Going to the Dogs

Delivered July 17, 2011

Matthew 15:21-28; Isaiah 56:9-12

There are a lot of legends about Jesus traveling outside of Israel. There are stories about Jesus in India, Jesus in Tibet, Jesus in Nepal. There are even stories about Jesus in America. But there is no historical evidence for any of these accounts. They are just ways that other religious traditions try to claim Jesus for themselves. Jesus was a Jew who lived all his life in the Middle East. There are no so-called “lost years of Jesus” between the ages of 12 and 30. That is when these legends say that Jesus did all this globetrotting. The reason why the gospels are silent about what Jesus was doing between the ages of 12 and 30 was that it was boring. He was just living an ordinary life in Nazareth. Except for when Jesus was a child and lived in Egypt for a couple of years with his parents, Jesus never traveled outside of Palestine. He did take brief excursions just beyond the borders of what we call Israel today, into what is now the Golan Heights, and Jordan and Lebanon. Our story is one of those times. I am going to go through this story in four sections.

I. First a woman approaches Jesus – verses 21-23. Our story opens, “Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon.” Ancient Tyre and Sidon are in territory of what is now Lebanon. There he meets a “woman of Canaan.” That is a very general term. Mark’s account of this same story is more specific. He says, “The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth.” She is from that area. She is not a Jew, yet she seeks out this Jewish preacher. The story says, “and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.” ²³ But He answered her not a word.”

This story is fascinating to me because it dispels one of those myths that we have about Jesus. Sunday school lessons and Hollywood films both picture Jesus as one of those kind, gentle souls who is always polite and nice to everybody. Anyone who thinks this is true has never read the New Testament. Here is one of those times when a woman comes to Jesus, and he ignores her internationally. She comes to him with a serious need about her ill daughter, and Jesus won’t give her the time of day. At one point in my ministry many years ago, a woman got very angry at me because she said I ignored her as she was going out of church. I did not intentionally ignore her. You know the way it is at the church steps. Sometimes I get caught up talking to someone and do not get a chance to talk to someone else. But this woman said that I refused to shake her hand, and that I was intentionally snubbing her. I don’t do things like that, but Jesus did. Jesus intentionally ignored this woman. She cried out for help, and Jesus acted like she wasn’t even there.

Have you ever felt like God was ignoring you? I have had many people tell me they feel exactly like this. They cry out to God in distress over some very serious problem in their lives. They cry out for healing for a beloved family member (just like this Syro-Phoenician woman did) and they feel like they were treated exactly like this woman was treated. There was no answer from God, only steely silence, as if God didn’t hear or didn’t care. That is what seems to be the case in our lives sometimes. That is what seems to be the case here in this story.

II. The story goes on in verses 23-24. Now the disciples come into the story. It is clear that this woman did not just ask one time for Jesus to help. She was crying out over and over again. She was following Jesus and the disciples, and she wouldn’t shut up. She wouldn’t stop, and yet Jesus wouldn’t even acknowledge her presence. Finally the disciples could not take her incessant begging any more. It says, “And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.” ²⁴ But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” In other words, Jesus was saying that He was a Jew who was sent to the Jews. He would have nothing to do with this Canaanite woman.

So we have Jesus ignoring her, the disciples wishing she would go away, and then Jesus saying that she was not his responsibility. He was sent by the God of Israel to be the Jewish Messiah to the Jewish people. Forget this Gentile; he wants nothing to do with her. This sounds almost bigoted, and it keeps getting worse, as we will see in a minute. Jesus starts calling her names. The whole incident is very disturbing. This doesn’t really fit our picture of Jesus at all. He doesn’t seem very Christian here.

But this story is put here to address all those times when people don’t think that God acts very nice. Earlier in the winter I preached about the New Atheism. There is a very militant aggressive form of atheism on the rise today, which makes the claim that the God of the Bible is not a very nice fellow. Christopher Hitchens wrote a book a few years ago entitled: “God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything.” That is preety clear. He says that the biblical God hates gays, and commits genocide, and endorses slavery, subjugates women, and so on. In his book entitled “The God Delusion, atheist Richard Dawkins puts it this way, "The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully." Don’t hold back, Richard. Tell us how you really feel!

