burden or blessing?
Matthew 14:13-21 When Jesus got the news, he slipped away by boat to an out-of-the-way place by himself. But unsuccessfully – someone saw him and the word got around. Soon a lot of people from the nearby villages walked around the lake to where he was.14 When he saw them coming, he was overcome with pity and healed their sick. 15 Toward evening the disciples approached him. “We’re out in the country and it’s getting late. Dismiss the people so they can go to the villages and get some supper.”16 But Jesus said, “There is no need to dismiss them. You give them supper.” 17 “All we have are five loaves of bread and two fish,” they said. 18 Jesus said, “Bring them here.” 19 Then he had the people sit on the grass. He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted his face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread to the disciples. The disciples then gave the food to the congregation. 20 They all ate their fill. They gathered twelve baskets of leftovers. 21 About five thousand were fed.
death. grief. party. wishes. solitude. quiet. crowds. hurting. compassion. illness. blind. hungry. rude. scarcity. abundance. feast. prayer. responding. food. satisfied. leftovers.
Which of these would you categorize as a burden and which as a blessing?
The morning newspaper headline was: John the Baptist, beheaded. Not a wonderful way to start the day, even for Jesus. One of his co-workers in the field had just been killed simply to fulfill the wish of a post dinner party promise. Herod had struck again and perhaps he didn’t want to grant the wish; reality is, he did. So Jesus is trying to get away to be quiet and pray. But the crowds won’t leave him alone. There is a group of people right on his heels. And unlike you or I he doesn’t run and hide and put his cell phone on silence; he responds.
I love the Jesus stories that allow us to find ourselves in the midst of the drama. This is one of those we can all find ourselves in. Some of us are in the midst of the hurting crowd, wanting to get close enough to Jesus to be made well. Some of us are simply in the crowd, going along to see what is happening. Others of us are the disciples, right there ready to get rid of everyone when it comes the end of the day. And some of us have the wisdom of Jesus to see what is happening and respond.
I think most of us either find ourselves in the crowd hungry for some food, or with the disciples, ready to get rid of the crowd so you can grab a bite to eat. We become so accustomed to what we need to do, to our routine, that we become immune to the needs around us.
So today I wonder if you see scarcity in the face of need? or, do you see extravagant, gracious generosity in the face of need?
There are certainly needs all around us. As I drove through southeast Michigan last weekend to pick up friends before heading to north to a cottage on Lake Huron, i noticed all round me the for sale signs, closed restaurants, and buildings that were torn down to make way for something else but nothing else has been built. i drove through half developed subdivisions that were started during the height of the building boom and now appear as barren lots overgrown with weeds. I noticed, too, an undertone of hoarding. Of keeping possessions close because no one knows what tomorrow is going to bring and if tomorrow their home might be the next to have a for sale sign in the front yard. I wondered when my mom told me that two more homes were foreclosed in their neighborhood what that meant to the neighbors, the homeowners, and the community. Michigan has the highest unemployment rate in the country and there are many, like the disciples who see scarcity in the face of need.
There were people who came to Jesus with real needs and they stayed near by until it came time to have a meal. The disciples are ready to send them off. Jesus says, wait just one minute. What do you have? Five loaves? Two fish? Feed them. What Jesus saw was a need and he responded with abundant, gracious, overflowing love.
Several years ago I was with a group of youth in Niagra, New York. We had just finished a week long urban mission trip in Toronto, Canada, spent the day at Niagra Falls and were spending the night in a United Methodist Church before our return trip to Ohio the next day. We had dinner and shared a final time of worship together and in the midst of our conversation one young man said, “we should celebrate communion”. I confess I blew him off. I didn’t have the elements with me, a chalice and for goodness sake we had already concluded our closing worship. Other than driving home, this mission was nearing the end. We went on to play cards and basketball and my lack of response didn’t develop into anything more.
