Loving God, you feed us in body and soul, and then send us out to feed others. Renew us by your Spirit as we gather together today, that we might be empowered for life in your service; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Jesus needed some time to himself. He had just heard about how his cousin, John the Baptist, had been beheaded by King Herod. He needed some time alone to digest this piece of news, to grieve and to pray. And so he headed across the lake for some quiet time. However, apparently there were crowds of people who heard where he was going. By the time Jesus comes ashore, there is a great crowd waiting for him. Some of them are sick and have come to seek healing from Jesus. Some of them hunger and thirst to hear Jesus' teaching. Whatever their individual circumstances, they all want to see Jesus badly enough that they have traveled long distances on foot to get there. And Jesus has compassion on them and ministers to them, and heals those who are sick. And after a long day in the wilderness, Jesus is faced with another immediate need: The crowds are hungry.

The disciples, quite understandably, want to wash their hands of the problem. They want to send these people away, and leave them to fend for themselves in the villages. However, how likely is it that there were villages nearby that could even begin to fill the needs of well over 5000 people late in the day? How likely is it that those in the crowd could afford to buy food for themselves? They have come to see Jesus, and the disciples want to send them away hungry. Jesus, however, will not hear of it. "They need not go away; you give them something to eat" (Mt. 14:16).

And so begins a marvelous opportunity to model what life is like in the kingdom of God. You may have heard on occasion how important table fellowship is in Middle Eastern culture. One person honours another by sharing their table and by eating together. People also express their disdain for others by refusing to eat with them. In the gospels this shows up whenever the Pharisees complain about how Jesus honours tax collectors and sinners by eating with them. Well, in today's gospel, out in the wilderness, a crowd of over 5000 people shares table fellowship with one another. All are welcome at the table: men, women and children; saints and sinners; wealthy and poor. All are welcome and are filled, and even leave twelve baskets full of leftovers.

And so there is abundance in the kingdom of God, and all are welcome in the kingdom of God, and all become members of the same household. When Jesus looks up to heaven and blesses and breaks the loaves, he offers thanks at the beginning of the meal just as the head of any household would. He also performs exactly the same actions as he does at the institution of the Lord's Supper. This is why for centuries people have seen such strong connections between the feeding of the 5000 and the Eucharist. The verbs describing Jesus' actions are exactly the same. And so here in today's gospel we have a picture of a radically inclusive meal, where the only requirement to participate is to come hungry and open to receiving.

Such a meal would never have happened if everybody had been sent off to look after their own needs. The meal also would not have happened without the disciples putting in some effort and hard work. After all, Jesus doesn't say, "It's okay. I'll do something about this." Instead, his emphasis is on "You give them something to eat!" Notice that it is the disciples who get the job of passing out the loaves and the fish to a crowd of well over 5000 people. The disciples also get the job of gathering up all the leftovers. If you try to picture 5000 people sitting down in a large open area and walking around to serve all of them, then you'll have some concept of how much work the disciples had to do. Feeding the hungry can be some downright hard work!

And so, we also learn something about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Certainly, at base, a disciple is a learner - in this case, learners of God. However, discipleship also involves acting upon what we have learned. There are times when God's answer to prayer is exactly the same as Jesus' answer to his disciples: "You do something about it!" When we pray that the hungry would be fed, part of God's response to that prayer is: "I've given you food. Now distribute it." When we pray for shelter for the homeless, part of the answer to that prayer might be in us volunteering some time with Habitat for Humanity, or donating to projects that work on sheltering the homeless. When we pray for our church, part of the answer to that prayer might be in what we do to support that church, whether financially or giving of our time and abilities.

The reality is that we are called upon as disciples both to give and to receive. Sometimes we are in a position like many in the crowd in today's gospel: We come into God's presence and we are in need of healing, or hungry in body and soul. However, at other times we come into God's presence and we have received the benefits of God's mercy. We have received forgiveness and salvation and we have been renewed. That is when it is time to give and to serve others. And sometimes, it is through giving and through serving others that we ourselves are healed and are filled.

It is no accident that the mission statement for our congregation reflects how we both receive and give as disciples. At base, we are building a caring community in Christ. Yet, we are not here just for ourselves. We are healed and nurtured through Word and Sacrament so that we can embody the love of God in the world. We receive from God's gracious bounty in order to give of that bounty to others. This is the give and take that is part of being a disciple of Jesus Christ.

One question that is asked in relation to today's gospel is whether we come to the church with a "serve me" or a "serve others" attitude (Stoffregen - ). It is a good question to ask, for almost every message that we see in the world around us tells us that it is all about us. We are told time and again that what matters is what I want and what is good for me and what I like. Yet, the gospel of Jesus Christ is more about being a conduit for God's grace - receiving from God's hand in order to give to others.

Some of you may have seen the movie, Bruce Almighty. Although there is plenty to quibble about with the whole premise of the movie, there is one aspect that provides a good illustration for us. Over the course of the movie, there is a big change that takes place in the main character, Bruce. For the majority of the movie, he is self-centered and absolutely selfish. Absolutely everything is all about him. Even his prayers are all railing at God about why things never go his way. Yet, somehow a change takes place in his heart. During his time filling in for God, Bruce becomes aware that there are other people in the world who have needs, too. By the end of the movie, he is actually stopping to help people whenever he can, somehow recognizing that God uses people to send assistance, too. His focus has been taken off of himself and has been put on the people who are around him.

It is a change in focus that is similar to what happens when somebody hears the good news of Jesus Christ for the first time. Our focus, too, is taken off of ourselves and is put on God and on what God has done for us through Jesus Christ. As this happens, our question becomes not, "What is good for me?", but "What is God calling me to do by the power of the Holy Spirit?". We, too, begin to see the needs around us, and to see the world more from God's perspective rather than our own.

You might recall that all of this started with Jesus desperately needing some quiet time for prayer and reflection. After all, his strength needed to be renewed, too! Yet, a crowd of needy people greeted him - a crowd which he had the power to help. And so he ministers to their needs, and he gets the disciples to feed them, and then he sends everybody away, including the disciples, and goes up the mountain to pray (Mt. 14:23). In this we are taught the balance that is needed for the Christian life - being healed and nurtured so that we can embody the love of God in daily life. May we, too, be empowered for service. Amen.

Proper 13(A) Matthew 14:13-21

July 31, 2005

St. Luke's Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison Moore

? 2005 Lynne Hutchison Moore All Rights Reserved