Food For Hungry People
Sermon
Conversations Over Bread And Wine
Meditations For The Lord's Supper
There is no story in all of the Bible that more graphically demonstrates the dilemma of biblical interpretation than the account of Jesus' feeding of the 5,000 with five loaves of bread and two fish. Its importance for the early Church is attested to by the fact that all four gospel writers include it in their narratives. But it has always represented a problem for interpreters. Does one take the account at face value, acknowledging it to be a miracle story that defies any rational explanation? Or does one demand some sort of logical explanation, like the familiar suggestion that when the loaves and fish were shared by the little boy, others who had brought along their lunches broke them out and shared as well, so that in the end there was more than enough food for everyone?
Those two alternatives have usually been the focus when the gospel account of the feeding of the 5,000 is considered, and the result has been a lot of heat but, unfortunately, very little light. Assuming that one must finally choose between those alternatives, we get diverted from the central message of the story and focus our attention on the wrong thing. Both alternatives, you see, are attempts to deal with the "how" - how the people were fed - when the real issue, the one that made the incident's inclusion in the gospels a necessity, is the affirmation that a human need so practical and mundane as hunger was a serious concern for Jesus, and he was both willing and able to do something about it.
A crowd of hungry people and what is to be done? That is the issue on which the gospel account focuses! And the first insight that the story offers is the response of the disciples: "Lord, it's late and the people are hungry; send them away so that they can get food." It sounds like genuine concern, doesn't it? Let it be said to the credit of the disciples that they were observant. At least they noticed the plight of the people, were sensitive to their circumstance, and articulated to Jesus their concern.
But what quickly became evident is that they were not about to do anything to relieve the people's distress. Feeding hungry people, they believed, was not their responsibility. Did they reach that conclusion because of practical considerations? There were 5,000 hungry people, and certainly there was no way that thirteen men were going to feed such a mass of humanity! Was it a philosophical presupposition that motivated them, namely, the belief that people are supposed to take care of their own needs? Or was their concern theological - the assumption that Jesus, their Lord and Master, had more lofty, spiritual matters on his mind than taking care of the physical needs of people? Whatever motivated the disciples' response, it was amazingly similar to the kinds of responses that can be heard today whenever issues like hunger, poverty, and homelessness arise:
* Listen, you don't really help people by giving them handouts!
* We've got enough worries of our own! There's not time to worry about the problems of others!
* We can't take care of all the world's needs!
* We have to work for everything we get, and so should other people work for what they get!
*Sure, some people are hungry, but merely providing food leaves the root problem unsolved.
*What can one person do anyway?
In the end, I fear that the disciples' reaction to 5,000 hungry people and the majority response in our time are essentially one and the same: "I'll take care of me. You take care of you. Everyone has problems and needs. You'd better figure out how to handle yours!"
But how amazingly different was Jesus' response! He said to his disciples: "There's no need to send them away. Give them something to eat."
"Wait a minute, Lord!" the disciples answered. "All we have are five loaves and two fish, but what are they among so many people?" To which Jesus responded: "It's enough. Bring them to me." And he took the leaves and fish, told the people to sit down, offered the blessing, broke the bread and gave it to the disciples to share with the people, and likewise the fish. Everyone ate, and not only did they have enough, but there was food to spare - twelve baskets full.
Now, it is critical to note that none of the gospel writers even hint at how 5,000 people were fed with the five loaves and two fish. How it was done was not the issue. What mattered was that the people were fed. A small amount, placed in Jesus' hand, somehow became sufficient to supply the needs of a multitude of people.
It was sufficient then, and I am persuaded that it has always been sufficient! To make that affirmation is precisely the reason the story is included in all four gospels. The feeding of the multitude is far more than just a miracle story, told to dazzle the reader. More powerfully than words could ever convey, it reveals eternal truth that we need so desperately to understand: namely, that every human need, even the smallest, most mundane need, is of concern to God; that all Jesus needs to meet a need is something to start with; and that even a tiny amount, placed in his hands, is sufficient to do incredible things. To ask "how" is totally to miss the point. That is God's business. Our business is to place in Christ's hands what we have, whatever we can come up with, and so join him in meeting human need.
Now, why am I recalling all of this to your mind today - when in a few moments we will be sharing Holy Communion? Partly it is to remind us that when we come to the communion table we are among the hungry and needy. Do we not come to every Lord's Supper as those who are lost unless the Lord of life finds us, and starving unless he feeds us? Surely, I need not tell you that across the centuries the story of the feeding of the 5,000 has been seen as a kind of parable of the communion meal. When we receive the communion elements there are only tiny morsels of food: a loaf of bread and a cup of wine, hardly enough, it would seem, to ease hunger pangs or to quench thirst. But they are enough and more than enough to feed our hungry souls, for in the taking of the elements there is forgiveness for our misdeeds, healing for our wounds, comfort for our sorrow, strength for our weakness, and the promise of companionship in every hour of need.
