Matthew 14: 13-21
There is only one miracle story told in all 4 gospels…and two gospels tell it twice.
- So…it must be important.
- That miracle is the feeding of the 5000.
The best theological commentary on the feeding of the 5000 was told by Parker
Palmer…a Quaker theologian and author.
- The story takes place a long time ago when there were no security lines at airports.
- No electronic screening…and you could pretty much carry whatever you wanted in your briefcase or purse onto the airplane.
- Anyone here remember when you could smoke on an airplane?
Well…Parker Palmer was on a flight from Chicago to Denver that pulled away from the gate…
- And taxied and taxied and taxied for a long time.
- You know the feeling.
- You look out the window and you are not near a runway in line to take off but are out in a remote corner of the airport looking at a chain-link perimeter fence.
- Your heart sinks as the engines wind down.
- The pilot came on the intercom:
- “I have some bad news.
- There’s a storm from the west…exactly where we are headed.
- Denver is shut down.
- There are no alternatives…So we will be staying here for a few hours.
- That’s the bad news.
- The really bad news is that we have no food on board.”
- (This story is also from the days when there was real food on airplanes – not just a measly bag of peanuts or pretzels).
Everyone groaned…some became angry. But then one of the flight attendants stood up in the aisle and took the mike.
- “We’re really sorry here folks.
- We didn’t plan it this way…and we can’t do anything about it.
- We know that for some of you this is a big deal.
- You are hungry and were looking
forward to a nice lunch.
- Some of you have a medical condition and really need food.
- Some of you may not care.
So…I have an idea.
- We have a couple of empty bread baskets up here…and we’re going to pass them around.
- Everybody put something in the basket.
- I know some of you have brought a little snack along…just in case.
- Peanut butter crackers…candy bars.
- Some of you have Rolaids…Life
- Savers…chewing gum.
And if you don’t happen to have anything edible…you have a business card or a picture of your kids or a bookmark.
- The thing is…I hope everybody puts something in the basket.
- And then we’ll reverse the process.
- We will pick the baskets up at the back of the plane and pass them around again.
- And everybody can take out what he or she needs.”
“Well” …Palmer said… “what happened next was amazing.
- First…the complaining and griping stopped.
- People started to root around in pockets and handbags and briefcases.
- Some stood up and retrieved luggage from the overhead racks and got out boxes of candy…
- A salami…Italian sausage…cheese… crackers…a bottle of wine.
- Yes…it was in the day you could actually do that.
- Now people were laughing and talking.
The flight attendant had transformed a group of anxious people focused on their
need…deprivation…and scarcity.
- And into a gracious community of sharing.
- And in the process creating an abundance of sorts.”
The flight eventually took off and landed.
- And as he stepped off the plane…Palmer found the flight attendant and said:
- “You know there’s a story in the Bible about what you did.”
- She said… “I know that story.
- That’s why I did it.”
In the early Christian church…when the community gathered…under the cover of darkness…to break bread and drink wine and remember Jesus…
- They always read this story about the day he fed the multitude with five loaves and two fish.
Well…there is a back story to all of this.
- What did Jesus hear that made him withdraw to a deserted place.
- Well…Jesus heard that his cousin John (the Baptist) had been beheaded by Herod.
- All because a young dancing girl…and a king under the influence of too much wine…got greedy.
John’s followers bury him and go find Jesus to tell him what happened.
- It’s brutal and terrifying.
- Just like the images of mass shootings we see every week now.
- It stunned Jesus as much as it stuns us.
Added to the shock is the grief.
- John was family and a childhood friend.
- They shared a deep faith and fierce commitment to their people.
- And now…John is gone…murdered…in a senseless way by cruel people.
So…Jesus withdraws to be alone.
- But the people heard about John…too.
- So…they follow Jesus…because they are shaken and scared and…as it turns
out…sick and hungry.
“Send them away” the disciples advise.
- “You need to be alone. They can go find food somewhere else.”
- But Jesus has compassion for the crowd and tells the disciples.
- “No. Feed them…give them something to eat.”
Well…they looked at the crowd…assessed the need and their own meager resources…and came to the
very sensible conclusion:
- There is not enough…we have nothing.
We have all uttered that same thought…felt that same thing.
- I have nothing.
- How many times do we see the insignificance of our abilities.
- The inadequacy of our treasure.
- And think we have nothing to offer?
We compare what we have to what other people have.
- Whether it’s the size of our bank account or the size of our church.
- And think that in comparison…we have nothing to offer.
- We wish we had more…thinking that we are too small…or our gifts and abilities are too inadequate or too
insignificant to make any difference.
But we forget that God uses everything we have…even 5 loaves and 2 fish…to
transform the world.
- We forget that every parable about God’s kingdom…every teaching Jesus had about how God creates something glorious…starts with something small.
Never once did Jesus say the kingdom of heaven is like a fortune 500 company with super happy shareholders.
- Or…The kingdom of heaven is like the mega church in our community with 3000 people…5 services…and a 20-million-dollar facility with a perfectly paved parking lot.
- Or…The Kingdom of heaven is like the beautifully kept home in that lovely neighborhood where the schools are great and the children are well pressed.
No! Jesus said: The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed. Which is something so small you practically need a magnifying glass to see it.
- We so often feel like we have nothing to offer…when in fact God does God’s best work with nothing.
God created the universe out of nothing.
- God put flesh on dry bones.
- God put life in an old womb.
- God looks upon that which we dismiss as nothing…insignificant and worthless and says:
- “Ha! Now…that I can do something with!”
Today…God invites us to look at this beautiful world around us…and see richness and abundance.
- God takes what we have…no matter how little there is…and does great work…transformative work…healing work.
- We might see nothing…but God sees limitless possibilities…enough to feed 5000 people.
- In this story God challenges our assumptions and stretches our imaginations to learn that even when we do not think we have what is needed…
- What is needed is still at hand.
- And it is enough.
- It is more than enough.