1 After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias.2 A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick.3 Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples.4 Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near.5 When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?"6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do.7 Philip answered him, "Six months' wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little."8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him,9 "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?"10 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.11 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.12 When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost."13 So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets.14 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."15 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.16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea,17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.18 The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing.19 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.20 But he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid."21 Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.
Sermon
A few weeks ago more than 100 million people worldwide celebrated a much anticipated holiday. Well it’s not necessarily a holiday...yet. But it’s a 30 hour celebration of slashed prices, incredible discounts, next day delivery, and online consumerism at its finest. Of course, I am talking about Amazon Prime day.
Amazon is one of the largest and most profitable retailers in the world and for the last several years they have lured more than 100 million users into a mid-year shopping spree. They offer incredible deals and discount prices and major, popular items. It’s sort of an online, mid-year, Black Friday, without the lines. And it’s a big deal for a lot of people.
Last week I was listening to some friends talk about their Amazon Prime Day experience. They were listing all the things they bought and how much money they saved by buying them. They spent hundreds of dollars buying two of these and three of those, but they saved hundreds more. And as they were boasting about all of their new toys, one person said, so how are you enjoying your new items? They paused, also in a moment of conviction, and said “honestly I haven’t even opened the package yet.” After thinking for a moment they said, “ I really didn’t need any of it.” “So why did you buy it,” a friend asked? “Well, the deal was too good and I was afraid that if I didn’t buy one then they would run out of stock...so I bought two.”
I was afraid they would run out of stock...so I bought two. Funny, isn’t it, how our culture and our society has developed in such a way to convince us that there won’t be enough. If we don’t act quickly, we’ll miss out. There is only a finite amount….a limited amount of supplies, resources, energy, people, hours in the day. Act now while supplies last! Sale ends today! Everything must go! Once it’s gone...there will be no more!
Once I was walking through the grocery store and there was one package of Oreos left on the shelf. I didn’t need Oreos. Wasn’t looking for Oreos. Wasn’t craving Oreos. But my mind said if I don’t grab that last package someone else will and there won’t be any more. I remember the same thing happening when I was kid around the holidays. Mom and I would go to the store as we prepared for a holiday meal and she would buy up all of the cream cheese. Granted her recipes were always rich with cream cheese, but there seemed to be this mentality that there would never be another block of cheese available to us if we didn’t act now. To this day I find myself glancing at the cream cheese as I pass it to make sure there is plenty to go around. But if the supply is low I have an urge to act.
When there is a natural disaster or sudden international conflict...there is a risk of gas shortage...so what do we do? We all fill up our cars and gas cans in case it’s the last tank we ever top off.
Oo or have you ever eaten at a buffet? And your cruising through the line, one item to the next, your plate is full...until you come across one of your favorite foods. You know it’s endless, but there is only one serving left, and if you don’t grab it now… I think you get my point.
For better or worse, our culture and society has trained us to act out of fear of not enough. Our gut reaction is often to act within a mindset of scarcity.
Maybe we’ll implement this approach for council positions this fall. Get your position while it lasts! There are only five openings! Act now! Don’t miss your chance!
It’s a strange mindset of Scarcity. In fact, there is an entire theology built on scarcity. A whole belief system that says God created a finite amount. A pattern of behavior that makes us queasy and impulsive because we fear there won’t be enough. And it’s more than just consumerism. It permeates the various aspects of our life, and if we’re not mindful, we can unintentionally approach relationships, situations, opportunities with this scarcity.
I think today’s gospel lesson confronts the theology of scarcity in a way that challenges us and perhaps makes us uncomfortable. Jesus and his disciples retire to the other side of the Sea for a bit of rest. But they barely make it to shore before large crowds swarm him. These crowds had seen many of the things Jesus had been doing and their curiosity was so peaked that they dropped everything to see what he would do next. So as Jesus and friends climbed the large mountain, sat down, and watched as thousands...literally thousands of people approached.
“Hey Philip,” Jesus asks, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?”
Philip goes right past Jesus’ question as to say, even if there was a place for them to buy that much bread for the crowds, they would never have enough money to do so. Even six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each to get a little. Philip responds that there isn’t enough! We can’t do it! The resources needed are unobtainable and the resources available are too finite.
We know how the story goes. Jesus takes a small amount of bread and fish from a boy in the crowd, gives thanks, and distributes it among the 5000 people until all ate beyond their satisfaction. Following the meal, Jesus instructs the disciples to collect the fragments. So the disciples collect...and they don’t collect the fatty, tough, uneaten bits of food, but rather they collect 12 baskets of leftover food. The crowd had eaten beyond their satisfaction and there was still food left to be shared.