The bread, you see, is more than bread, and the cup is more than the fruit of the vine. They are but symbols of the real presence of Christ who is always ready to meet us at the point of our need. Don't ask me how it happens. Don't ask me to explain how the miracle of God's coming to us takes place. I can't explain it any more than I can describe how five loaves and two fish could have fed 5,000 people. I only know that it happens. Whenever communion is served, miracles of healing and help take place.
But I call to your memory the story of the 5,000 for another reason: because I know that there are miracles that will never take place unless we see ourselves not just as the hungry and the needy, but as disciples of Jesus who have all the resources our Lord needs to complete his ministry to the world. And it is crucial for us to remember today that it is not just to spiritual hunger that our Lord longs to minister. If Jesus was concerned about the hunger pangs of 5,000 people in the long ago, how must he feel today about the one third of humankind who have never known what it is to have a decent meal? How must he feel about the hundreds of thousands of children whose stomachs are distended from starvation, who are so weak they can't even brush away the flies from the sores on their bodies, who are so malnourished that even if they should be provided food in abundance from this day forward their minds would still be damaged from the starvation they have known thus far?
I wonder, is it possible that you and I, Christ's present--day disciples, have resources that could make a difference in the lives of these people, if we offered them to him? Certainly I understand that the problem of world hunger is so enormous that the most we can do will hardly make a dent. How does one even begin to address it? By altering our lifestyles, someone suggests. By becoming a friend to some needy person. By applying political pressure wherever we can strengthen programs that assist the poor. By giving more of our own material possessions to agencies of mercy. All of that seems so insignificant! No better than five loaves and two fish!
But I am absolutely certain of this: It isn't possible for any of us to say, "It's not my problem. Let the hungry masses take care of themselves!" Jesus won't permit the kind of response from his followers. As his disciples, you and I have no alternative but to be involved in his work. Even as he came to demonstrate that God cares desperately for all his children and is involved in every facet of the human situation, so are we called to do. For us it can never be a matter of our being fed, helped, blessed by the Christ, and that is all. What matters, finally, is what we are giving, sharing, and putting into his hands for the sake of others.
Back in the 1880s, a young man felt overwhelmed by the plight of the people of his society, victimized by poverty and by the dreadful conditions in the sweatshops. He was concerned, but it all seemed so hopeless. The day came, however, when William Booth said, "I've got to do something." Actually these are his words:
We saw the people starving, we saw people going about half--naked, people doing sweated labour; and we set about bringing a remedy for these things. We were obliged - there was a compulsion. How could one do anything else?
What he did was put into Christ's hands his time and talents, and what came back was the miracle of the Salvation Army.
Well, the miracle - what it is, and how it is accomplished - is always God's business. Our business is to determine what we will place in Christ's hands for his sake and for the sake of the world he loves.
Those two alternatives have usually been the focus when the gospel account of the feeding of the 5,000 is considered, and the result has been a lot of heat but, unfortunately, very little light. Assuming that one must finally choose between those alternatives, we get diverted from the central message of the story and focus our attention on the wrong thing. Both alternatives, you see, are attempts to deal with the "how" - how the people were fed - when the real issue, the one that made the incident's inclusion in the gospels a necessity, is the affirmation that a human need so practical and mundane as hunger was a serious concern for Jesus, and he was both willing and able to do something about it.
A crowd of hungry people and what is to be done? That is the issue on which the gospel account focuses! And the first insight that the story offers is the response of the disciples: "Lord, it's late and the people are hungry; send them away so that they can get food." It sounds like genuine concern, doesn't it? Let it be said to the credit of the disciples that they were observant. At least they noticed the plight of the people, were sensitive to their circumstance, and articulated to Jesus their concern.
But what quickly became evident is that they were not about to do anything to relieve the people's distress. Feeding hungry people, they believed, was not their responsibility. Did they reach that conclusion because of practical considerations? There were 5,000 hungry people, and certainly there was no way that thirteen men were going to feed such a mass of humanity! Was it a philosophical presupposition that motivated them, namely, the belief that people are supposed to take care of their own needs? Or was their concern theological - the assumption that Jesus, their Lord and Master, had more lofty, spiritual matters on his mind than taking care of the physical needs of people? Whatever motivated the disciples' response, it was amazingly similar to the kinds of responses that can be heard today whenever issues like hunger, poverty, and homelessness arise:
* Listen, you don't really help people by giving them handouts!
* We've got enough worries of our own! There's not time to worry about the problems of others!
* We can't take care of all the world's needs!
* We have to work for everything we get, and so should other people work for what they get!
*Sure, some people are hungry, but merely providing food leaves the root problem unsolved.
*What can one person do anyway?
In the end, I fear that the disciples' reaction to 5,000 hungry people and the majority response in our time are essentially one and the same: "I'll take care of me. You take care of you. Everyone has problems and needs. You'd better figure out how to handle yours!"
