July 25, 2021 Sermon
Sermon title: "The Feeding of the 5,000"
Scripture: John 6:1-21
{{Other lectionary choices include II Samuel 11:1-15 - Bathsheba tells David she is pregnant -, Psalm 14, which opens, "Fools say in their hearts, 'There is no God.'", and Ephesians 3:14-21.}}
John 6:1-15
Feeding the Five Thousand
1After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. 2A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. 3Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. 4Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. 5When 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?" 6He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. 7Philip answered him, "Six months' wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." 8One 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?" 10Jesus 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. 11Then 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. 12When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost." 13So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. 14When 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." 15When 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.
What we heard today is considered one of the miracles Jesus performed. It certainly was a miracle, but maybe not in the way you and I have come to understand the term "miracle". I'll get back to that idea in a moment, but first I want to emphasize what I said last week: Mark's Gospel tends to emphasize the humanness of Jesus with some divinity thrown in; John's Gospel, from which we heard today, tends to emphasize the divinity of Jesus with maybe a little humanness thrown in! Now those are my terms and may not be necessarily correct - but keep in mind that Mark's Gospel is probably the first one written, maybe around 65 A.D. and the SHORTEST one written (No birth story, No Resurrection story, although it does mention the Empty Tomb). Matthew and Luke were written shortly after Mark's account, maybe within five years or so. The Gospel of John, however, was not written until near the end of the first century, say around 95 A. D.
Why do I mention these things? To make the point that the further away we get from the actual time that Jesus lived, the more "divine" he seems to become. In the first three Gospels, Jesus tries to keep it quiet when he heals someone, and he seems not to want to be called the Messiah. But in John's Gospel, we hear such things from the mouth of Jesus as, "He who has seen me has seen the Father", and "I and the Father are one". There are lots of "I Am" statements from Jesus in the Gospel of John, including "I am the Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live."
These differences in the Gospels aren't bad - they just ARE. And because John was written after the other three means that the author of John had different concerns from the authors of the first three. And we can talk about those differences later, if you want.
But let's get to the Feeding of the 5,000, which is the title of today's sermon. The fact that we hear that there was a great deal of grass indicates that probably there was an eyewitness to this account. In Mark's Gospel, we read that there is GREEN grass - again, an indication of an eyewitness. In Mark's Gospel, we see the sense of humor of Jesus. He says, "You give them something to eat." Now how is a mere Disciple or Apostle going to feed 5,000 people? In today's reading, we are told that Jesus said something to Philip, and he said it to test him, because Jesus already knew what he was going to do! Philip shows his frustration by saying that six months' wages wouldn't be enough to feed such a crowd. And Andrew says there's a kid with 5 barley loaves and two fish - but he says, "But what are they among so many people?" Then Jesus says, "Make the people sit down."
I mentioned earlier the idea of a miracle. Perhaps the miracle was that Jesus was actually able to expand the loaves and fishes into a huge meal to feed a multitude. Maybe Jesus performed an act of magic. And before we get too far into the story, did you notice that there were "leftovers"? Jesus may have been the first conservationist because he didn't want to WASTE anything! Also, how much food was leftover? Just some scraps? NO! There were TWELVE baskets full of leftovers! And is 12 an "accidental" number? NO! NOTHING is accidental in John! And what is 12 but the number of the ancient tribes of Israel, and, of course, the 12 disciples. Again, nothing is accidental in the Gospel of John!
I would like you to consider the possibility of ANOTHER miracle in this story. What if EVERYBODY had brought a little food, and what if everybody shared what he/she brought? I mean, the boy had brought some loaves and fishes. What if everybody had brought something to share? What if the point is that TOGETHER we can do anything? What if the point is that by GIVING to others, we are ourselves fed? And don't forget what was left over after everybody shared: LOTS of food, MORE than enough. I am reminded that elsewhere in John's Gospel of the fact that Jesus says, "I am come that you may have life, and have it more ABUNDANTLY." There certainly was an abundance of food in today's Scripture account. Again, elsewhere in the Gospel of John when Jesus turns the water into wine, he doesn't just make a few bottles. He makes gallons and gallons of the stuff! Again, an abundance, even an OVER abundance - and the wine steward comments on just how good the wine was, even better than the original vino that the host had put out! With Jesus, John is saying, there is ABUNDANCE everywhere!
There is at least one message for you and me today in this story of the feeding of a multitude. At first glance, the task seems impossible. Even a couple of the disciples, Philip and Andrew, seem skeptical at first, and even hopeless. But what does Jesus do? He has everybody sit down, and then he says grace. He is thankful for what there is, regardless of how SMALL it is. That's point one: you and I need to be thankful for what we have, even if we think it's not enough. ABT: Always Be Thankful! Point number two: TRY to do the task at hand. TRY to feed the 5,000, even if you think it is hopeless. Maybe one of the points of this story is that if you TRY, it is AMAZING what you can do with God's help! It is SO overwhelming to consider the world's problems. But won't you at least TRY to do a little something? That may be a point of today's Scripture lesson. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, said one time - and I can't remember the exact quote - Do all that you can as often as you can for as long as you can. And again, you just may be surprised at what you and God can accomplish!
What I want to say is that God does not call us to be SUCCESSFUL. God calls us to be FAITHFUL! There is so much wrong with the world that what you and I might do might not make a hill of beans difference, to paraphrase Humphrey Bogart in the movie, "Casablanca". But God wants us to TRY anyway. Remember that story of the little kid walking along the beach, and throwing every starfish that he finds stranded on the sand BACK into the water? An adult comes by and tries to tell the kid what he is trying to do is hopeless and that there are so MANY starfish stranded that his efforts won't make a difference. What's the kid say? "It made a difference for THAT one", as he throws it into the water. And remember, Jesus didn't heal EVERYONE, only the ones with whom he came into contact. And he didn't feed EVERYONE: only those who showed up in today's Scripture reading. And he didn't raise EVERYONE from the dead: only Lazarus. So.....if you can't feed 5,000, how about one or two? If you can't save the world, how about you just TRY. You just might be amazed what you and God can do together! Amen.
Pastor Skip
