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Sunday, August 31, 2008
God’s Multiplication Table
13th in a series on The Uniqueness of the Gospel of John
By Rev. Cindy Bates
John 6:1-14
1 After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. 2 A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. 3 Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. 5 When 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?" 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, "Six months' wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." 8 One 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?" 10 Jesus 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. 11 Then 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. 12 When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost." 13 So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. 14 When 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."
The miracle story of the feeding of the five thousand must have been another one of those stories that the early church could not stop talking about. Of all the stories about Jesus and his ability to perform miracles, this is the only miracle story that shows up in all four Gospels. Matthew and Mark thought it was so important that they each recorded two different versions of the story, just in case people didn’t get it the first time. As Harvey has been leading us in the study of the Gospel of John, we have been hearing how the writing style and content of John is very different from the synoptic gospels, of Matthew, Mark and Luke, and yet this story has been recorded here in John’s Gospel as well. What do we think might be so significant about this story of a rather large, unexpected picnic on a hillside?
When Harvey alluded to this story in one of his sermons last month, he noted how it had overtones of a communion service…Jesus giving thanks over the bread, using the same prayer that he would have said at the Passover meal, and then offering the bread to the people to satisfy their hunger. But what else did the writers feel was so important that this story needed to be told more than any other?
Barbara Brown Taylor, Episcopal Priest and author of several books, once wrote a sermon about this story entitled, “The Problem with Miracles.” She said, “The problem with miracles is that we tend to get mesmerized by them, focusing on God’s responsibility and forgetting our own. Miracles let us off the hook.” In other words, we can look at a story like this and say, “Wow, that was really something the way Jesus took five little loaves of barley bread and a couple of fish and turned it into so much food that they fed thousands of people and still had twelve basket loads left over. I could never do something like that. After all, he was the Son of God.” But, I don’t think that even that rationalization can get us off the hook. What about the reference later in the Gospel of John in chapter 14 when Jesus says,”…the one who believes in me will also do the works I do, in fact, will do greater works than these…”? There is a problem with miracle stories if we interpret them only as something miraculous that God can do. How can we look at the miracle stories and ask, “What is God asking me to do?”
This really is a beautiful story where we can see ourselves in so many ways. The day had begun with Jesus teaching and healing and this large crowd had come together, truly awed by this young rabbi. After awhile Jesus needed a break so he got in a boat to travel over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee so he could retreat to a hill with his disciples and spend some time in prayer. But the crowd wanted more, so they followed him by land around the top of the sea, to get to where he was going, a distance of about nine miles. At that point they were hot and tired and hungry. When they left home that morning they might have had a few morsels of food in their pockets but surely not enough for this long journey. The disciples were not happy that they had been followed. In other versions of the story, they want to send the people away into the villages so they can find their own food. But compassionate Jesus, as usual, sees things differently and he tries to get his disciples to think “out of the box.” (Now, we folks here at St. Andrew like it that it was Andrew who began to get creative.) Andrew had found a little boy who was willing to offer up what he had to share. It really wasn’t much…some little loaves of barley bread and a couple of pickled fish. It really wasn’t much because barley was the cheapest of all bread, made from the grain that was used to feed the animals. It was the bread of the very poor and people who ate barley bread were looked down upon by others. But that was what the boy had, and he offered it so Jesus could take it, bless it, and turn it into more than enough to go around. It really wasn’t much, but a miracle happened when a little boy was willing to give what he had, so it could be blessed by God and suddenly there was more than enough. There was an abundance.
Sometimes we really wonder what it is we have to give, what it is we can do, when we look at the enormity of the world’s problems, when we see the injustices in our own community, when we see the pain in our own congregation. We can get overwhelmed and feel there is nothing we can do to really make a difference. But maybe we don’t need to start with the big things.
A few weeks ago, Tam Curfman gave a devotional for the staff at our weekly chapel service where she talked about the little things in life…the little things that sometimes we miss, that don’t seem like much, but are important in the big scheme of things and she asked us to share something in our own life that was a little thing but became something significant when seen in the context of life with God. Having just returned from being with family in Michigan, I shared a very personal illustration that came immediately to mind. A little over two years ago, I was blessed by having a great niece named after me. Her name is Leah Lucinda. (Yes, Lucinda really is my name but I have always gone by “Cindy.”) Because I live several hundred miles from Leah I had only seen her as an infant a few months old. Now she is two and a half and it was wonderful to really begin to get acquainted with her when our extended family met for a long weekend this summer. When Leah and I were having a conversation one day her mom came up and asked if she knew who I was, and explained to her that her name was Leah Lucinda and that my name was Lucinda and that she was named after me. She giggled, nodded and ran off to play with her cousins. The next day I was sitting by her and her mother came up and asked, “Leah, what is your name?” She looked up smiled and put her head down being a little shy about whether or not she would get it right. Then she looked up at me and said, “Leah, Aunt Cindy.” Obviously, I don’t care if she ever gets the “Lucinda” part right. What I will take from that moment is that I want to live in ways that that little one will always be glad she is named after Aunt Cindy. It was such a little thing and yet it was huge to me. When it comes down to the big, important things in life, so often they really are those little things that we need to be seeing, and hearing and experiencing.
