After this Jesus went to
the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called
the Sea of Tiberius. A large crowd kept following
him, because they saw the signs that he was doing
for the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat
down there with his disciples. Now the Passover,
the festival of the Jews, was near.
When he looked up and saw
a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to
Phillip, "Where are we to buy bread for these
people to eat?" He said this to test him, for he
himself knew what he was going to do. Phillip
answered him, "Six months wages would not buy
enough bread for each of them to get a little.
One of his disciples,
Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, There
is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two
fish. But what are they among so many people?"
Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there
was a great deal of grass in the place; so they
sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus
took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he
distributed them to those who were seated; so also
the fish, as much as they wanted.
When they were satisfied,
he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments
left over, so that nothing may be lost." So they
gathered them up, and from the fragments of the
five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten,
they filled twelve baskets. When the people saw
the sign that he had done, they began to say,
"This is indeed the prophet who is to come into
the world."
When Jesus realized that
they were about to come and take him by force to
make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain
by himself. When evening came, his disciples went
down to the sea, got into a boat and started
across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and
Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became
rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they
had rowed about three or four miles, they saw
Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat,
and they were terrified. But he said to them, "It
is I; do not be afraid." Then they wanted to take
him into the boat, and immediately the boat
reached the land toward which they were going. The
Gospel of the Lord
In this morning's Gospel
lesson we are challenged by the immense demand for
resources and resourcefulness that Jesus places on
his disciples when he asks them: "Where are we to
buy bread for these people to eat?" Which, of any
of us could even imagine feeding five thousand
people even if we were given an entire week to
plan a simple meal like bread and fish?? Supplying
such a meal would be an overwhelming task for most
of us. And yet, John's Gospel presents Jesus'
demand of his disciples as a direct challenge to
their physical, mental and spiritual abilities and
today that challenge is effectively passed on to
us . . . .
What are the impossible
tasks that face you and I in our lives and in the
greater needs of the human family and even of all
of God's creation?? Whatever these needs are, they
are our equivalent of the 5000 followers of Jesus
who are hungering and weary after seeking the Lord
for healing and deliverance without regard to
their physical estate.
Of course, for the
disciples as well as for us when we are faced with
a mountain of a problem (like feeding 5000 people)
-- we are more likely to react to the
impossibility of such a request rather than
approach the matter with a reasonable assurance
that we might accomplish the will of Jesus. Like
Phillip in the narrative, (who is a realist), as
he points out to Jesus that "Six months' wages
would not buy enough bread for each of them to get
[even] a little bit of food!" We also are prone to
becoming overwhelmed by the tasks that are
demanded of us by a hungering world that is filled
with injustices, wars, and calamities.
How can any of us, whether
single or united in a coalition meet the demands
of the crowds who cry out for healing and health
and food in today's modern world? In Phillip's
mind and in ours, it is impossible to feed the
masses with the little resources we personally
have to give.
But before we move on to
the more optimistic view of Andrew who notices the
boy with the bread and fish, let us consider for a
moment, Jesus' ingenious subtlety as he draws his
disciples attention to the needs of the masses.
By asking the question of
Phillip, "Where shall we obtain bread?" Jesus
immediately had the attention of the whole band of
disciples. By asking "WHERE" rather than "Why
don't you go get some bread?" Jesus has set up a
non-threatening condition. And he allows his
disciples to think about and consider how they
might go about providing food for the multitude --
by what means will they feed this great crowd?
Jesus has provoked his disciples to become
conscious of the estate of the people.
By directing the disciples
to be concerned for the needs of the crowd --
Jesus transfers some of the healing power of God
from himself -- even to his followers-- YOU and I!
And by this example of asking the simple question
about "Where bread might be obtained?" Jesus has
now caught our attention and has invited us to
consider "Where it is" that we might play a part
in God's healing and Sustaining Actions in the
world. This, we know, is the work of the Kingdom
of God.
After Phillip responds
with his practical observation -- "Not even six
months' wages would buy a little bit of food for
all of these!" We then hear the voice of
possibility from brother ANDREW . . .
"There is a boy HERE who
has five barley loaves and two fish."
I like Andrew, he is an
optimist! We might say that he thinks outside of
the box. At the very least he is onto something! A
boy is present with Fish and Bread . . . . What
could this mean??? Andrew recognizes that there is
"POTENTIAL" right there in their midst. And so the
lunch of a child becomes the seed that will
provide for a miracle.
Andrew is noting the key
insight . . . It's not about "what we don't have"
nor is it about "how much it will cost?" but it's
about what we do have and our willingness to offer
ourselves and our possessions (signs of his
gracious love!) back up to God.
I once knew a boy named
Andrew who, with his red hair and consistent smile
and joking (sometimes course language!) always
could see a solution to every problem, especially
if it involved something mechanical! Of course, as
I came of driving age I would seek out Andrew to
help me find a suitable vehicle for driving around
and operating my small business in farming and
greenhouse growing.
