Dining with Jesus
August 3, 2008
Matthew 14:13-21
Our scripture today finds Jesus in a difficult place in his life. He has just been given very sad news. His cousin and mentor, John, has been unfairly executed by King Herod. