community

What defiles? (Sermon August 17, 2014)

Bazzi Rahib, Ilyas Basim Khuri (1684)
Walters Art Museum

Matthew 15:10–28 (NRSV)

Things That Defile

(Mk 7:14–23)

¹⁰ Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand: ¹¹ it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” ¹² Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” ¹³ He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. ¹⁴ Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.” ¹⁵ But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” ¹⁶ Then he said, “Are you also still without understanding? ¹⁷ Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? ¹⁸ But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. ²⁰ These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”

The Canaanite Woman’s Faith

(Mk 7:24–30)

²¹ Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. ²² Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” ²³ But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” ²⁴ He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵ But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” ²⁶ He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁷ She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” ²⁸ Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

Today’s generation often feels pulled between two dominate cultural points of view. One that focus’ on respect and responsibility and the other on action and experience. For many these two dominate cultural personalities seem to be at odds. But really it is all a manner of perspective.

We can often get caught up on issues and interpretation and miss the truth behind the situation. This is common when there is a significant shift in the culture. Usually these shifts are due to great technical advancements or great disasters. Either the cultural advances or it digresses and the people that are caught in the middle of this shift are left to interpret the situation they find themselves in. Is our culture in the worst decline in centuries or are we advancing into the greatest era of Christian history?

Let us just contemplate that for a moment. How you answer that question will probably greatly affect how you look into the future and what approach to ministry we will have. But as we contemplate that question let us remember that this is the very sort of question these people in the first century were facing. Judea during this time frame was being colonized by people of Latin and Greek heritage, and for centuries there have been consistent minority of the people known as the Cannonites. With this constant influx of non-Jewish people the Hebrew population had questions. Can we incorporate these people into our culture or should we continue to separate ourselves from the outside world. We understand their struggle, we have faced struggles such as these for centuries. Sometimes we think that the issues we face are new issues but as scripture reminds us there is nothing new under the sun.

Jesus and his disciples were in an area of Judea that was in a cultural dispute. This area had the highest concentration of Greek colonists clustered around the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. This is the area that Jesus spent his childhood, where he work alongside the family in their business of trade. Jesus lived and grew up in an area filled with cultural tension. In areas like this the communities have groups with different ideas, there are extremes on both ends of the spectrum and then many in the middle. Jesus is caught in the center of these cultural controversies and those around him are trying to force him to make a stand. Then someone does something that causes the entire group to go into an uproar. They eat without washing their hands.

For most of us this is seen as kind of gross but it not something to go crazy over, but this seemingly insignificant act was one that grayed the lines of separation between the various cultural factions. These rituals of cleanliness were passed down for generations, often they were not even questioned but simply participated in. These ritualistic actions were attached to a cultural identity that many took pride in. For a disciple of Jesus to eat without washing not only showed something to those around him, but it screamed something. Profane.

As we read this passage we can be brought right into the center of the very same cultural debate, if we are not careful. Choosing a side without really knowing what is going on. We are quick to judge the Pharisees saying that they are being legalistic, but when we do so we automatically are lumped into the other extreme. This happens because we often do not understand what is being said. We read the word profane or defiles and immediately we think of sinfulness, mainly because that is the common understanding. This word though is not necessarily a bad word, it simply means common. The word was used to describe the things common to a community. For instance if a city park was to be described in ancient Greek the word used would be the same that is translated as  profane or defiled, because the park common to the community or is owned and used by all within the community. This term gained its negative reputation when the Greek culture was expanded out into the east because then it began to be used for the things that were common among the people not like us. With that being said, there are certain aspect of faith that are not common outside of a tradition, these things separate or sanctify a group from another for a special and specific reason. The profane and the sanctified, the common and the separate, it is like a scene from the evening news.

Those around Jesus are caught up in this debate, the debate over watering down the identity of the faith and being set apart as righteous. But what is Jesus’ answer? “Listen and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” Stop there and just consider that answer for a moment. “[I]t is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.”

