Sunday
08/02/20 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “The Loaves and the Fishes”
Old Testament
Scripture: Psalm 17:1-7, 15
New Testament
Scripture: Romans 9:1-5
Gospel Lesson: Matthew
14:13-21
Welcome again on this our Ninth Sunday after Pentecost. On the day of Pentecost,
nearly two-thousand years ago, the Holy Spirit moved in a mighty way, and the
Christian Church was born. We who are here this morning, are part of that great
legacy in Jesus Christ.
With this said, I want to talk to you
about “The Loaves and Fishes”. When I was a social worker in Ithaca, NY for about
4-years, the program that I worked for got its offices moved from their original
location. We were moved into a large house made into office space that was
right next to the Episcopal Church in Ithaca. This church on various days of
the week had a free community meal feeding program. Many people could go into
the church, eat, drink, and even take with them excess bread and other things.
This feeding program did and probably still does feed thousands of people. What
is the name of this feeding program? It is called “Loaves and Fishes”.
When I worked in Ithaca, this free
meal and food ministry called “Loaves and Fishes,” was very well funded and
supported by the community. It likely still is, and all manner of people would
show up to eat. As I would go in and out of the office where I worked on the days
of the free meals, I would see dozens and dozens of people waiting to get into
the church Fellowship Hall to eat. If it were the summer months, I would see
dozens and dozens of people sitting on the church lawn waiting to get in to
eat. The question though, is why was this church feeding program and other
programs called “Loaves and Fishes”? I mean we could name the feeding program a
whole number of things, yet it is called “Loaves and Fishes”.
The reason for this, as many of you
have guessed by now, or already know, is the name of this feeding program in Ithaca
and many others comes from the Bible story about Jesus feeding the 5,000. This
is the subject of our gospel of Matthew reading, once again, for this morning
(Mt. 14:13-21, NRSV).
Some also call this miracle “The
Feeding of the Multitude,” and this miracle is listed in all four gospels.
There also the “Feeding of the Four-Thousand” miracle that is listed in the gospels of
Matthew and Mark (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feeding_the_multitude).
Before jumping into this gospel lesson for this morning however,
we are told once again in our reading from Psalm 17 for this morning that the
Psalmist, likely King David, was praying for God to deliver and guide him from
being accused of injustices and wrong doing (Ps. 17:1-5, 15, NRSV). The
Psalmist realizes that only God can deliver him and guide him, and without God
he can do nothing. The Psalmist asked God to guide him and to bless him. The
Psalmist seeks God and believes in the power and the authority of God.
In our reading from the Apostle Paul’s letter or epistle to
the Romans for this morning, the Apostle Paul is showing his very real struggle
between his old life as a Jew, and his new life as a Christian. The Apostle
Paul believes in the truth of Christ, but laments being cut off from his former
life as a Jew. The Apostle Pail says once again in Romans 9:1-5:
“I am speaking the
truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit—I
have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I
myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people, my
kindred according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the
adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the
promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh,
comes the Messiah, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen” (Rom. 9:1-5,
NRSV).
To believe in Christ, therefore, means that we change. Our
old sinful nature is shed, and we begin to follow Christ. We change, our choices
change, our attitude changes, and our lives changes.
For the entire history of the Christian faith, nearly two-thousand
years, the vast majority of Christian to world over have believed in the sovereignty,
the authority, the saving power, and the hope that we find only in Jesus Christ.
Jesus, the one who came to earth, God in the flesh, who lived a perfect life,
died on a cross for our sins, and rose again on the third day. This Jesus, when
he was on earth loved, healed, forgave, and performed miracles. This Jesus
loves us so much, and deeply wants to be in relationship with us.
This Jesus, as I said,
performed miracles. This morning we have one of these miracles, once again,
from the gospel of Matthew. As I said a few minutes ago, we call this the
miracle of “The Feeding of the Five-Thousand,” “The Loaves and the Fishes,” or
some call it “The Feeding of the Multitude”. In fact, when I was in my last
year of seminary in 2014, my seminary took a trip to Israel, to the Holy Land.
Among other places we visited, we went to the place of the “The Feeding of the
Five-Thousand”. It was amazing experience for me and for others.
In
my short lifetime I have heard many sermons on this miracle. In some of these
sermons I heard that what happened on this day was indeed a miracle from God.
Yet, I have also heard others try to explain away this miracle as not being a divine
miracle at all. I have heard some try to explain how in this narrative, all the
people at this event all took a ribbon like strip of bread off the five loaves,
and further, that others had extra food with them. This they argued, is how
everyone was feed. The historic Christian Church, and the vast majority of
Christians the world over, do not think that the events of this day, were some
sort of potluck, smoke and mirrors, or a slight of hand. I believe, along with
the majority of Christians the world over that on this day nearly two-thousand years
ago, that God through Jesus Christ performed a miracle and feed thousands. I do
not believe that this is just a story, or simply good moral teaching. I believe
that this was a historical event, and thousands of witnesses were there to see
it. I do not need to find a non-divine or a non-miraculous answer to what
happened this day, because I believe that this day was in fact miraculous and divine.
I believe in miracles, and if Christ was God in the flesh on earth, which I
believe he was, then what is impossible for him? Oh, how he loves you and me!
