Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
2 Kings 4:42-44 Psalm 145:10-19 Ephesians 3:14-21 John 6:1-21
“There is a boy here who has 5 barley loaves and 2 fish. But what are they among so many people?” In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
It was October of 1967. I was 11 years old and I was helping with the preparations for the church’s annual meeting luncheon. I remember it vividly because the 1967 World Series was in full swing and it was the first year of my life where sports became an all-consuming emphasis for me. I was in the church’s kitchen which was in the basement. As I was getting silverware and cups ready to put on the tables, I remember the conversation of two women (whose faces I can see in my mind’s eye but whose names I can’t recall) were fretting about having sufficient food for the meeting. They rattled off the names of families that had signed up to bring various dishes and wondered what they’d do if non-registered people came to the meeting or if any of the folks who signed up to bring something inadvertently forgot. I’ll never forget one aspect of the conversation: A third woman in the group offered a glimmer of hope that they would indeed have sufficient food. She said that even if all the food brought had been eaten, there would ALWAYS be some of Helen’s green jello with carrots and a dollop of Miracle Whip mold left....NO ONE ever ate that so technically there would be enough for all to eat. I was glad my mom wasn’t “Helen” and every time I hear today’s reading found in all of the synoptic gospels of the feeding of the 5,000 I just have to chuckle.
From today’s Collect through the assigned readings for this Sunday we find the theme of trust and abundance. The emphasis on food and provisions, I believe, is an aspect of life to which we all can relate. At some point we’ve all been hungry, maybe not famished or missing meals because of a lack of
resources, but in need of nourishment nonetheless. I think it’s safe to say that the huge crowds that followed Jesus throughout his travels near the Sea of Galilee were not only hungry, but desperate for a new way of living that didn’t include the Romans. Many were ill both in body and spirit. The emphasis on feeding their physical hunger, seems to me, helped to set the stage for the deeper feeding they needed. I believe these readings also speak to a much deeper reality of how we choose to live our lives; either grounded in abundance or scarcity. These readings take us beyond our need for provisions for our physical bodies to nourishment for our emotional and spiritual needs as well.
Today’s Collect opens with words that set the tone for the balance of our liturgy; “O God, the protector of all who trust in you.....” In part, “trust” is defined as having a firm belief in the character, strength, or truth of someone or something. Another similar meaning includes having confidence, faith, or hope in someone or something.
We all know what trust looks like. Trust is built over time and grounded in the establishment of relationships. We trust our spouse and other members of our family. We trust our physicians, our auto mechanics, our dentists, and hopefully our clergy. We rely on their competence and consistent behavior characterized by respect and believing that they are motivated to serve our best interests. We are generally willing to pay a premium to access the services and relationships that have proven beneficial and worthy of our trust and attention. We acknowledge their importance to us in helping us live the lives we enjoy.
In today’s reading from Mark, Jesus sees this mass of humanity and asks Philip where they might be able to buy sufficient bread to feed this crowd. Philip responds the way many, if not all of us would, with the mindset that they have nowhere near enough money to buy what would be needed to feed everyone. Another of the disciples, Andrew, spots a young boy in this crowd that has in his possession 5 barley loaves and two fish and in typical disciple-fashion, questions how this could be of any help given the number of people with them. Here we have two chosen disciples of Jesus who
have witnessed miraculous healings, the casting out of demons, the raising of the dead, and their first response to this problem is understanding it with human faculties, not through the prism of possibility and wonder at what Jesus might do now. Instead of seeing 5 barley loaves and 2 fish as the seeds for something really big and exciting, they see these meager resources as just that, meager resources. I’m thankful for the disciples because they give me hope that as I continue on my journey of discipleship, I too will come to see more clearly the work of Jesus in my life and in the lives of others who claim Jesus as Lord.
I’m going to guess that many of us at one point or another have found ourselves thinking exactly the way that Philip and Andrew did when faced with what appears to be an insurmountable problem. We look to ourselves and maybe some close friends to process and formulate an answer. We look at the problem as something to be solved and not as a possibility for something new to appear. I’ve done it and I’m still working on getting out of my “problem solving” mindset. I think this tendency is exacerbated with those of us who have this insatiable need to “fix things.”
If we pay attention to a few details in Mark’s gospel I think we’ll find two responses to the problems we face in our lives. First off, how about this young boy with the barley loaves and fish? All we read is that this young fellow gave what he had, this meager ration of bread and fish, and willingly handed it to Jesus. Think about that for a moment. I suspect he wasn’t the only person among all the gathered crowd that had some sort of provision and there are some commentaries that speak to this aspect of the miraculous feedings as the sharing of what everyone had with one another. But the text doesn’t say that; it says the boy gave his food to Jesus. The text doesn’t say why the boy did it, but we have to assume at some level it was because Jesus and he connected in some sort of way. It had to entail a level of trust that something good was going to happen. Why else would he give all that he had to someone he didn’t know. All we’re left with is that “he did.”
The second detail to notice is what Jesus did with what was willingly given to him. He gave thanks. He acknowledged what was given to him and offered his thanks to God for it and amazingly “distributed them to those who were seated...as much as they wanted.” Not only was there enough for everyone, as much as they wanted, there were leftovers that filled 12 baskets!!
From meager beginnings that could be held in one’s arms, the crowd was not only fed but there were leftovers. This is the difference between thinking in terms of scarcity, that there’s not enough, to abundance and possibility, where God is involved and options abound.
We have another example of exhibiting trust and calling upon the Lord from the Old Testament reading from 2 Kings. Here the prophet Elisha is offered 20 loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain and he instructs his servant to give it to those gathered to eat. Not surprisingly, the servant looks at the offering and says it’s not sufficient to feed the 100 people. Elisha again instructs the servant to feed the people and with the blessing of God, not only is there sufficient food for the 100, God says there will be some left. So Elisha “set it before them, they ate, and had some left, according to the word of the LORD.”
The psalmist writes that “The LORD upholds all those who fall; he lifts up those who are bowed down. The eyes of all wait upon you , O LORD, and you give them their food in due season. You open wide your hand and satisfy the needs of every living creature.” Once again provision and protection is offered by the God of all Creation for those who wait upon the Lord. We don’t wait in vain, we wait in hope and confidence that the Lord will do what he says he’ll do. We trust him. He will lift us up, he will provide for us when it’s time and he willingly opens his hands and satisfies the needs of every living creature....friends, this includes you and me.
My friends, trust is a precious commodity. We give it to few and hope for it from others. Today’s readings provide us with vivid examples that when we are willing to give what we have to God, he can do wonders beyond belief. By his radical act of trust, the young boy gave Jesus all he had and many were fed with much left over. We too can give all we have, our very selves, to God, with confidence and belief that he will do amazing and wonderful things for us and for the benefit of others. And yet, it seems that many of us still hold onto some part of us from God. Many trust God with certain aspects of their lives, but not all of it. Do any of us hold anything back from God? I won’t offer up any examples as I might incriminate myself. I think you get the point. If we can trust our mechanic with keeping our vehicle in top running condition, can’t we trust God enough to keep our very selves in top spiritual shape? Are we willing to trust God enough to turn over the wants and desires of our lives with confidence he will bring us what we need and maybe what we want? The abundant life Jesus offers, the one that speaks of a cup running over, the one that is filled with the fullness of God, awaits us. Paul puts it this way: “Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine....” Just think of the possibilities. Amen.