MCC St. Louis - Check Us Out!
Get your own, Free HomepageSermon writing is always an adventure. When I wrote this sermon I was plagued by an unexpected question, "What is the proper plural of fish?" The answer my brothers and sisters is "fish" unless, of course, one is talking about two or more species of fish then it is fishes. Now I understand "joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea." Since we have that question is cleared up...
The story of the feeding of five thousand has always amazed and intrigued me. Whaat exactly happened that day? Did Jesus multiply the five leaves and two fish given to him by a child? Some scholars think that Jesus was testing the disciples to see if they would know what to do to tend to the hungry crowds. I am not talking about hunger here in only a physical sense. We hunger for love, acceptance, security, joy and peace. Were they in touch with their God-given power to feed the hungry? Did the disciples know that through them God could accomplish the impossible? Do we know that through us God can accomplish the impossible?
Philip was overwhelmed by the idea of having to come up with food for five thousand people. He simply saw a task that he believed could not be done. He had forgotten the power that God had given him to surmount impossible odds. I, too, have forgotten my source of power, God at work through me, sometimes. When I lived in New York I was committed to doing clothing drives for the poor and homeless of the city. There were moments when I was carting clothing and schlepping with heavy bags when I asked myself if giving them clean clothes really made a difference. After all, they were still homeless and soon the clean clothes would be soiled and torn. Nothing really changed for the people who received them or did it?
I got to know several homeless folks in my neighborhood because I would get coats for them in the winter from friends at the seminary. I worked at a soup kitchen my first year of seminary. I did clothing drives for the people that ate there. Every year a few homeless people freeze to death on the New York City streets. My friend, Joy, came to visit from New Jersey and decided to pitch in to help the homeless. She returned to where she worked at AT&T and made a flier advertising a drive for coats. Joy came into the city three weeks later with sixty winter coats. Those sixty people to the best of my knowledge did not freeze to death. It made a difference for them. Joy told me that the experience of seeing the soup kitchen and doing a coat drive changed her too. She realized that she could make a difference in people's lives just by taking an action.
Andrew took an action when Philip failed. Andrew brought the boy to Jesus. He only had five leaves of barley bread and two fish. Barley bread was a food eaten by the poor of Jesus' day. Poor people giving all they have to God is a theme in the gospels. Andrew showed initiative in trying to find some resources to meet the need of the people. Andrew thought small. At least a few hungry people will have a little to eat. When we think small we minimize our own resources and we stifle the capacity for God to work in our lives. God uses up as much space as we make for God. We have so much more strength and creativity than we imagine if we but open ourselves for God to give it to us. The boy willingly gives his loaves and fish to Jesus. He doesn't hold back, worried about being hungry but boldly trusts that he will have enough.
Some of the most dreaded words a pastor can hear are "We have never done it that way before." Thinking small makes a church small. Some folks look at new ideas and say to themselves, "It won't work." Others look at the idea and say, "Let's give it a try." From everything I can see this church is excited and fired up about trying new ways of doing things. It is a growing and dynamic church, in touch with the vitality and passion of the spirit of Christ.
Imagine the scene. Five thousand people gathered to see Jesus because they had heard about his miraculous healings. Jesus had to do something. There was a need that was going unmet. People were hungry. It is not like he could say, "Phil and Andy, pass the basket and collect enough denarii to go purchase five thousand happy meals. Take my camel." This is a pre-fast food situation.
Some scholars theorize that Jesus, by taking the bread and fish and blessing it, encouraged others to go into their pockets and bags and share the food they had for their day's journey. Jesus showed the disciples that through our collective efforts we can accomplish things that seem impossible. I confess that my initial reaction to this theory is that it ruins the miracle. If we can explain the phenomena does it make it any less of a miracle? Through science we can explain the operations of the human body but is it any less wonderous a creation?
Jesus insists that the disciples be the ones to actually feed the crowds. Jesus is getting them to look at their own resources. When we give all that we have to give to God, it's power is multiplied by God and transformed into something that far exceeds our own power for healing and wholeness. When we give our all to God we must really let go of results. God always gives us what we need and sometimes what we want.
When my mother was dying of cancer my cousin told her that she would be healed because he had been praying for her. He was upset when she died and thought that God had abandoned her. Jack had given the problem of her illness to God and asked for her healing. He failed to recognize that for her healing meant dying . God's solution to her illness was a permanent healing in that she is free of the body that had been destroyed by cancer. God's solution did not look like Jack's solution. Faith is accepting a solution that we don't fully understand.
When we do our part and give God all that we have it is never taken away from us. Whatever we give is multiplied and returned to us. Five leaves and two fish fed five thousand people and there were twelve baskets of food left over. One basket for each disciple, one basket for each one who was called to feed the people. God multiplies our gifts and supplies all that we need. We have more than enough if look with our hearts and not our eyes.
Jesus goes on to tell the disciples that he is the bread of life in John 7. There is no formal communion celebration in John only this story of the feeding of the five thousand that happens after Jesus blesses the food. Rest assured that there is always enough Jesus to go around. No one who eats of the bread of life will go away hungry. Jesus tells the disciples to gather up what is left over because nothing should be wasted. God wastes nothing. When we give our whole selves to God then God uses all of us.
People were healed by touching the hem of Jesus' cloak. There is no part of you that God can't use. No part of you that is unworthy or untouched by the power of God. One of my favorite hymns says it this way, "Something beautiful, something good. All my confusion you understood, all I had to offer you was brokenness and strife but you made something beautiful of my life." If we never give ourselves fully to God then we keep the power of God from transforming our brokenness into a healing power for others.
I am a recovering alcoholic. I haven't had a drink in over fourteen years through the grace of God. I had to surrender completely to God and admit that my own life was a mess. I came to God with a battered fish and a morsel of bread. Through the help of others who had stood before God and had seen their gifts multiplied I followed their example. I can tell you that today my basket overflows and there is more than enough for all who need food.
Progress is slow and it is one step at a time. A willingness to be open to the moving of God's healing spirit in your life is key to any happy and healthy growth. It means trying something new and trusting the results are in God's hands.
God's grace is sufficient for all that we need. When we walk in the truth of who we are as God's beloved children we know that God will make a way when the road seems to come to an end. I stand before you today as a woman who thought my life was over fourteen plus years ago when I had to give up the drink. The good news was that I was right. Life as I knew it was over. Today, I know that God carried me through those tough times so that I might be brought home to the joy and wonder of life as a sober person.
I have stayed sober through my mother dying and friends passing away. I have moved three times and had to find new support systems in new cities. There have been many challenges and trials. I have never had to pick up a drink because God is an abundant supplier of strength and grace. I claim the healing for myself and I know that I was there when the basket of bread and fish went by. I have eaten until I am full and the basket is heading back to Jesus.
Will you carry the basket back to Jesus? There are surely hungry that have yet to be fed. There is a basket with your name on it. Jesus knew that the disciples had the resources to feed the people. They must be ready to carry on after Jesus was gone. All that is broken can be made whole through the power of Christ that lives on in me and you. Go forth and know that for some people you will be the only Christ they see. Amen.
Get your own, Free Homepage