We would not go that far (I hope) but there have been many times when good faithful Christians confess to me that it seems that God is not listening, is not acting, and does not seem to care. That is exactly the point that is being addressed in this story. If you have ever felt like your prayers have been bouncing off the ceiling, then this story is for you. This woman was repeatedly crying out to Jesus for help, and Jesus completely ignored her; his disciples wished that she would just shut up and go away. Sometimes churches wish that people would just be quiet when they raise these disturbing issues about the seeming silence of God, when God is not answering prayer. Churches are often uncomfortable with raising the issue of the suffering of the innocent and the seemingly unjust behavior of God in the Bible. These are tough issues raised by tough people, and too often Christians wish they would just be quiet so we get on with singing hymns and having potluck suppers. I don’t want those issues to go away. I want them front and center. I read this story and I am cheering for the woman. I want her to keep pestering Jesus and those disciples until she gets an answer. That is what happens.

III. In the third section of this passage, verses 25-26, the woman persists. “Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” ²⁶ But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”  This is uncomfortable. Here is Jesus referring to her as a dog. You have to understand that in the Bible, dogs are not man’s best friend. Dogs are always pictured negatively in the Bible. That is why we heard the passage from Isaiah as our OT reading, as an example of how the word “dogs” is used in the Bible. I know that doesn’t sit well with dog-lovers. We even have a dog that comes to church regularly. Cindy’s dog Sebastian is one of the most faithful attenders of the Federated Church. I see Sabastian as the church mascot. There is a joke I have to tell here.

A woman had a dog that she loved. She lived alone in the country and her dog was her constant companion. Finally after many years the dog was nearing the end of his life. The woman came to her pastor and asked him to baptize her dog before he died. The Baptist preacher said that he could not possibly baptize a dog. The woman pleaded with her pastor, saying she wanted to make sure that the dog was with her in heaven and therefore she wanted him baptized. But the pastor insisted that he could not baptize animals. She said, “I will write out a $50,000 check to the church right now if you will baptize my dog.” The preacher immediately replied, “Why didn't you tell me your dog was a Baptist?"

The woman in our scripture text says to Christ, “Lord, help me!” ²⁶ But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”  I think it is interesting that he uses the phrase “little dogs” – puppies. I am not a dog owner. I don’t dislike them. I just have never had one. We have always had cats. But puppies are different. One time Jude and I were at a mall and wandered into the pet store. In that pet store they had puppies. Specifically they had Saint Bernard puppies. Like I said, I am not a dog person. The idea of following a dog around on a leash picking up dog poop is not my idea of fun. But when I saw those Saint Bernard puppies, my hard heart melted. And when I picked him up, I was hooked.  I almost bought that puppy. The only reason I didn’t is because my wife Jude kept reminding me that that little puppy would turn into a huge dog, and I would be picking up huge dog poops.

IV. Back to the story. The woman cries out for help, and Jesus says, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”  This is meant to discourage her. You start calling a person names and you expect that person to get mad and leave. But this woman does not leave. She persists. Verse 27  “And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” I want you to see the point here. The point is the persistence of the woman in the face of adversity of all types. In the face of being ignored by Jesus, rejected by his followers, being called names, being told that she because she was a Gentile she was no better than a dog, and that Jesus did not come for her. In spite of all that opposition and resistance, she persevered.

This type of perseverance is exactly what is needed today. We live in an age of spiritual pampering. People come to church expecting to be catered to, to have their needs met, to have everything exactly the way they want it. The music needs to be the way they like it and the preacher better be interesting, and his theology better be pretty much in keeping with theirs and there better be programs for everyone in their family. The biggest and most successful churches today are those that are called “seeker-sensitive.” What that means is that they find out what people want and they give it to them. It is consumer driven religious marketplace these days. Church is seen as a business, and the customer is always right.

Unfortunately that is not the way life is. Bill Gates is reported to have given a graduation address at a high school where he put forth 11 rules for life. I think it is an urban legend, but whether or not he actually said it, it is still true. The first rule is: “Life is not fair -- get used to it!” That is certainly true of the spiritual life. Think of it. The symbol and centerpiece of our faith is a man being crucified. That is not fair! He did not do anything wrong, yet he was arrested, tortured and executed. Life is not fair. Get used to it. The life of faith is not fair. Faith is not about having everything go your way. It is not about things working out the way you think they should. Evil happens. Suffering happens. Injustice happens.

Many people, including and maybe especially Christians, expect to be pampered by God. They think they deserve special treatment. They expect God to work things out according to what they think is right. And if God doesn’t comply, they get upset with the Lord. Then they won’t worship God or serve him, and won’t have anything to do with church and may even not believe in God any longer. I can’t tell you how many times people have told me that they used to be part of a church, but this happened or that happened or things didn’t happen, and therefore they have nothing to do with religion anymore. The woman in our story had everything go wrong, and it was still going wrong, and yet it says that she worshipped Jesus, and called him Lord.  Verse 25 says, “Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” Verse 27, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” The whole point of this passage is to present us with a model of a woman with tough faith, who does not shrink or back down when she is ignored or rejected or even when called names.

Jesus calls this “great faith.” Verse 28 “Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.” This woman’s daughter was healed. This doesn’t mean that if you follow this woman’s example then your daughter will be healed, or your prayers will always be answered the way you want. This is not a formula on how to manipulate God into doing your will. Faith is not magical thinking – that if you do this and that ritual or say these words in the right combination and add the magic words “in Jesus’ name Amen” - then presto, you get what you want. This is teaching us that faith is persevering in all circumstances. The outcome is always in God’s hands, not ours. This woman’s daughter was healed. That does not mean that all faithful women’s daughters are always healed. It means that whether there is healing or not, faith perseveres. In this case Jesus healed. I can’t prove it from the story (and I might be wrong) but I suspect Jesus always was going to heal this woman’s daughter. From the first time she asked him, I think he had decided to heal her. But he wanted to do more than just a physical healing. He wanted to teach his disciples by this woman’s example what it means to have great faith. And that anybody of any background anywhere can have that faith. That is why he stepped over the border of Israel and had this encounter with this great woman of great faith.

How To Walk on Water

Delivered July 10, 2011

Psalm 69:1-15; Matthew 14:22-33

Today we are going to look at the famous story of Jesus walking on the Sea of Galilee. It is told by three gospel writers – Matthew, Mark and John. Matthew’s account has the additional element of Peter also walking on water, so I am using this as our primary text today, but also drawing details from the other accounts. I am calling this sermon, “How to Walk on Water.”  So first of all I need to define what it means to walk on water. Obviously I am not talking literally here. I am not going to instruct you about how to take a literal stroll across Squam Lake.

There is a very old joke, and most of you have probably heard it already. But I have to tell it because it is about walking on water. A priest, a minister, and a rabbi went fishing in a boat together. The priest said, “I’m sorry but I have to use the restroom. I will be right back.” Then he stepped out of the boat and walked on water to the shore. The minister is astonished, but since the rabbi didn’t seem surprised, he did not say anything. After the priest returned the rabbi said, “I need to go get a drink of water” and he then stepped out of the boat, walked on water to the beach. The minister is again astonished and didn’t know what to think. After the rabbi walked back to the boat on the water, the minister said to himself, “If a Catholic priest and a Jewish rabbi can walk on water, then I, a Protestant follower of Jesus, can certainly do it.” He announced, “I am going to walk to the beach also.” He stepped out of the boat, sunk to the bottom. The priest looked at the rabbi and said, "Do you think we should have told him where the rocks are?"

When I am talking about walking on water I am speaking metaphorically. To walk on water means to do something that seems impossible - to accomplish something that we don’t think we are able to do. There are times in our lives that we feel like the disciples in this story. They are in a boat in the middle of a lake at night in a storm, tossed by the waves, straining at the oars and we are not getting anywhere. We might feel like this at times of physical illness, mental or emotional illness, or grief. We might feel like this in the midst of family problems, work problems or financial problems. People use the term “drowning in debt” for a reason; it feels like you are sinking. People use the phrase “drowning in sorrow” or “drowning in despair.” Our Psalter reading for today says, “¹ Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. ² I sink in deep mire, Where there is no standing; I have come into deep waters, Where the floods overflow me. ³ I am weary with my crying; My throat is dry; My eyes fail while I wait for my God.” There are storms in life when we feel overwhelmed. This story of Jesus teaches us that in the midst of those storms we can overcome. We can walk on water. How?