I have another story to share with you this morning involving something that could have seemed very small, but in God’s sight might be huge. Many of you know that our Outreach team has a lemonade stand in the summer, once a month, at Aspen Grove and the proceeds from that stand go to fund various Outreach projects. In the summer of 2006 the Gray family from this congregation came to the stand and saw a brochure naming some of the agencies being sponsored. Mom Lori explained to her children Carver and Lane what good was happening in the world because of what these organizations were doing. Five year old Carver was especially taken by an organization called Doctors Care, that helps uninsured infants and children get the medical care they need. This information coincided with an upcoming birthday party for Carver and he decided rather than getting presents from his friends he wanted them to bring some money to give to this organization. A year and a half later, parents Chandler and Lori got a call from Doctors Care saying they wanted to give Carver the “young philanthropist” award and be recognized as a member of St. Andrew United Methodist Church at a 20 year anniversary celebration for the organization. Here are some pictures of Carver getting that award. When interviewed afterwards, and asked why he gave the money, he said, “We gave the money to needy children so doctors could do the care for them.” When I heard this story, I could not help but think of what miracles can happen, when a little boy on a hillside was willing to share his lunch so hungry people could be fed, or when a little boy in Littleton was willing to share his birthday presents so infants could be healed. (By the way, Carver had his 7th birthday celebration yesterday and once again he knew what he wanted for his birthday, donations to Doctors Care.)
Jesus told us and showed us over and over again, we are asked to look at our lives and see what it is we have to give, so that God may take it and multiply it and change the world. And folks, please hear that I am not talking about how we give of our financial resources. Our financial giving is important, but that is not the only way God asks us to give and that is not the only thing we have to give. I am asking each one of us to examine who we are and where we are in God’s big picture and really discern what it is God could use from our life. What is your barley loaf and pickled fish? Mother Teresa once said, “We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less without that missing drop.” Our lives are really an ocean of opportunity to offer to God what we have, and then marvel at the wondrous things that God can do with our offering.
Many of us have recently read Jim Wallis’ book The Great Awakening and then a week ago we had the opportunity to hear him in this sanctuary. He talked about some of the greatest issues challenging our world today and then talked about how faithful individuals and faith communities can truly bring revival and transformation. Somehow our actions and attitudes have created a nation and a world that operates out of scarcity and fear. God asks us to live out of abundance and hope. As a follow up to Jim Wallis’ time with us, we are gathering together here in the sanctuary this Friday evening, September 5 to dream and pray and begin to take action on what we can offer up to God. I think St. Andrew and the individuals that make up this congregation can be very proud of what we already offer up to God through so many ministries here. And I am sure there are many other stories like Carver’s. But, with God, there are always more possibilities. We urge you to pray about your part in this “great awakening” we are calling “Mission Possible”. And even if you cannot attend, we would still love to help you discern what God might want you to bring to the table so God can use it and multiply it. It might be your ability to quilt with the Piecemakers or bake for Street Reach. It may be to go on a medical mission trip or swing a hammer for Habitat or teach a Sunday school class. You may feel a calling to get involved with a prison ministry or a community garden. With God, the possibilities really are limitless. And as many of you have already discovered, offering up what we have to God not only changes the world it transforms us. As the Dalai Lama has said, “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” It changes how we feel about others and it changes how we feel about ourselves. The little boy in the crowd didn’t have much but he shared what he had. He offered it up and it was blessed and a miracle happened. What if you and I aren’t paying attention to what it is that God can use from our lives to make a miracle happen?
What if there are opportunities that come to us everyday and we don’t realize what an important role we can play? And what if we feel sorry or embarrassed by what we do have to bring? I believe that even if all we have some days feels like stale bread and stinky fish, if it is given to God with a heart of generosity and compassion, we may be surprised to see what miracles can happen. God’s multiplication table is a wonderful thing!
Songwriter Susan Werner on her CD Gospel Truth has a wonderful song entitled, “Help Somebody.” It is so applicable to what we are talking about this morning, I am grateful that Uncle John’s Band was willing to work on this song and put it together at the last moment. When we have something we can give, what shall we do?
i got plenty and then some what do i do?
go out and help somebody get plenty and then some, too
i got a roof over my head what do i do?
go out and help somebody get a roof over their head, too
i got supper on the table what do i do?
go out and help somebody get supper on the table, too
'cause i got it to give i got it to give and when you got enough to give away well it's the only way to live
i'm going to heaven what do i do?
go out and help somebody get to heaven, too
Susan Werner Gospel Truth “Help Somebody”