My friend Andrew did not
disappoint me! Where most of us would recognize an
abandoned truck sitting in some overgrown
underbrush with broken windows and some flat tires
as a piece of worthless Junk, Andrew saw through
the rust and broken glass that this old truck was
something that could be made to run and still had
useful value! And so it was that I ventured up to
a farmstead, probably not too many miles from
here, with Andrew to purchase an old GMC Bread
Truck that was parked behind the corn crib down on
the farm. To my amazement, when Andrew produced
some jumper cables and a can of starting fluid the
old engine sprang to life!! and suddenly the
cracks in the windshield and the flat tires did
not seem like such barriers to getting the old
truck back on the road again!
My friend ANDREW, by his
mechanical genius and diplomatic skills, also kept
my father convinced that the little blue Plymoth
Valiant that he drove to the office each day was
constantly worth fixing in spite of the unusual
noises, large quantities of oil, and expensive
repair charges that Andrew and his brother
collected from Dad. Like I said, Andrew was an
Optimist!! Today Andrew is a professional
helicopter pilot, so I am sure his skills are
perfected and he is faithful and diligent in his
task.
And so we return to this
critical moment in John's Gospel as Jesus is
expectantly observing his disciples' levels of
creativity and degrees of faith. Looking more
intently at the scene, it seems that John's Gospel
has captured a charged moment in discipleship
training. Jesus is watching and listening for his
disciples to reach beyond themselves -- to
exercise their faith. And for an instant it
appears that Andrew has caught on to something --
the child with the five loaves and the two fish.
Here is the central idea,
God's Kingdom can be embraced in the hands of an
innocent child. IN the story the child represents
the degree of powerlessness that is experienced by
followers of Jesus in the face of a power
pervasive society. The boy's offering of bread and
fish are so humble and innocent, and yet they
powerfully represent the meaning of giving all
that one is able to give. Nothing more is required
when what we give is given in the purity of our
hearts.
Returning to the narrative
we notice that Andrew's optimism was short lived
as he kind of takes back his impulsive faithful
response. Perhaps in Andrew's mind he re-thought
about what Phillip had said, "Such a huge crowd --
five loaves, two fish -- this is a ridiculous
notion!" To even imagine that they could carry
enough food for all these people was bordering on
absurdity. And so it is with us, in our human
nature, that we are prone to criticize and
discount others around us (and even ourselves)
when a hopeful vision is presented of what "could
be" or what "could happen" if everyone would
practice charity with their neighbors, or pray for
peace three times a day or recycle all of the
possible materials that can be reclaimed or reused
or up our giving to the church by 10% or buy some
flowers for your wife without a reason!
Who knows what could
happen if we increased our faith and faithfulness
unto God and unto one another?!
By the Power of Jesus, the
least likely outcome turns into a miracle -- the
people are fed!
A child with practically
nothing becomes the means to provide a meal for
all.
Perhaps you are facing
great difficulties and trials in your life or in
the life of this congregation or of this community
or of your school system and your feeling hopeless
and helpless as do so many of the people of the
world who are poor in health or who do not have an
abundance of the world's goods or who are poor in
spirit. But maybe "out of the blue" a Notion
Comes. A notion like that which came to Andrew
when he noticed the boy standing beside him in the
crowd holding a few loaves of barley bread and a
couple of fish. And the notion that Andrew had . .
. Or the "notion" that you have . . . grabs a hold
of you and by faith you feel as though you possess
some answers to life's problems even as absurd as
it may seem. These can be workings of the Spirit
in our lives! We need to pay attention to the ways
in which Jesus may be challenging, prompting, and
inspiring us, by the Holy Spirit, to go out and
feed and teach and CARRY the Good News to our
neighbors and to the world.
Because it is by humble
beginnings that Christ will work through us to
bring about God's kingdom in our midst.
We are merely asked to act
and to give from what God has given us in the
various seasons of our lives. Luther talked about
giving from our poverty and from our plenty if we
have been so blessed. I was intrigued by the Old
Testament lesson (II Kings 4:42-44) where the
twenty loaves given by the man from Baal-Shalishah,
provided sustenance for the one hundred men, and I
wondered if this was not so much a miracle of
multiplication as it might have been the miracle
of sharing the limited bread amongst so many
hungry men. Luther says, "Our Lord God does not
bestow more on one than on another only to have us
misuse it for purposes of arrogance and luxury,
but to have us more willingly help others, who
need it, and to save for them and for us." Sound
advice!
Thanks be to God who
blesses us beyond what we can possibly imagine.
May our giving and receiving be done with humility
and may we be led by the Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit to act on our notions about what can be
done and what can be used of God to alleviate
human suffering and bring about conditions of
flourishing for all. Amen.
May the peace of Christ
fill us to overflowing by his word and presence in
Eucharist.
Amen