … that is the miracle of Jesus. No one goes hungry. All will be filled. But as his disciples we need to trust in him to deliver, and stop sending people away.
There is an abundance of all of life’s necessities for each and every single person … if only we can trust in Jesus and let go of our own selfish desires.
All get fed, no one goes hungry. … We just need to trust in God’s abundance.
Now, let’s return to the second reason this parable is so important: The foreshadowing of the Last Supper.
Tell me if this sounds vaguely familiar to you: “Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.”
Does that remind you of something that we hear fairly regularly here at church?
You know … “On the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus Christ, took bread, gave thanks and broke it, giving it to the disciples saying, ‘Take and eat, this is my body given for you.’”
Very, very similar isn’t it? … But what does it all mean?
Well, just as in this parable, when Jesus miraculously creates enough to eat, all are fed … regardless of who they are. … Men, women, children. … no division; no one left out.
Just as Jesus does when we partake of communion here at Faith. Jesus miraculously creates enough to eat, all are fed … regardless of who they are.
All get the eucharist, the body of Christ … and they will be filled. … Men, women, children. … no division; no one left out.
What the disciples can’t possibly understand in this moment is that Jesus is preparing them for the coming of the Last Supper, when Jesus will tell the disciples that it is again their turn to go and feed the masses.
Jesus knows he won’t be here in a physical body for long, and so he has to build up the confidence of the disciples. He needs them confident in their ability to feed the figurative 5,000 when he’s no longer around.
Not only in this moment in the parable, but later … after Jesus is no longer with them.
Who knows? … Maybe Jesus is using this moment as a training run for the disciples who eventually will take over the work of evangelizing on behalf of Jesus. … Maybe this is a chance for the disciples to learn the important lesson about not sending away the masses, that they too can feed them all. … Not just Jesus.
So, what does this mean for us, Faith Family? … Where do we fit into this parable?
Well, can’t we be a lot like the disciples at times? … When our own earthly worries get in the way of sharing God’s abundance?
How often is our first instinct to push people away when it comes to our own resources? … Or to push the responsibility of feeding the 5,000 back on Jesus?
But this parable is designed to help us understand that we are both fully capable of sharing the Good News on Jesus’ behalf … in other words, not sending the people away.
And, secondly, that when it comes to God, there is absolutely always enough … enough of everything … to go around if we simply just trust in God’s abundance.
And that is the Good News on this Wednesday, Aug. 9 … the 10th week after Pentecost. … Amen.
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