Let’s
look once again at our gospel of Matthew reading for this morning. Once again
it says:
“Now when Jesus heard
this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when
the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went
ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their
sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a
deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may
go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “They
need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They replied, “We have
nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to
me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five
loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the
loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the
crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the
broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand
men, besides women and children” (Mt. 14:13-21, NRSV).
So, no mention that all these thousands of people had extra
food with them. If that were true, you would think it would it be an important
detail to mention, wouldn’t you?
So,
we have no indication of extra food among the masses present at this event. Further,
I cannot imagine how five loaves of bread and two fish could be torn into
little strips to feed thousands. Especially, since the gospel says that “all
ate and were filled,” and with plenty left over. We are then faced with a
spiritual question. This is the question, did the events of this day, listed in
all four of the gospels, happen or not? Believe me there is plenty of take away
from this gospel lesson to apply to our own lives, as the feeding program at the
Episcopal Church in Ithaca is called “Loaves and Fishes.
Perhaps
an even better question to ask is this then, does it matter if the events of
this day actually happened, if we can draw so much from them? I would argue
that yes it does. For if Jesus were God on earth, and if Jesus had the
authority and the power to die for our
sins, be raised from death, heal, transform, and do amazing things, he then couldn’t
multiple some loaves and fishes? Also, there were twelve full baskets of leftovers.
This
miraculous event shows us the amazing love and power of God. Jesus certainly
wanted to heal and feed people, but beyond that, he wanted to show the world
who he was. Jesus healed, feed, loved, and forgave because these were loving
things to do, but he also wanted people to believe in him. Jesus said in Matthew 4:4:
“But he answered, “It
is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God’ (Mt. 4:4, NRSV).
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God’ (Mt. 4:4, NRSV).
Do we love housing the Sidney Area
Foodbank at this church? Absolutely! Are we proud of this ministry and do we
support it? Absolutely! Jesus told us to feed the hungry and to clothe the
naked. Yet, Jesus also told us to preach his Gospel to declare him and his
teachings to the world.
You see friends, the concern that I
have as a pastor in America in 2020 is this, I can with God’s help feed and
clothe many. I say praise God for this! Yet if I do not offer people the
spiritual bread of Jesus Christ our Lord, have I not spiritually starved them? How
we live our faith and love others, is designed to be an extension of Christ’s
love in us. If we feed a person and they are no longer hungry, but we have not
shared Christ with them, then they leave with a fully belly and possibly a starved
soul. People’s bodies need care, but so do our broken and weary souls. Jesus is
hear for us, will forgive us, love us, and embrace us, if we but ask him.
So, friends, I don’t think that Jesus only
feed all of these people this morning just because they were physically hungry.
I believe that Jesus was happy to do this, but beyond the earthly need for
food, Jesus was offering them new life in him. He was offering real loaves and real
fishes, but also spiritual bread that comes only from him. Like telling the
women at the well that he offered her eternal water, behind his miracles,
behind everything that Jesus did, was the call to repent of our sins, and follow
him.
I worry that some in America today are
very focused only on feeding people’s bodies, which is vital to the mission of
the church. Yet, are we offering them through God the Good News Jesus Christ?
The primary role of the Christian
Church is to offer people Jesus Christ. Within this mission, comes feeding,
clothing, and everything else. If we do not offer people Christ though, and
there are many ways to do this by the way, then these people might be
spiritually starving.
I
think about what our lives would be like without Jesus. I can’t imagine where I
would be right now without God. Where you be right now without God in your
life? So, friends, why would I not want to share that with others? Sure, the
person has full stomach, but more than this, Jesus came to offer us a full
heart and healed soul.
The
other miraculous thing about this miracle of multiplying “The Loaves and the
Fishes,” is that this gospel reading ends, once again, by saying in attendance for
this very miraculous meal were:
And those who ate were about five
thousand men, besides women and children” (Mt. 14:21, NRSV).
I have read some Bible scholars, who have estimated that
the total crowd at this event could been 11,000, 12,000, or more. Either this
was a miracle, or it wasn’t.
The obvious take-aways from this miraculous event then, are
in the earthly sense that we do need to feed people and fill their stomachs,
which I am proud that this church works so hard to do. Yet, Jesus often performed
miracles so that people would believe in him and in the one who sent him.
So, if this miracle really happened, as I believe that it
did, then what could God do through us? What is impossible for God? How could
God use you? Could God use one of you to start a feeding ministry, that would change
Sidney. I think that our Share the Bounty dinners have quite a legacy in the
Sidney Area.
As a Christian and as a pastor, I do not want to see anyone
go hungry, and I will do whatever I can to get people fed, clothed, and housed.
Yet, my primary role, my primary calling, is telling people about the spiritual
bread that is only found only in Jesus Christ. For if our hearts and our souls
are changed, then imagine what God could us to do! The miracle today then, isn’t
just the very real and powerful multiplication of loaves and fishes to feed
thousands, but more than this, the bigger miracle is Jesus Christ.
Jesus invites us into relationship with him. He tells us in
Matthew 11:28:
“Come to me, all you that are weary
and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Mt. 11:28, NRSV).
Jesus
offers us forgiveness, peace, hope, salvation, and spiritual rest in him, and
through him he can use us to feed, clothe, and transform the world. He will
forgive you and transform you if you let him. So, friends, may we offer real
bread to people, and through the Holy Spirit may we offer the spiritual bread
of life found only in Jesus Christ. Amen.
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