What did Jesus just say? Did he turn his back on the faith that has defined the Hebrew people from Abraham and side completely with the Gentiles, did He say that the Greek culture prevalent all around him was not offensive to God? Did he side with either group of extremist or moderates? What he did was say that you are all asking the wrong questions and getting the incorrect answers, and the incorrect answers are distracting you from what is truly important in the kingdom of Heaven.

It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles. The disciples immediately began to scramble, entering into damage control mode. They were comparing notes and getting their heads together on how they were going to explain this statement when the angry from all sides started coming out in mass to protest. They approached Jesus and said to him, “you realize you just offended them…so can you explain this so we can help.” 

Why were the laws given? What is the reasoning behind the law that was given to Moses and passed down through the generations? Is it the law that is important to God or is there something behind the law that is really what is important but could not be fully explained to people without knowledge of things like cells, and viruses? If we do not ask the right questions, if we do not seek the right answers we can easily be led around in directions that could be very contrary to the spirit behind the law. These are the things that Jesus is wanting them to consider. He says in his explanation, what enters the mouth enters the stomach and goes to the sewer. This probably does not need an explanation, but in essence Jesus is saying that this issue is not one that really matters, anything that may cause harm will be digested and flushed out in the proper courses of time. But what is really important is living the truth behind the law out in our daily life.

The law was given to be a guide to teach us how to live healthy and just lives as a community. They encourage healthy eating and hygiene habits to keep our families and friends from getting sick when we share our lives with each other. Does it really matter if our hands are clean if we are not going to share our food with others? The law was given to teach us how to treat others with justice instead of vengeance, to prevent unnecessary harm to those in our community. The law was given to form a group of people that would become the ideal for the entire world. Yet through the ages the spirt behind the laws given to Moses took on different forms and shapes, to the point that the intent of the law was so clouded by interpretation that we totally miss the point.

Jesus then goes on to say what is really important is what comes out, or our actions, because this is where the truth resides. It is what we say and do when people are not watching that is more important. This is the very reason that George Fox and the early Friends turned away from the Church of England to form the Society of Friends. This is why they removed all the common rituals from our worship and distilled it down to the simplest forms possible. Because evil people can hide behind religion. People can claim righteousness while people are looking and watching but when it comes to life they can be as deadly as a snake.

Jesus then proceeds into the Gentile dominated parts of the area, where he meets a profane or defiled woman. A woman that has not been set apart in the eyes of the religious but is common. A common Gentile woman, with no heritage that mattered and cut out from the kingdom. Yet she cries out to Jesus, “Have mercy!” Jesus continues to walk, which is almost odd. Directly after he criticizes the religious for being blind to the truth, he walks on past a Gentile woman that is in need, the disciples want to silence her because she is persistent, and eventually Jesus stops. Consider the conversation and the scene:

 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Matthew 15:24–27 (NRSV)

She is a woman in need, her daughter is being tormented by a demon and Jesus says, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” Jesus almost…well he actually sounds mean in this conversation. Here she is falling on her face before him and He is calling her a dog. Dogs at this time were not common pets but were often wild and dangerous, the righteous would often call the Gentiles dogs because they were not disciplined and were often seen as wild and dangerous. But this woman was genuine in her faith and responded with great wisdom and discernment. “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” She may not be part of the community of the faithful but she still has faith. She knows that due to her heritage she will never be accepted as part of the community, yet her heart is not profane. Out of her mouth pours the spirit behind all the law.

Israel was not chosen because they were great, they were chosen because they were common. They were not set apart because they were better, but because they were profane. They were chosen because they had nothing in themselves that would be perceived as greatness outside of the fact that they had faith that their God would and could provide for their needs. They were called not to be set aside, but to be the light of the nations. To be the light of the nations you must step out into the darkness carrying that light with you.

