Matthew 14:13-21
Now when Jesus heard of the execution of John the Baptizer, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself, but when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the nearby towns.
When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd already gathered, 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.”
But 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 told the crowds to sit down on the grass and 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. They all ate and were filled, and they gathered up what was left over of the broken pieces, which was twelve baskets full. Those who ate were about five thousand men, besides the women and children who were with them.
We had no church service last week – in-person or otherwise – because some of us were out of town for a long weekend retreat. It was a lovely few days getting to spend time with people we don’t see very often. The setting was beautiful, the weather was great, and added to all that, the main speaker was incredible.
The whole experience was uplifting and encouraging and challenging -- and for the first few days back home again my mind was still racing with new ideas and new ways to look at the world I live in. My heart, my mind, and my soul were all well fed with all that was said and done in those few days and beyond ..... but then that annoying concept “scheduling” showed up again and I had to try to put all those wonderful feelings aside and get to work on this week’s message.
So here we are, back to the area around the Sea of Galilee. The area is described as “a deserted place,” yet 5000 people were able to find Jesus and descend on him there. One source I used said this was near Bethsaida at the north end of the lake, even though this scripture doesn’t name a specific place.
I suspect that we all know this story, the one where Jesus fed 5000+ people with five loaves and two fish. This is the only Jesus story that is told in all four gospels. And the details are remarkably similar in all four tellings. And on top of that, both Mark and Matthew tell a second story of another mass feeding occurring just a day or two after the first one – this one feeding 4000+ people with seven loaves and no fish. Scripture scholars still quibble over whether this is an actual second event or just an editing error.
The point of all this is that the people followed Jesus wherever he went, hoping for healing, and when the days ran long and there was no outside source of food for them all, Jesus fed them.
Now “feeding” can mean giving someone actual food to satisfy a physical hunger – bread or fish or fruit, nuts or beans or olives – items we would find common in both Jesus’ day and in our diets today. But “feeding” can also mean filling a spiritual or intellectual hunger with things like hope or gratitude, dreams or knowledge, or reasons to keep going when things are hard.
I started today by sharing my weekend experience – an experience of being fed – fed with information, yes, but also with a reminder that when we gather in God’s name we open ourselves to share the riches of a deep, deep knowledge that we are more than we seem on the surface, more than we often allow ourselves to believe we can be and do.
In today’s story, Jesus fed the people because the days had been long and there were no food vendors out in the beyond where they were. Jesus fed them because they were hungry.
But they were out there in the first place, following a healer most of them had never seen before, because the stories they had heard of him fed their hopes that here was someone who cared about them, that this was someone who could show them a better way and give them reason to believe that their lives could be made better. He fed them hope and belief ,..... and then he fed them bread and fish.
We all need to be fed; we need to have the emptiness inside us filled, over and over again. And that is why we gather at this table whenever we come together. As the inimical Frederick Buecher once said, “To eat this particular meal together is to meet at the level of our most basic humanness, which involves our need not just for food but for each other. I need you to help fill my emptiness, just as you need me to help fill yours. Most of all, this need, and feeding that need, is what makes us brothers and sisters.”
Physical food and spiritual food – we need to be fed – and we need to be part of feeding each other as well. When we are fed, we can feed others from what we have been given. Jesus gives us himself – his own wisdom and trust and especially his knowledge that we are loved -- and he gives us – feeds us -- his own being, as bread and cup.
We are fed what we need. Let us then, in turn, feed our sisters and brothers what they need, when they need it – as we have been given it to share.
The whole experience was uplifting and encouraging and challenging -- and for the first few days back home again my mind was still racing with new ideas and new ways to look at the world I live in. My heart, my mind, and my soul were all well fed with all that was said and done in those few days and beyond ..... but then that annoying concept “scheduling” showed up again and I had to try to put all those wonderful feelings aside and get to work on this week’s message.
So here we are, back to the area around the Sea of Galilee. The area is described as “a deserted place,” yet 5000 people were able to find Jesus and descend on him there. One source I used said this was near Bethsaida at the north end of the lake, even though this scripture doesn’t name a specific place.
I suspect that we all know this story, the one where Jesus fed 5000+ people with five loaves and two fish. This is the only Jesus story that is told in all four gospels. And the details are remarkably similar in all four tellings. And on top of that, both Mark and Matthew tell a second story of another mass feeding occurring just a day or two after the first one – this one feeding 4000+ people with seven loaves and no fish. Scripture scholars still quibble over whether this is an actual second event or just an editing error.
The point of all this is that the people followed Jesus wherever he went, hoping for healing, and when the days ran long and there was no outside source of food for them all, Jesus fed them.
Now “feeding” can mean giving someone actual food to satisfy a physical hunger – bread or fish or fruit, nuts or beans or olives – items we would find common in both Jesus’ day and in our diets today. But “feeding” can also mean filling a spiritual or intellectual hunger with things like hope or gratitude, dreams or knowledge, or reasons to keep going when things are hard.
I started today by sharing my weekend experience – an experience of being fed – fed with information, yes, but also with a reminder that when we gather in God’s name we open ourselves to share the riches of a deep, deep knowledge that we are more than we seem on the surface, more than we often allow ourselves to believe we can be and do.
In today’s story, Jesus fed the people because the days had been long and there were no food vendors out in the beyond where they were. Jesus fed them because they were hungry.
But they were out there in the first place, following a healer most of them had never seen before, because the stories they had heard of him fed their hopes that here was someone who cared about them, that this was someone who could show them a better way and give them reason to believe that their lives could be made better. He fed them hope and belief ,..... and then he fed them bread and fish.
We all need to be fed; we need to have the emptiness inside us filled, over and over again. And that is why we gather at this table whenever we come together. As the inimical Frederick Buecher once said, “To eat this particular meal together is to meet at the level of our most basic humanness, which involves our need not just for food but for each other. I need you to help fill my emptiness, just as you need me to help fill yours. Most of all, this need, and feeding that need, is what makes us brothers and sisters.”
Physical food and spiritual food – we need to be fed – and we need to be part of feeding each other as well. When we are fed, we can feed others from what we have been given. Jesus gives us himself – his own wisdom and trust and especially his knowledge that we are loved -- and he gives us – feeds us -- his own being, as bread and cup.
We are fed what we need. Let us then, in turn, feed our sisters and brothers what they need, when they need it – as we have been given it to share.
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