Gospel: John 6:1-21
A reading from the Gospel of John.
Glory to you, O Lord.
After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. 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?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people? 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. 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. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. 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.” When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
Now let the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you O Lord, our strength and Redeemer
INTRO
I remember many Boy Scout campouts when we would always have a what we called a “hobo dinner.” I’m sure that’s not politically correct now-a-days but a “Hobo Dinner” consists of hamburger, cut up potatoes, onions, carrots, and whatever else you had to put in it and you would wrap it in foil and put it in the fire to cook for awhile. Although this is more expensive today than growing up this was an affordable way to feed a lot of boys on a campout. We would follow that up with cored out apples filled with cinnamon and sugar and warmed in the fire also for a treat.
In can’t help but when I hear our gospel thinking , surely the boy had to wonder about what difference his little bit of food, his “Hobo Dinner,” would make.
I’m pretty sure I would have thought, “There are so many people, and I have so little. All that will happen is that I will have to go hungry along with everyone else. Better to keep what’s mine and let the other people take care of themselves.” Someone shared a cartoon once on Facebook (when I was on). It showed four people in a rowboat. The two people at one end were furiously bailing water out of the boat as it began to sink. The two people at the other end sat back comfortably and smiled as one said to the other, “I sure am glad the hole is not in our end of the boat.”
Sometimes we’re all like that. When things look dicey, we decide that the hole isn’t in our end of the boat, therefore it’s not our problem. We look to take care of our own people and our own stuff; we secure what matters most to us and certainly don’t want to waste what little we have on the needs of someone else. Besides, it’s easy to think, “What difference will it make? I have just enough for me and mine.” Several years ago, I read an article about what were called “Preppers.” It’s a more urban version of survivalists. These are people who believe that we are facing a major economic crisis and social upheaval in the near future. They are storing several months’ worth of food in their homes, creating emergency plans to get out of the cities into an isolated hideaway, and arming themselves to fend off the masses of unprepared people who will want to get at their stuff.
TEXT
In contrast to this attitude of scarcity and self-protection, our scripture readings invite us to have enough faith in God to share what we have, trusting God to provide whatever else is needed.
In Second Kings, a man brought an offering, the first fruits, to Elisha. He is a bit embarrassed—because it’s not much, just twenty Barley loaves and some other fresh grain, a “hobo dinner “ for sure.
But Elisha doesn’t bat an eye. “Give it to the people.” he says. “What? How can I?” the servant sputters, “It’s not enough to feed all these people.” And Elisha assures him, “The Lord has promised, ‘They shall eat and have some left.’”
In the gospel lesson, the boy hands over his five barley loaves and two fish to Jesus. And somehow, someway, God provides. There is plenty, more than enough for everyone. Jesus makes a rich feast out of a hobo dinner. We often think we don’t have much to offer either God or the world, either personally or as a congregation. We see ourselves as poor, or small, or weak, or otherwise inadequate. And nothing could be further from the truth.
The Biblical story is a story of a God who takes our little and turns it into a lot. We often try to hang on to what we have because we don’t really trust God’s promise that if we turn everything over to God, we will be all right, really we will. Deep down, most of us don’t believe that God will take what we grudgingly, almost reluctantly hand over and turn it into more than we ever imagined possible. But the gospel is—God will do more than we ever imagined possible.
- God doesn’t really want our treasure—God wants our trust.
- God doesn’t really want our finances—God wants our faith.
- God doesn’t really want our things—God wants us.
God wants us to let go of everything else and truly believe that we can rely upon the fact that the divine and holy love that made the universe also made us, and that this immense love, a love “that surpasses all understanding,” will provide for us and will use us to provide for others.
- I pray we let go of our endless need for self-protection and self-reliance.
- I pray we turn loose of our desperate desire to control our own lives and manage our own future.
- I pray we look upon the love of God in Christ and relax, open our hands, and release into God’s care all those things we have been so desperately holding on to because we are afraid of not having enough.
- I pray we give to God our “barley loaves and fish,” our “hobo dinners,” so that God can transform them, and us, into a rich blessing for the world.
LIFE
In today’s Gospel, we see Jesus feed the multitude from a tiny offering of two fish and five barley loaves. It’s important to remember where this story comes chronologically in Jesus’ ministry. He’s already gotten quite a reputation as a worker of miracles. That’s why the crowds won’t leave him alone; they can tell that Jesus is something special. And the disciples have witnessed the power of Jesus time and time again.
I mention this fact because I’m always surprised when the disciples act the way that humans do—the way that you and I do. Jesus tests them, by asking how they will buy enough bread for everyone. Of course, there’s not enough money in their communal pockets to buy bread. Jesus knows this. One of the persistent messages that Christ gives us is that to rely on money to solve problems is to put our faith in the wrong system.
Notice that the disciples don’t come up with any grand plan. They’ve watched Jesus work miracle after miracle—they’ve seen this with their own eyes—and it never occurs to them to dream big. No, they still live in a world where it takes money to feed people.
Some theologians accuse the disciples of having a scarcity consciousness—a state of mind that’s all too familiar to people of our time. It’s the fear of running out of what we need, and so we don’t share. We don’t share, and our hearts become shriveled and tiny, as opposed to the way they would blossom if we trusted God more and shared our stuff. Who amongst us doesn’t have more than enough stuff to share? Most of us have more than we will ever need or use: possessions, money, all sorts of resources.
Perhaps they are stunted in this way. But again, I think they’re just not used to the power that has come to dwell with them. They’re rooted in the world and they forget what they’re capable of.
CONC
Jesus has a different vision. He takes that small offering and feeds the throng of people. He takes something that seems so insignificant and this act grows into one of his most famous miracles. Our rational brains can’t accept this. Most of us could eat two fishes and five loaves all by ourselves—how could Jesus feed everyone?
Not only does Jesus feed everyone, but they have leftovers, 12 baskets full! It’s one of the many times that Jesus shows everyone that the world is full of abundance. Jesus offers us more wine than we can drink (John 2, the first miracle in this Gospel), more bread than we can eat.
It’s so easy to forget what God is capable of. We don’t dare to dream big dreams, for fear that we’ll be disappointed. We worry that if we share our resources, we won’t have enough for ourselves and our families. We don’t dare imagine that there’s enough for everyone.
We also forget how much God desires to be an active part of our lives–and we forget how active God is in the world. All our scriptures remind us of how God yearns for communion with us–and what wondrous transformations happen when humans go to meet God. Not just personal transformations. It’s very well and good if you become a better person, more compassionate and more generous. But God has a much grander vision, one that doesn’t stop with our individual lives.
How can you be part of that Kingdom? Christ didn’t come to get us ready for Heaven. Christ came to show us how the Kingdom can be right here, among us, here and now. We can begin by sharing our basic resources and trusting that God will multiply our generosity.
Prepare to be amazed by the abundance that will result!