1. First, you get some perspective. Notice that the first part of the text is told from the viewpoint of Jesus. The story says that Jesus made the disciples get in the boat while he went up on the mountain to pray. “²² Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. ²³ And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.” Jesus was on a mountain alone praying. There is nothing that gives you perspective like being on a mountaintop or higher. Astronaut Mark Kelly, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' husband, recently spoke about the experience of viewing earth from space. His exact words were, “You have an entirely different perspective of life on our planet." Then he went on to talk about the absence of national boundaries. We have heard it before from astronauts, but it deserves repeating. The story in Mark’s gospel mentions that from the mountain Jesus could see the disciples down below on the lake. Picture it as being like on top of Mount Rattlesnake looking down on the boats on Squam Lake. Jesus could look down and see the disicples having difficulty in the boat. It says, “He saw them straining at rowing.”

          There are a couple of points here concerning perspective. One is that God sees things from a higher perspective than we do. When we are in the boat in the midst of the storm, we have no wider perspective. We just are intent on surviving.  Things might seem really important to us, but in the cosmic scheme of things, are they really? People get very disturbed by the problem of suffering and evil in the world, and they doubt the existence of God or the love of God. They ask, “Why would God could allow such terrible suffering and evil to happen?” But I think it is all a matter of perspective. From God’s perspective it all works out. Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” That is a very meaningful verse for me because it tells me that even though I cannot see how all the pieces fit together to make sense of seemingly senseless acts, they do fit together. It is a matter of perspective. The bigger your vision, the easier it is to see the pattern.

The story tells us that Jesus did not just go up on mountain so he could get a better view of the lake. It says, “He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray.” A physical mountaintop gives you spatial perspective. Prayer gives you spiritual perspective. When you pray, it may not change the circumstances you find yourself in, but it changes the way you see the circumstances. Prayer is connection with God. I experience prayer primarily as communion with God.  Sure I pray for things to happen. But mostly these days I trust that God is in control and that he knows what he is doing. I don’t spend much time giving God advice on how to run the universe or reminding him of things he missed. For me prayer is mostly communion with God, fellowship with God, sitting with God on a mountaintop. And if you sit with God long enough you begin to see things a bit more from his perspective. You catch a glimpse of the harmony of the universe. God really is in control, and all things really do work out for good. So perspective is the first point.

2. Second is recognizing the presence of Christ. Jesus was up on the mountain praying for a while, but in time he came down and took a stroll across the Sea of Galilee. The disciples are in the boat, “straining at the oars, for the wind was against them,” as Mark’s gospel says. Our text in Matthew says in verses 25-26. “²⁵ Now in the fourth watch of the night (which is the hours just before dawn, from 3:00 AM to 6:00 AM) Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. ²⁶ And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear.”  Mark’s gospel adds the note, “Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by.”  That is an interesting detail. I am not sure exactly what to make of it. But it seems to suggest that Jesus would have let them struggle through the storm, if they hadn’t seen him and cried out.

So part of how to walk on water is to see the presence of Christ with us in the storm. Sometimes it is easier to see this than other times. A few weeks ago we explored the story of Jesus stilling the storm. In that story Jesus was in the boat with them, sleeping in the stern. All they had to do was go to the back of the boat and wake him up. Here it is a different story. They do not recognize this figure walking on the water as Jesus at first. They think it is an apparition, “saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out for fear.” But then Jesus spoke to them. Verse 27 “But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”  They recognized him by his voice. And this put them at ease in the midst of the storm. This is true also in our lives. In the midst of the storms of our lives, the still small voice of God calms our fears. Nothing may have changed, but it feels different because Christ is recognized as present and we hear his voice above the gale.

3. Next is Trust. At this point in the story Jesus gives the apostle Peter a lesson in water-walking. Verse 28-29 “²⁸ And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” ²⁹ So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.”  The storm is still going on. The boat is rocking, and yet Peter trusts that this truly is Jesus and not a figment of his imagination. Furthermore he believes that if Jesus tells him to walk on water, that he will be able to do it. This is faith. 

There is a book by John Ortberg entitled “If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get out of the Boat.” It communicates the idea that nothing will ever change in our lives unless we are willing to take a risk. When it comes to the spiritual life, we are not going to see anything change unless we are willing to trust God. Not just believe in the existence of God, but to trust in the providence of God. Faith doesn’t mean we don’t have any doubts. Peter here he is expressing his doubt even while he is expressing his faith. He says, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” Peter is not even sure that this voice in the darkness of the storm is really his Lord. But he takes the chance. When Jesus says, “Do not be afraid” Peter takes him seriously, and he responds in faith. I read that the phrase “fear not” or “Do not be afraid” is found over 365 times in the Bible, more than one for every day of the year. At some point in our lives, we need to take a chance on Christ, and trust and step out of the boat.