Today’s story in John is a lesson of faith and abundance from Jesus. From five loaves and two fish Jesus offers an abundance of food for the crowd. Jesus offers so much food that there were 12 baskets full left after everyone was satisfied.
And certainly the lesson that Jesus teaches the disciples and the crowd is that in Christ there is enough. There is more than enough. Our God is one of abundance. God created in abundance. God saved the Israelites in the wilderness with an abundance of quail and manna. God saved all people through the death and resurrection of Jesus with an abundance of forgiveness and grace. An abundance of hope and love. Such an abundance that all may be filled beyond satisfaction. That all may have abundant life and life eternal.
Now I say all of that, and I believe it to be true. But it is admittedly difficult to live in this tension: wholehearted and faithful believing that God always provides in an abundance and the harsh realities of the world in which we live. I am not naive, and I know God isn’t going to write a check for the mortgage when the budget is tight if I just believe that God gives abundantly. I know that Jesus himself wasn’t leading games at VBS, or teaching Sunday school, serving on council, or stuffing backpacks. I know that God, powerful as God may be, won’t be the one dropping food in the UCOM food wagon, scooping ice cream after church, or roasting the pig this fall for our anniversary.
Don’t get me wrong, I have no doubt that God is present in all of things through the body of Christ, but I suspect Jesus himself isn’t physically present making sandwiches for the homeless, sleeping on the couch while family promise is here, changing the filters on our AC units once a month, or making bulletins if we just believe God will provide
Philip, how are we going to feed these people. Well, Jesus, we can’t. There isn’t enough. It’s easy for scarcity to be our out. It’s a good excuse, at best. There isn’t enough. Simply can’t. Not enough volunteers. Not enough resources. Not enough money. Not enough time. We’re all out. This is what the world would have us believe. Scarcity.
So maybe today’s lesson is a bit deeper than simply saying “God will provide.” I suspect Jesus’ lesson for the disciples is a bit more rich than “if you just wait...God will make it happen.”
I think this mountaintop moment is meant to be a game changer for both the disciples and the crowd. For weeks they have watched and listened to Jesus. They have witnessed some incredible moments of ministry...enough to make them follow him wherever he goes. And now, on this mountaintop, they do more than just witness, they become participants. Consumers of Jesus’s bounty, both in food and miracle. They experience Christ. They taste and see the power of Jesus.
And I think the lesson to be heard today is not simply to trust in God and God will provide. Rather I think Jesus is inviting to completely shift our mentality. To change the starting point of our actions. Rather than place restrictions or limits on our ministry and outreach by a lack of resources, perhaps we first ask what would God have us do. What are the opportunities for ministry? What is our community crying out for? What are the needs of those around us? Where is the crowd that needs to be fed?
And once we see the crowd, once we know the needs. When we hear the pains. Identify the hurting, the suffering, the last, the lost, the least. Once we discern what Jesus would have us do...we might prioritize our resources to respond faithfully. Trusting that in faithful ministry, God will provide.
Because in God we have been gifted enough. We have been washed in the waters of baptism, claimed as a child of God and received grace upon grace. When we come to the Lord’s table we receive the body and blood of Christ and we are filled with strength and love. In the bread and wine Christ consumes us...filling us beyond satisfaction… again and again.
The Spirit continues to fill us with grace and mercy, love and forgiveness, hope and grace, peace and everlasting life. And these gifts from God never run out. Never expire. We have each been blessed with gifts. Talents. Abilities. Resources. Time. And our call is to be stewards of these gifts. Not just to follow Christ from place to place...watching, listening, tasting, and seeing,...but to believe, go, tell, and feed. To be stewards of God’s abundance. To challenge the world. To proclaim that in Christ we have all we need. We have enough.
Jesus knew what he was going to do on that mountain top. The text tells us so. Before he asked the disciples or gave them a chance to give up, he knew what he was going to do.
Jesus takes the smallest amount of food and transforms it into an abundance. That’s what God does. God transforms scarcity into abundance. Out of nothing, God created the world. Out of the desert God fed the wandering Israelites in abundance. Out of a rock God struck an abundance of water. Out of a forgotten town and a no-name girl, God became incarnate. Out of the nothingness of death, the very scarcity of life, God made way for abundant life. Abundance is what God does. Abundance is what God will always do.
Because our God is a God of abundance, and in God we have more than we will ever need. So while the world might trick us into thinking there isn’t enough of what we want, in God there is abundance of what we need. The supply is infinite. It’s abounding. And in faith, it’s not about what we need or don’t have…it’s about what we do have. And today, it’s a generous God with 5 loaves, 2 fish, and an opportunity to feed the hungry. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment