When Jesus got the news, he slipped
away by boat to an out-of-the-way place by himself. Unsuccessfully - someone
saw him and word got around. Soon a lot of people from nearby villages walked
around the lake to where he was. When he saw them coming, he was overcome with
pity and healed their sick. Toward evening the disciples approached him. “We’re
out in the country and it’s getting late. Dismiss the people so they can go to
the villages and get some supper.” Jesus
said, “There is no need to dismiss them. You give them supper.” “All
we have are five loaves of bread and two fish,” they said. Jesus said, “Bring
them here.” Then he had the people sit on the grass. He took the five loaves
and two fish, lifted his face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the
bread to the disciples. The disciples then gave the food to the congregation.
They all ate their fill. They gathered twelve baskets of leftovers. About five
thousand were fed.
********************************************************************
“And where is the little boy?” you ask. Well, that’s John’s
version of this story. It’s interesting how we retain one particular version of
a story, because it appeals to us – and forget that there are other versions,
and forget that the Gospels are not all the same.
So today we’re working with Matthew’s version, which does
not have a child sharing food, but only the disciples who have brought a little
with them. The disciples, looking at what they have, realize there’s only
enough for them. Jesus turns it into an object lesson of who is responsible for
whom.
The crowds first appear after
Jesus has gone among the people, teaching them and curing them of their
illnesses. The crowds begin to follow him, listening as he speaks. They
follow him everywhere, and he continually has compassion for them, and teaches
them and cures their ills. Jesus sees them as harassed and helpless, like
sheep without a shepherd, and he takes responsibility for them, becoming
their shepherd. He teaches them, and continues to heal their sick. Most
of the time they follow him of their own accord. Sometimes Jesus sends
them away, but they always return. They joyously welcome him to Jerusalem,
and then they come after him with swords and clubs at
Gethsemane. Persuaded by the chief priests, they demand that Barabbas be
released, and that Jesus be crucified. They have their moments of great
faith, and they have their moments of great doubt and fear. They suffer,
and they rejoice.
Jesus had his followers at his disposal, and Matthew tells
us a crowd of about five thousand men. Do we seriously believe there were five
thousand men, but no women and children? – so let say at least ten thousand if
not more. Surely some of the men would have funds. The disciples, and the women
who travelled with them, had money. But in this story Jesus turns the crowd
into the ‘key player’.
During Jesus’ time, barley was the economy grade food of the
day. Not the stuff that would be considered top‑shelf. A humble food, not very
expensive. The bread of the people would be coarse, heavy stuff for everyday
use. The terms loaves might also be misleading, suggesting something like our
loaves of bread. I think it was much more likely to have been like pita bread
or pancakes.
I am sure the disciples knew, as Jesus did, that there were
people there who had plenty of food. –
and I can’t help but think of Paul’s letters to the Corinthians, where he
chastises the house churches and the community meals; the wealthy would hold aside their own food,
or eat first before arriving, rather than sharing, because their food was
better than that of the poorer people
Something else sticks out, too. Here’s a crowd of many
adults, yet none of them, including the disciples, seems to be able to figure
out how to get these people fed. Jesus does. When the disciples says “send them
home before it gets dark so they can eat”. Jesus says – “No, you feed them.”
Some will say Jesus performed a miracle that day. I am inclined
to say the crowd performed the miracle. Jesus simply offered everything there
was, in faith. The people around him realised there was in fact a solution.
Some of them, wealthier people who followed Jesus, had brought food. So had some
of the poorer, - rough barley loaves made from the cheapest flour, and a couple
of small fish. – yet when all the food was shared, there was more than enough.
That was the true miracle. Jesus made the disciples use their heads.
I heard a comment this week, that the problem in the world
isn’t poverty, it’s wealth. Sure, many wealthy people give generously - but if
we took all the available wealth in the world what would happen. Everyone would
have enough food; everyone would have shelter, education, medical care. Aids
and cancer research would be funded for years to come. Hospitals would not
struggle for funding, and would be able to attract the doctors and staff they
need. What does it mean to “feed the crowd.”?
Jesus’ comment “You feed them” refers to more than food.
Everywhere Jesus goes, people follow – to hear his words, to be healed, to be
fed – not just the physical feeding – but a spiritual feeding as well. I find
myself comparing this model to ministry today. We mourn the closing of
churches, and yet I’ve known churches which took the feeding of people –
physically as well as spiritually – as a community mission, and those
congregations showed the result; I’ve known congregations which felt that all
the feeding should be done by the minister, and that they had no responsibility
for anything more than a bit of charity, and getting enough money to keep the
doors open. “The minister is responsible for pastoral care, not the
congregation.” was the comment. Yet when the disciples would palm off
responsibility elsewhere, Jesus says “No, YOU feed them.” YOU do it. This is
YOUR role.
Can you hear another time those words come up? Jesus asks
Peter “Do you love me?” and Peter responds “Lord, you know I love you.” Jesus
says to him “Then feed my sheep. Look after my lambs.” We have to take our
place and our responsibility in the crowd. We have to find all the possible
ways to feed the people who come looking for both kinds of food. Jesus did that
for the crowd, pointed out to the disciples that it was their responsibility
too – and the crowd became responsible for each other – and miraculously, there
was enough food. Jesus taught, preached, and healed – meeting spiritual needs –
and said to the disciples “You feed them as well.”
They seem so simple, these stories of Jesus. But they aren’t.
Jesus always had a teaching moment – this is one of them. May it be so.
Sources:
1.
Loaves
and Fishes – Sermon Based on Matthew 14:13-21 by Rev. Fran Ota
2.
Taking Our Place in the Crowd Sermon based on Matthew
14:13-21 by Rev. Karen A. Goltz
No comments:
Post a Comment