Our culture is on the crest of a new era. Our culture is advancing rapidly in areas of technology but this does not change our mission. Those that are with God are still called to bring light. We are still called to feed the hungry, care for those that cannot take care of themselves and to share the Gospel of the Kingdom of God being near. I asked earlier to consider a question, Is our culture in the worst decline in centuries or are we advancing into the greatest era of Christian history? Again our answer to this question will greatly effect our ministry. If we claim that our culture is in the worst decline in centuries we will isolate ourselves from the outside, deem everything around us as being profaine and we will justify actions that go against the advancement of the Kingdom of God. If we claim that we are advancing into the greatest era of Christian history we will engage the culture around us and speak to those people that are often considered profane. But really that question can be simplified into something else, “do we believe that God can and will provide for what he calls us to do?” If we believe let us step out entrusting our future into his hands and like this Cannonite woman let us have faith that even the crumbs that fall from the table can be used to change the world around us.

Lord Save Me! (Sermon August 10, 2014)

Matthew 14:22–33 (NRSV)

Jesus Walks on the Water

(Mk 6:45–52; Jn 6:15–21)

²² Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. ²³ And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, ²⁴ but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. ²⁵ And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. ²⁶ But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. ²⁷ But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”

Bazzi Rahib, Ilyas Basim Khuri (1684)

²⁸ Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” ²⁹ He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” ³¹ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” ³² When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. ³³ And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

This has been a whirl wind of a week for many of us. For some the primary elections were adding stress to our lives, not just for those running but the issues that were included for many to consider. Then we hear the stories around the world: War in Israel, War in Ukraine, War in Iraq, Iraq extremist bringing a new reality of persecution into the minds of Christians, and our nation flirting with the concept of entering into a new Cold War with Russia. It is about enough to make anyone question the point of everything, because if you were to just watch the news you would think the world was on the verge of collapse. But we forget that that is the point of the news, they want to break the latest big news story and the one to be the first to break the news of the collapse of the world is the one that wins.

Truth in most cases has taken a back seat to perception. Ideas are planted in our minds and then those ideas are being constantly fed by endless cycles of ideas working us all into a frenzy. To be honest it has been extremely difficult for me personally to not get caught up in the frenzy of the day. I read stories on the internet that break my heart for the people of Iraq as their nation and communities that have been in existence for a millennia have been destroyed by people claiming to be the hand of God. It works me into a near state of rage when I hear what has been done to the women and children. The inhumanity of it all actually puzzles me. What could cause a person to treat another as if they were garbage? Then I had to step back and consider myself and my own attitudes for a bit. What is my response? Am I calling out for vengeance? And could I participate in something nudging the line of inhumanity?

I bring this up because I feel that often we get caught up in this whirlwind of media and we often forget that there are real humans on the other side of the controversy. Humans that are caught in their own whirlwinds of trouble that are not the same as ours but just as real to them.

Life is filled with troubles and whirlwinds. That is why this scene in the gospel message is so important. Just after the greatest miracle the disciples had ever seen Jesus send them out on the boat, and a storm begins to rage around them. I want us to first think of this scene as we reflect of this passage. The waves are crashing over the edge of the boat, the disciple are bailing water out as fast as it comes in with the constant threat of everything ending at any moment as they are trying to pull the oars through the water to bring them to safety. Their very lives are at risk and where is Jesus?

Can you identify with these disciples? Their promised messiah was supposed to come in and take away all their troubles. Reestablish them as a great nation, a nation flowing with milk and honey so they would not have to struggle and toil. They had eaten manna from heaven coming from the hands of their teacher and friend. Yet the waves are crashing in, they are soaked and their muscles and bones ache from the wind chilled air. They looked into the face of their salvation and now they stare into the face of death.

How often do we feel like we are on that boat? Feeling like everything we have worked and hoped for is on the brink of destruction and we ask ourselves, where is Jesus? Where is Jesus, when the world all around us seems to be falling apart? Where is Jesus when children are being killed and displaced by a war they know nothing about? Where is Jesus when nations are being ripped apart by political ideology and the people they claim to protect are being left to fend for themselves? Where is Jesus when your health dwindles and your finances are shot? The waves of life crash all around us threatening to engulf us as we struggle to make it to shore.