4. To walk on water we need to keep our eyes on Christ. Peter steps out of the boat, and things go pretty good for a little while. Then Verse 30 says, “But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” Peter began to sink when he took his eyes off Christ and looked at the storm. In our lives, if all we look at are the problems and difficulties, we are sunk. Life can be very overwhelming at times. We can feel just like the disciples in darkness in the middle of the lake in a storm, straining at the oars with the wind against us and not getting anywhere. If we focus on the situation, we can get very discouraged, but if we keep our eyes on Christ in simple faith and trust, we can walk on water.

In 1886 Leo Tolstoy published a story entitled "The Three Hermits." It begins, "A bishop was sailing … to the Solovetsk Monastery, and on the same vessel were a number of pilgrims on their way to visit the shrine at that place..." (p.1). The story goes on to say that a fisherman on board relayed the tale of the three hermits who live on an island near where they were sailing. The Bishop became very curious, and insists upon meeting the hermits. The other pilgrims protest at the idea of stopping. The captain also objects and informs the bishop, "The old men are not worth your pains. I have heard said that they are foolish old fellows, who understand nothing, and never speak a word, any more than the fish in the sea" (p.3). The bishop persuades the captain to stop at the hermits’ island. The bishop disembarks and meets the hermits. They bow before him, and the bishop asks them how they pray. They reply that their prayer is this: "Three are ye, [meaning the trinity] three are we, have mercy upon us." The priest says that will never do. They need to pray the Lord's Prayer, instead. So he teaches them the Lord’s Prayer.  Upon leaving, the priest hears them repeating the Lord’s Prayer in the distance as he boards the ship to continue his journey. When the island was no longer visible, "he thanked God for having sent him to teach and help such godly men." No sooner had he uttered the words than did the Hermits appear running on the water toward the boat. The three said in one voice, "We have forgotten your teaching, servant of God. As long as we kept repeating it, we remembered, but when we stopped saying it for a time, a word dropped out, and now it all has gone to pieces. We can remember nothing of it. Teach us again how to pray." The bishop crossed himself and leaning over the ship's side said: "Your own prayer will reach the Lord, men of God. It is not for me to teach you. Pray for us sinners." And the Bishop bowed low before the men.

5. Peter took his eyes off his Lord. He lost that simple trust that made it possible for him to walk on water. His fear overcame his faith, and he began to sink. Then he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Then verse 31 says, “And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” When you walk on water, you may look down and say to yourself, “What the heck am I doing?” This is impossible! You may doubt, and then you will begin to sink. At such times, this story tells us cry out, “Lord, save me” and he will stretch out his hand. That is what he does. That is why he is called a Savior.

Our story ends in verse 33 in these words, “³³ Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.” This whole story of Jesus and Peter walking on water is meant to bring us to this realization. It is not meant to teach us an aquatic magic trick. It is meant to point us to a truth about Jesus – to push us beyond our doubts to an attitude of worship and faith. There is a hymn we sang a couple of weeks ago “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind.” It says, “In simple trust like theirs who heard Beside the Syrian sea The gracious calling of the Lord, Let us, like them, without a word Rise up and follow Thee.” Let us rise up and follow him.

Dinner For 5000

Delivered July 3, 2011

John 6:1-15

We are doing a program in our church called “Dinner For Eight.”  It is a way for people in our congregation to get to know each other by having a meal together. Today I am going to preach on an occasion when Jesus served dinner for 5000. At least that is what it is called: the Feeding of the 5000, but actually there were many more than 5000 present. It says there were 5000 men. Matthew’s account of the story says, “Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.” You have to understand that men wrote the gospels. Sometimes you have to wonder what Christianity would be like if women had written the gospels. But that is a different matter. Here I am talking about the number of people served. There easily could have been twice or three times as many as 5000 people served that day. Prince William and Kate Middleton only invited 1900 guests at their royal wedding. This meal put on by Jesus was much bigger. No wonder it is recorded in all four of the Gospels. Let’s get right into the text. I read the account from John’s Gospel because it had some personal touches that the other three don’t but I will be drawing upon all four accounts for this message. 

