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| "Jesus feeding a crowd with 5 loaves of bread and two fish" Bernardo Strozzi (c. 1600) |
Pastor Tom Johnson, July 25, 2021
A multitude of 5,000 have gathered around Jesus. They are there for his teaching, his healing, and his miracles. Jesus the Good Shepherd leads his enormous flock to green pasture and has them sit down for a meal. Our text says that Jesus knows what he was about to do. In order to test his disciples, Jesus asks them a question for which he already knows there is no good answer: “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” When God tests us—it is not pass/fail. It is rooted in the goldsmith’s work to draw out the dross and impurities from the molten metal to make it pure. Jesus is testing his disciples. He wants to root out our unbelief—our lack of faith in what God can do but also in what we can do with God’s help and blessing. It a ridiculous question. Philip points that out when he says a year’s worth of wages is not enough money to buy enough food for the thousands. And even if there was enough money, where are they going to go to purchase such a vast amount of food?
It’s hard to say if Andrew’s response is his trying to be funny: “There is a boy with five loaves of bread and two fish, Jesus.” Or, I wonder if this child was listening and, out of his child-like faith, offers the little that he has to feed so many. That is what I would like to believe. Scripture says, “a little child shall lead them” (Isa 11:6). Jesus gives the adults a chance to problem solve. They say it’s impossible to give 5,000 people even a little. A child sees things differently. Those with childlike faith believe that what is impossible with mortals is possible with God. Phillip and Andrew were thinking numerically, monetarily—using worldly metrics to gauge what is possible and impossible. The child was simply doing his part—as small as it seems. It is the child who feeds the 5,000—through Jesus. Those with childlike faith trust Jesus to figure out how to feed so many. The child stepped up to be part of the solution no matter how difficult the problem. He knows that as soon as he hands over the several loaves and fish, he has placed his God-given resources in capable hands.
Jesus could have turned stones to bread as he was tempted to do in the wilderness. He could have turned the water into wine from the Sea of Tiberias as he did in his first miracle at Cana in Galilee. Instead, he chooses to use a humble child’s meager resources—five loaves and two fish. Does anyone else besides me find it funny that all these adults—5,000 of them—came into the wilderness completely unprepared to eat except this boy with the five barley loaves and two fish? One of the Boy Scout mottos is “be prepared.” This boy shows more wisdom, preparedness, and generosity than his adult counterparts. This childlike faith is not naïve trust or abandonment of responsibility. The boy is both prepared and faithful—he is ready for the wilderness and he trusts in Jesus. There is a lesson in there for all of us to be as Jesus taught us to be: “as wise as serpents but innocent as doves.”
A year and a half ago, the pandemic lockdown began. Up until that point, we were feeding a hot meal to between 100 and 150 guests every Saturday. We were told by local and national authorities to shut it down immediately. We did. But because of our partnerships we only missed one Saturday. Through the incredible work of our own Mike Cacicio and John Stodden as well as Doug Fraser, director of Chicago Help Initiative, and many other volunteers, we immediately set up food distribution outside the front doors of the church. Neighbors looked out their windows and saw all the activity. They started bringing in all kinds of donations. Neighbors were also concerned about their favorite restaurants closing. So they purchased many sandwiches and sides from local restaurants like Third Coast just down the street and we distributed them.
On Wednesday, I talked to Doug about the past year-and-a-half. I wanted to make sure I understood all the numbers before my sermon today. He confirmed for me the number that they peaked at during the height of their distribution. They were receiving orders for 5,000 meals! Instead of Doug saying it was impossible, he simply said that they would find the meals. Do you believe that is an accident or merely humanly engineered? I don’t. God has a sense of humor that First Saint Paul’s would have our own “feeding of the 5,000” story to tell. I also asked Doug why he does what he does. He says it is not altruism like many people think. He says he does it because it makes him happy—it brings him joy. He would also say he is playing a small part in a bigger work.
I would love to see the expression of trust on that boy’s face 2,000 years ago as he handed over his lunch sack over to the great Shepherd of bodies and souls. I would love to see the expression of joy on his face after he saw his gift become the manna falling from heaven to feed the wanderers in the wilderness so that all could pray, “The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.” “My cup runneth over.” “Surely goodness and mercy shall pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
And so we find ourselves here this morning—a multitude gathered around Jesus and his gifts. This crowd is part of a world-wide gathering of his people from every tribe, nation, tongue, and people scattered throughout the globe—that no one can number—more than 5,000 times 5,000. Once again, he takes our meagre gifts—the bread and the wine on this Altar. He gives thanks, and breaks the bread. He distributes his Body and Blood as we sit, kneel, and stand in the green pasture of his Word and Spirit.
O thou, who hast of thy pure grace
Made shine on us a Father’s face;
Arise, thy holy name make known;
Take up thy pow’r and reign alone;”
On earth, in us, let thy sole will
Be done as angels do it still.
(“O Thou, Who Hast of Thy Pure Grace,” LBW 442, v. 1)
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