Where is Jesus? I imagine the disciples crying this very question out to the howling winds. Where is Jesus? The very question so many today scream out in desperation.  Jesus sent these guys out into that storm, while he dismissed the crowd and went to the mountaintop to pray. Jesus sent them out onto the sea to face the storm, He sent them out there to struggle. I want you to think about that for just a moment, Jesus did not remove them from the struggle.

Now let us go to the mountain with Jesus. Jesus had just performed a miracle that would get people talking. Five thousand families just ate a meal that began as a ration for a single individual, those that were in the crowd had an idea of the future beginning to form in their minds. Their troubles were going to be over they might think. God was going to provide for their every need. Imagine the excitement, imagine the struggle Jesus must have had dismissing that crowd. Also remember that Jesus is still mourning the loss of his cousin, which is why he was in this particular place to begin with.  Jesus was emotionally and spiritually drained, but He knew what he needed.

There are always going to be struggles threatening our well-being, how we respond to those struggles are what makes the biggest difference. Jesus had a rhythm to his life that we can recognize as we walk with him and his disciple through the pages of scripture. Jesus made it his custom to worship in the synagogue, he took time to praise and encourage the faithful in the worship of the one God. He also would withdraw to an isolated place to pray, spending time in a deeper more intimate setting where He could commune with His Father. He would then go out into the community to minister to the needs of the people, healing the sick and encouraging the marginalized of the culture that they were not forgotten by God. This rhythm of life, this life of discipline that Jesus shares with us is one that will give us strengthen in the storms of life, it will give us direction, and allows God to walk with us.

The disciples are struggling in the midst of the storm and where is Jesus? Jesus is participating in a holy lifestyle of constant communion with God. The disciples are struggling through in their own strength while Jesus calmly walks in confidence with God. The disciples are living in fear and self-preservation where Jesus is focused on the rhythm of life. Loving God, Embracing the Holy Spirit, and loving and ministering to others.

The disciples are rowing for their lives as the wind is tossing them around the sea and Jesus calmly walks out to them. They scream in fear that death himself was walking to take them to their final resting place. Jesus calls out to them to, “take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” Easy, right, just not be afraid as the waves are crashing all around you and someone is walking on water. This is an interesting image though. Waves crashing and Jesus calmly walking through the turmoil. Peter cries out to him, “If it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” Imagine the faith in that statement. Jesus grants Peter the command and Peter gets out of the boat. Imagine the confusion as the others watch this event unfold before them.

Peter with his eyes on Jesus walks out to him. The storm rages on but Peter walks. But the winds pick up and distract Peter from Jesus. His eyes once again move to the world and the chaos around him and he begins to sink. He takes a step, the wind picks up, the next step he descends a bit into the water but he takes another step as he looks around and again his foot goes deeper and deeper, slowly as he walks he descends until he is nearly under the raging surf and he cries out, “Lord Save ME!” The passage implies that he did not quickly sink but slowly, as his eyes were more and more distracted from Jesus he sank deeper.

Lord save me, Peter cries. He cries out because even in his lack of faith he knows that Jesus stands firm where others fail. Peter knows that Jesus has the strength and power to reach him before the waves overtake him. But still he doubted. He doubted that He could do what Jesus called him to do. He saw the waves around him raging on, and he doubted that if he was called to walk on the water that Jesus would provide the power for him to do so. But in the doubt he still believed that Jesus could provide the help he needed. Jesus reach out and caught Peter’s hand and they made it safely to the boat and the storm was silenced.