But how amazingly different was Jesus' response! He said to his disciples: "There's no need to send them away. Give them something to eat."
"Wait a minute, Lord!" the disciples answered. "All we have are five loaves and two fish, but what are they among so many people?" To which Jesus responded: "It's enough. Bring them to me." And he took the leaves and fish, told the people to sit down, offered the blessing, broke the bread and gave it to the disciples to share with the people, and likewise the fish. Everyone ate, and not only did they have enough, but there was food to spare - twelve baskets full.
Now, it is critical to note that none of the gospel writers even hint at how 5,000 people were fed with the five loaves and two fish. How it was done was not the issue. What mattered was that the people were fed. A small amount, placed in Jesus' hand, somehow became sufficient to supply the needs of a multitude of people.
It was sufficient then, and I am persuaded that it has always been sufficient! To make that affirmation is precisely the reason the story is included in all four gospels. The feeding of the multitude is far more than just a miracle story, told to dazzle the reader. More powerfully than words could ever convey, it reveals eternal truth that we need so desperately to understand: namely, that every human need, even the smallest, most mundane need, is of concern to God; that all Jesus needs to meet a need is something to start with; and that even a tiny amount, placed in his hands, is sufficient to do incredible things. To ask "how" is totally to miss the point. That is God's business. Our business is to place in Christ's hands what we have, whatever we can come up with, and so join him in meeting human need.
Now, why am I recalling all of this to your mind today - when in a few moments we will be sharing Holy Communion? Partly it is to remind us that when we come to the communion table we are among the hungry and needy. Do we not come to every Lord's Supper as those who are lost unless the Lord of life finds us, and starving unless he feeds us? Surely, I need not tell you that across the centuries the story of the feeding of the 5,000 has been seen as a kind of parable of the communion meal. When we receive the communion elements there are only tiny morsels of food: a loaf of bread and a cup of wine, hardly enough, it would seem, to ease hunger pangs or to quench thirst. But they are enough and more than enough to feed our hungry souls, for in the taking of the elements there is forgiveness for our misdeeds, healing for our wounds, comfort for our sorrow, strength for our weakness, and the promise of companionship in every hour of need.
The bread, you see, is more than bread, and the cup is more than the fruit of the vine. They are but symbols of the real presence of Christ who is always ready to meet us at the point of our need. Don't ask me how it happens. Don't ask me to explain how the miracle of God's coming to us takes place. I can't explain it any more than I can describe how five loaves and two fish could have fed 5,000 people. I only know that it happens. Whenever communion is served, miracles of healing and help take place.
But I call to your memory the story of the 5,000 for another reason: because I know that there are miracles that will never take place unless we see ourselves not just as the hungry and the needy, but as disciples of Jesus who have all the resources our Lord needs to complete his ministry to the world. And it is crucial for us to remember today that it is not just to spiritual hunger that our Lord longs to minister. If Jesus was concerned about the hunger pangs of 5,000 people in the long ago, how must he feel today about the one third of humankind who have never known what it is to have a decent meal? How must he feel about the hundreds of thousands of children whose stomachs are distended from starvation, who are so weak they can't even brush away the flies from the sores on their bodies, who are so malnourished that even if they should be provided food in abundance from this day forward their minds would still be damaged from the starvation they have known thus far?
I wonder, is it possible that you and I, Christ's present--day disciples, have resources that could make a difference in the lives of these people, if we offered them to him? Certainly I understand that the problem of world hunger is so enormous that the most we can do will hardly make a dent. How does one even begin to address it? By altering our lifestyles, someone suggests. By becoming a friend to some needy person. By applying political pressure wherever we can strengthen programs that assist the poor. By giving more of our own material possessions to agencies of mercy. All of that seems so insignificant! No better than five loaves and two fish!
But I am absolutely certain of this: It isn't possible for any of us to say, "It's not my problem. Let the hungry masses take care of themselves!" Jesus won't permit the kind of response from his followers. As his disciples, you and I have no alternative but to be involved in his work. Even as he came to demonstrate that God cares desperately for all his children and is involved in every facet of the human situation, so are we called to do. For us it can never be a matter of our being fed, helped, blessed by the Christ, and that is all. What matters, finally, is what we are giving, sharing, and putting into his hands for the sake of others.
Back in the 1880s, a young man felt overwhelmed by the plight of the people of his society, victimized by poverty and by the dreadful conditions in the sweatshops. He was concerned, but it all seemed so hopeless. The day came, however, when William Booth said, "I've got to do something." Actually these are his words:
We saw the people starving, we saw people going about half--naked, people doing sweated labour; and we set about bringing a remedy for these things. We were obliged - there was a compulsion. How could one do anything else?
What he did was put into Christ's hands his time and talents, and what came back was the miracle of the Salvation Army.
Well, the miracle - what it is, and how it is accomplished - is always God's business. Our business is to determine what we will place in Christ's hands for his sake and for the sake of the world he loves.