What i didn’t know at the time is a few of our seniors had been exploring the church and found the sanctuary open, with one small light on, incense burning, and music quietly playing in the background. Then all of a sudden I noticed them lining our group up and taking them, blindfolded into the sanctuary. It was beginning to feel a bit like sorority rush. Once they had us all in the sanctuary, the blindfolds were removed and they sat silent in awe at the beauty of the sanctuary. It was a gorgeous sanctuary that one said to me last week, the sanctuary here reminds me of the sanctuary in Toronto (it was indeed, Niagara, NY, details!)
As we sat there in silent awe and wonder, i knew it was already past midnight. But noone was in a hurry to leave the space we were in. It was the holy moment we had been waiting for all week long. And then before my eyes, one by one, the youth began to move to the kneeling rails at the front of the church. As I sat next to one of our youth leaders we looked at one another, stunned. Not a word was said and not a word needed to be said. The minutes passed into 30, and then close to an hour and I knew there was communion already happening, but, we needed to celebrate the sacrament together. So I went searching in the kitchen, left over pizza would have done the job, but there wasn’t even any of that. All I could find in the bottom of one of our crates was a two day old half a loaf of bread from the old spaghetti factory. For the cup…well, a mostly consumed can of pink cream soda. I returned to the sanctuary, expecting to find them asleep or departed…and they were all still praying at the kneelers. I invited the young man who had asked for communion earlier in the night to help me distribute the elements. I was certain there wasn’t going to be enough. I had crumbs and backwash from a can and this was holy communion?!.
One by one they came and broke off a piece and dipped it in the cup and one by one they returned to the rail. It was a long night. But in the need they had to be fed, my certainty that there were no resources for communion, I had handfuls left over. Handfuls. i learned a couple things that night. When someone asks you for the sacrament, always offer it. And in the face of a need, where we see scarcity, God sees abundance. The abundance that came from that feeding of 30 souls, was a blessing to me…that originally i failed to see. I found myself standing on the other side of the picture, having fed hungry souls in the presence of God and I understood a little of what the disciples must have experienced. We have to respond to the needs around us. That is who we are called to be, a people who respond with love.
We need to participate in responding to the needs around us. We need to allow the eyes of Jesus to look into the faces of those around us and see what the need are and respond. It is understandable that we want to see a miracle to let God work as God can. It lets us off the hook and we don’t have to do anything. We can simply say, “wow”. But as Barbara Brown Taylor writes, “we want to be mesmerized and let God feed the crowd, save the world, do it all.” But Jesus didn’t feed the crowd by himself. The disciples helped.
The disciples participated in the miracle. And I wonder if it was a miracle because everyone did their part to respond to a need. I don’t understand all of God’s provisions, but, I do know I have watched over and over again as the people of God come together small amounts become feasts for those who are present. Jesus responded, the disciples changed their response, and Jesus expects something from us, too. He expects us to respond.
As I think about the partnership continuing to develop with Nast Trinity, I see the opportunity to transform the lives of individuals, the community and our city. When Dave Weaver talks about the hungry being fed and you respond by pulling together kids clubs, when you feed the hungry and homeless with IHN, when you allow a meal to enter the home of the hungry, friends you are responding. And there are plenty of ways to respond. As I continue to think and pray about where we are heading with this worship service, I pray that we’ll respond to the needs of our community for a worship experience that fills a need. I know there are needs and I know we have all the resources to accomplish great things for God.
Because God’s abundance is right here, right now. wherever that may be. So before we claim with the disciples, there is not enough, I only have…look again and give thanks for what you have, because we are blessed.
I don’t know all of your needs. I venture to guess there are those who are hurting because of loss or doubt; there are those who are anxious because of what is coming this week, one step closer to a dr. appointment, test, job review; there are those overwhelmed by life and all that is coming at them, and there are those who are looking around thinking noone here has any of that happening, but, family and work and time are pulling at you. So as you come to the table to be fed, come with expectant hearts ready to be blessed by the Savior who invites you here, taking your burden and seeing a blessing instead. Come to the table knowing that where there is a need, and respond. it is a blessing. May you have Jesus eyes as you look at the world and ask, “burden or blessing?” May you see the need, respond, and be blessed by the presence of God today and always. Amen.