Do we doubt that Jesus is able to provide the strength and power necessary for us to do what we are called to do? Do we doubt that Jesus is able to provide for us even though the storms rage all around us? Do we allow ourselves to be distracted by the waves instead of keeping our focus on Jesus? I so often sink beneath the waves. This is why it is so important to participate in meetings for worship. Because it is in worship that we are reminded and can help each other stay focused on the one that can accomplish through us what we are called to do. Worship is our time to encourage one another to look past the waves and whirlwinds of life and stay focused on the one that calms the raging seas. When we neglect meetings for worship we begin to sink, each step we take we slowly step deeper into the sea, deeper until we are nearly overtaken by the waves.

Worship encourages us, but prayer deepens our faith. It is in prayer that we converse with the divine and develop a relationship with the God who loves us. It is in the moments of prayer that we are inspired to take the step out of the boat into the chaotic world around us. It is in prayer that we learn and experience the grace and salvation of Christ, knowing that His hand will grab hold of ours when we need help.

And it is in ministry where we live the love of Christ with others. It is in our ministry where we become Jesus’ hands and feet for others. Lifting them out of the waves and into the calmness of the kingdom of heaven.

We often get distracted by the chaos around us. The politics of our nation distracts our attention from our callings to be the hands and feet of Jesus to a world drowning in sin. The wars raging on our planet cause us to forget that Christ is the prince of peace. We are called to be the hands and feet of Christ, to become the instruments to bring the will of God on earth as it is in heaven. This is the full gospel, that God is all around here today as he will be tomorrow, and God lives in and through the lives of those that participate in that holy rhythm. It is through this rhythm that the miraculous happens, and we are able to see beyond the waves into the very eyes of God.

As we enter this time of holy expectancy, as we enter a time of communion and prayer with each other and God, let us imagine this seen through the eyes of the disciples as they struggle against the raging storm. Then let us look at the waves through the eyes of Jesus. What are the distractions that we have around us keeping us from experiencing the calm that Jesus wants for us? Let us look beyond those waves and step out of the boat and into the hand of Christ, who came to show us and give us Life more abundantly even as the chaotic storms rage around us. Let us become the people He has called us to be, a people Loving God, Embracing the holy spirit, and living the Love of Christ with Others. And let us become the hands and feet of Jesus that are willing to reach into the waves to pull friends to safety.

Insignificant to Extraordinary (Sermon August 3, 2014)

Matthew 14:13-21 (NRSV)

¹³ 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. ¹⁴ When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. ¹⁵ 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.” ¹⁶ Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” ¹⁷ They replied,

Sister Patricia Reid, RSCJ, lives and writes icons in the New Skete religious community of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Photo by Jim Forest.

“We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” ¹⁸ And he said, “Bring them here to me.” ¹⁹ 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. ²⁰ And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. ²¹ And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

 

Have you ever wished that you were somewhere else in life? In the middle of a corporate meeting where your supervisor is grilling you with questions, questions you should probably know the answer too but you do for reasons outside of your control. Yet there you are standing in the spotlight wishing you were someone else…but hoping that someone else was paid the same as you are now. Or maybe you are sitting at the bed side of a child who has a fever that just will not break and after hours of sleeplessness you wish for just a moment’s rest.

There are times in our lives where we hope for little miracles. Nothing really huge but something very practical. We want a simpler life, good health, our needs met. We strive for these things with all of our efforts and before we realize it we are not living a simpler life, our health is not good, and our needs are not met, because in the quest for the good life we were caught up in the chaos of the world all around us. And due to this chaotic lifestyle we often get trapped in we unintentionally find ourselves blindsided by worries we never wanted, stresses we never needed, and fatigue we did not ask for. How then can someone say to you rest. How can we possibly rest when we have deadlines for reports, meetings to keep, and mouths to feed?

Of all the miracles that Jesus performed probably the most well-known is the feeding of the five thousand. But often I feel we do not see the miracle fully. We see the results of the miracle, the five thousand plus mouths fed but we fail to see the amazing work going on behind the scenes. We often read this miracle like we hope for a change in our situation. We want the end result without changing anything else in our life. This is often why we miss the blessings that God has given us. Not so much miss the blessings, but are unable or blind to see the blessings because of the chaos that surrounds us.