I. The main focus of this story was the Physical Food so it should be our first focus this morning. Thousands of people had gathered in a remote area outside of Bethsaida in Galilee to hear Jesus teach and heal. It began to get late, and the people were hungry. Luke’s gospel says, “¹² When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here.” ¹³ But He said to them, “You give them something to eat.”

“You give them something to eat.” This command is for us too. We must not spiritualize this passage too quickly. There are spiritual meanings in this text, but the primary concern is the very real physical hunger of people. The disciples wanted to disperse the crowd and let them find their own food, but Jesus had compassion, and told the disciples to provide the food. This command of Jesus still stands. The poor and hungry were always on Jesus’ mind. He told lots of parables about caring for the poor and hungry. As it is our concern as followers of Jesus.

For a small congregation our church does a good job addressing this issue. We hold the CROP walk and participate in Bread for the. We participate in Dinner Bell, the Food Bank, and the Discretionary Fund – and that doesn’t count our monies that go through the Baptist and Methodist denominations into their relief operations. This week we will have an opportunity to hear and support Christopher Hoffman and his African Education Fund. This is important. We can’t talk about the love of God in church without addressing the problem of hunger and poverty. The apostle John says in his first letter: “¹⁷ But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? ¹⁸ My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. ¹⁹ And by this we know^[d] that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.” So we have an obligation to feed the poor as a church and as a compassionate society. So it affects national and state budget concerns as well. I could spend the whole sermon talking about this aspect of the story, but there are other meanings in this text as well

II. Another is Spiritual Hunger. Mark’s gospel introduces this story with these words: “³⁰ Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. ³¹ And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. ³² So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.”  The story begins with the emotional exhaustion of the disciples. They had been ministering to thousands of people for days and they needed to get away. We see Jesus regularly getting off by himself as well. And the place to get away back then was a deserted place.

Last Sunday I talked about the Sabbath, which is a time for emotional and spiritual refreshment. Here is the same type of thing – Jesus and the disciples trying to get away for a time of spiritual retreat. I encourage you to do this. Find oases of peace for spiritual reflection and nourishment. Take time each day for prayer and meditation. Jesus and his disciples retreated into the wilderness. We are blessed to live in an area of natural beauty, and we need to make use of it. Silence is spiritual food. Solitude is spiritual food. When we get off by ourselves away from the outward chatter and busyness of life then the inner chatter and busyness begins to subside. In the space and silence of our own spirits, we sense God’s presence, and we regain our sanity.

III. That is what Jesus was trying to do for himself and his disciples. But on this occasion it didn’t work. The crowds followed him into the deserted place. And it became the setting of the feeding of the 5000. Mark’s gospel says, “³³ But the multitudes^[a] saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came together to Him. ³⁴ And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd.” Two of the accounts mention this – that Jesus was “moved with compassion for them.” Compassion was served in the wilderness that day.

The word compassion means literally “to suffer with.” Even though it is not identical to love, it is an important element in love. When we look out at people who are suffering we can either harden our hearts against them and buffer ourselves from their pain, or we can open our hearts to their pain. This “suffering with” is the heart of Christianity. This is part of what the cross of Jesus symbolizes. The cross is a picture of God incarnate suffering with us, bearing our pain. In Christianity God is not an impersonal impassive deity removed from human suffering. He is not a Principle or Energy or an  Idea. The gospel of Christ proclaims a God who became human, which means that God entered into the suffering of humankind in order to heal the suffering of humankind. We see God at work in this story when Jesus looks out on the people and he has compassion for them.

There is a hymn by Bryan Jeffery Leech entitled, “Let Your Heart Be Broken.” It goes: “Let your heart be broken for a world in need: Feed the mouths that hunger, Soothe the wounds that bleed. Give the cup of water, and the loaf of bread. Be the hands of Jesus, serving in his stead.” Compassion was served at the feeding of the 5000.

IV. Another element of this story is Personal Responsibility.  The disciples wanted to leave it up to every individual and family present to go find their own food. But Jesus tells them bluntly “You give them something to eat.” The disciples start giving reasons why they can’t do that. There are two many people, they don’t have enough money, even if we had enough money they couldn’t find enough bread to feed all these people. Then into this atmosphere of “I can’t do it” come two persons. (And this is why I chose to read John’s account of this instead of one of the other gospels.) Verses 8-9 say: “⁸ One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, ⁹ “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?”