The first thing we must look at is the timing of this feat. The very first verse we read today says, “Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself…” Often we picture this event as a festive time because of the large crowd, but we seem to forget that this was actually a very stressful time in Jesus’ life. He had just received notice that his friend, his colleague, and his cousin, John the Baptist, had just been executed. Jesus was not seeking the company of thousands of people but a place of solitude to mourn the loss of someone he cared for deeply.

Why do I point this out? Life does not stop because our situation has changed. Just because you are not exactly where you want to be, God may be urging you to step out to assist him in the kingdom. Jesus withdrew, he wanted to stop everything, leave the chaos of the crowds to be alone just for a moment, but the crowds followed him. And Jesus had compassion for them.

We are often blinded by our situations, but the kingdom of God, the Gospel or good news still proceeds, just as time continues to move forward. Jesus had every right within the law to withdraw from his ministry for a time, everyone would have understood that he had just lost a close family member and would have given him space, but the kingdom is more important than individuals. The Gospel is greater than our current situations. Jesus had compassion on them, because in his loss those he ministered to realized that he understood their sorrow. Jesus knows the suffering we go through, he knows the fatigue we feel when we are asked to do just one more thing, he understand the stress we have when our child is sick and we still have the responsibilities of feeding others. Maybe we should look to Jesus for answers in how to deal with the stresses of life.

Jesus sees the crowds that have followed him and he has compassion, he has the boat go toward the shore and he ministers to the ones that are sick, and he encourages the ones that have broken spirits. Often in our stress we wish to withdraw but at times the stress we are experiencing can provide greater insight in the encouragement of those we are called to. Imagine the scene. There are thousands of people many are sick, many more have spent days if not years ministering to the needs of those that are sick and they are at the end of their ropes. Jesus himself has just lost a dear friend and is able to empathize with the feelings of those around him.

It is that empathy that ministers. It is that sharing of your life with someone else that provides healing beyond explanation. But the healing is not what is important here. The hour is late and they are in a desolate or deserted place. This is an area that was not cultivated, uninhabited, and unfit for living so the likelihood of finding lodging was slim, food for the crowd even slimmer. The closest followers of Jesus realized this and were very aware of the time so they advised Jesus to send the crowd away so that they could possibly make it to a town or village before the night came in. Often we fail to see that the disciples like ourselves are very practical people. Until very recent history it was unsafe to travel at night, thanks to modern technologies like the light bulb we have the luxury of being able to navigate at night fairly easily, but in ancient times the only light came from the moon or if you were lucky a torch. Traveling at night was very dangerous because it left a person or group vulnerable for a surprise attack from a band of bandits, which was likely since the first century was a period of time filled with civil unrest.

The disciples being wise in the ways of the world knew that if the crowd lingered much longer they would be place in grave danger. Today after reading this story so often tend to look at the disciples with disdain and provide commentary about their lack of faith. Failing to see that they were being very companionate and prudent. Imagine yourself in this situation, five thousand families gathered around you and your closest friends, you are out in the middle of nowhere totally unprepared, how would you have responded to the situation?

Jesus says to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” Jesus is calling them to minister in a chaotic situation where they were far from equipped to handle. To provide for a gathering of this size would have required logistical and strategic planning months in advance. Not only did they not anticipate the gathering, they were not even sure of the number of people gathered. And Jesus is telling them do not send them away but give them something to eat. To the disciple’s credit they began to investigate the situation prior to this confrontation. They knew what they had and were well aware of that it was not enough, I say this because they quickly answer, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” They knew the situation, they recognized a need, and they realized that they did not have the physical means to do what they were asked. If I were to look for a new employee I would take any one of these guys because they are showing great leadership skills.

Jesus tells them to bring him what they have to him, he then asks the crowd to gather and sit down, as he begins to bless the meal. “Blessed be thou, O Lord our God, the King of the world, who produced bread out of the earth.^[1]” are words that he likely said over this meager ration, this was the customary blessing said over a meal during that period of time. This simple blessing is filled with a testimony of faith. Listen to it yet again, “Blessed be thou, O Lord our God, the King of the world, who produced bread out of the earth.”

This simple blessing acknowledged that all we have is directly connected to God. It is not ours but was provided to us through the blessing of God. It is God that provided us with the abilities we have to produce the means by which we provide for our families, it is God the king of the world that produces bread from the earth. All we have is given to us by God, and we are to use what we have to encourage and provide for the needs of those around us.

Jesus blessed this seemingly insignificant basket of food, breaking the loaves apart, and distributed them to the disciples to hand the pieces out until all in the crowd had eaten their fill. It is there that we begin to see the miracle, but the miraculous happened before the people ate. The miraculous happened when Jesus blessed the seemingly insignificant amount.

We live in a chaotic world. The needs and the demands on each of us seem incredibly high even if we are in theory retired. We feel that we are stretched too thin, too tired, and are nearly at our breaking point. We look out in our world and we do have compassion for those in need but the need seems beyond our ability to offer any real assistance. I am right there with you, I too am tired, I feel like there is often nothing that can be done, yet feel an urging within me to do more to assist the community, to encourage my family, and to encourage our meeting. There are people in our community who sleep at night under bridges, people that may not have eaten a meal in days. While at ministry conference several people including my son, James, went out to talk with some of these people in Wichita. We may believe that that this is not an issue here around this meeting, but we would be wrong because just this week I saw one of those broken people outside a restaurant just a few blocks from here, just down the street from where we live and where we worship.

“You give them something to eat.” This is what Jesus told his disciples, think about that. Has, over the course of time, this command changed? Does Jesus no longer have compassion on the sick, the hurting, or the hungry? But, you might say we do not have enough. We barely have enough for ourselves, and our closest family and friends. This is like saying all we have are five loaves and two fish. In our wisdom we hold ourselves back. In our wisdom we miss the miraculous.

It was when the little was brought to Jesus that the multitude was fed. It was when the disciples were obedient with the insignificant that they were able to see the miraculous. We can get caught in the trap of insignificance, this binds us and keeps us from our calling to share the gospel keeping us from experiencing the kingdom on earth as it is in heaven, but why? When the disciples brought the bread and fish to Jesus, He blessed them and the earth produced bread for all to eat their fill. The seeds Jesus needs to bring the kingdom of God to this community are already here. Those seeds are found in the stories of our lives, in our pockets, and in our houses. They are found in our kitchens, and in our cars. They are found in this meetinghouse and in our future. Yes it seems insignificant. We are a small church, we are a small denomination, but when we bring what we have to Jesus he can produce bread out of the earth.

As we enter into this time of open worship, let us each imagine this scene. Imagine the feelings you might have as one of those disciples looking out at the crowd, knowing that the need is far greater than your abilities. Imagine that meager and insignificant basket of food in your hands as Jesus tells you to give that vast crowd something to eat. What is the feeling you have? Now imagine the blessing being said over that basket by your dearest and closest friend, and him handing you a piece of bread to hand out to the others. Then another and yet another? Imagine the scene of five thousand families sitting in that deserted uninhabitable place eating their fill from a basket you knew would only provide enough for one person. Imagine. We have what we need to do far more than feeding a crowd if we only believe that Jesus will be able to take what we have to offer and produce bread out of the earth. The only question yet to ask is…do you believe…do you trust…do you entrust that Jesus can and will continue to take the insignificant and make it extraordinary?

^[1] Freeman, J. M., & Chadwick, H. J. (1998). Manners & customs of the Bible (p. 441). North Brunswick, NJ: Bridge-Logos Publishers.