This is the moment that the story changes. Every one of these stories of Jesus has a pivotal moment. This is it. Everything changes because of the open heart of one little boy. Jesus was not kidding when he says that we have to become like little children to enter the Kingdom of God!  One little boy approaches the disciple Andrew with a solution to the problem. He has five barley loaves and two small fish that he is willing to share. When he is speaking of five barley loaves he is not talking about one pound loaves. He means five dinner rolls. And the fish were small dried or salted fish not much bigger than sardines. It was this boy’s lunch packed by his mother that morning. It is not going to go far in this crowd. That was what Andrew meant when he said, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?”

The point is that the boy was willing to share what he had. There are some interpreters who think that this whole story is about contagious sharing and not a miraculous multiplication of loaves and fishes by Jesus. They say that the people had brought food with them but were keeping it for themselves. Then at this point they were inspired by the boy’s example and shared everything they had. Maybe sharing happened, but I think something more miraculous happened here. That doesn’t detract from the lesson of this little boy’’ sharing. Isaiah says, “And a little child shall lead them.” This child led them in faith and sharing. Even Andrew didn’t believe that this child’s offering would solve their problem. Yet this boy’s faith that he could meaningfully contribute to the solution to the huge problem was the catalyst that prompted the action of Jesus.

This is the point. It takes the faith of a child. It takes a willingness to share what we have. Hunger is a problem that can be solved. There is more than enough food in this world to feed everyone on this planet. We who have more than enough need to share with those who do not have enough. We can say that our small contribution to the problem of global hunger and poverty won’t make any difference, just like five rolls and two little fish were not going to make a dent in the hunger of five thousand hungry men. But it did, and our part does make a difference. The same is true of many of our global problems. The hatred that fuels wars and violence comes from fear, and fear can be driven out by love. It starts with our love. The song says, “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.” This is not idealism; it is realism. It is the only place peace can start. This little boy took personal responsibility for the very adult problem that Jesus and the disciples were trying to solve, and it worked.

V. But the ultimate solution to the problem at hand – and the central character of this story - is Jesus Christ. The whole story points to him. People looked to Jesus to solve the problem and he does. Verses 10-11. “¹⁰ Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. ¹¹ And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples^[a] to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.” Jesus did it. He organized it. He prayed, blessed the bread and distributed the bread and fish.

There is great symbolic and spiritual significance in the act. John tells us in verse 4 that the setting of the story is the coming Passover Feast:  “Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near.” He gave us this detail for a reason – to connect this meal to the spiritual meaning of the Passover. At that Passover meal Jesus said that it wasn’t just bread and wine on the Passover table, it was his body and his blood. Jesus says later in this same chapter in verse 33, “For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Verse 35, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” Verse 51 “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”

Make no mistake. This story of the feeding of the 5000 is about Christ. People there on that day understood that. They did not come to be fed; they came for Jesus. John’s account ends with the words in verse 14, “Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” This story is about Christ as the Bread of life giving himself for the world. It looks ahead to the Last Supper and foreshadows the cross.

VI. There is a final point I want to make about this story. There were leftovers from this dinner for 5000. All four gospels mention them. Luke says, “¹⁷ So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.” A nervous young minister, new to the church, told his congregation, "For my text today, I will take the words, `And Jesus fed five men with five thousand loaves of bread and two thousand fishes.” No one told him his mistake until after the service when one member pointed it out and said, "That’s not difficult to feed five men with thousands of loaves and fishes. I could do that." The next Sunday the pastor decided to repeat the text. This time he did it properly, "And they fed five thousand men with five loaves of bread and two fishes." Smiling, the minister said to the man, "Could you do that, Mr. Jones?" The man replied, "Sure I would use all the food I had left over from last Sunday!"

There were twelve baskets of leftovers from feeding the five thousand. I am not even going to get into the symbolism of all the numbers in this story. Every number is symbolic - the five thousand men, the five loaves, two fish,, and 12 baskets of leftovers. Deciphering number symbolism easily leads to speculation and an allegorizing of the text. But I do want to interpret this one number. Twelve in the Bible is a complete number of people – twelve sons of Jacob, twelve tribes of Israel, twelve disciples of Jesus. Twelve baskets of leftovers tells us that there is more where this came from for more people than just the 5000. This is just the beginning. The leftovers keep the story open-ended.

Jesus said to his twelve disciples: “And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.” These leftovers are for us. We are invited to dine at his table – this dinner is for 5000 … plus us.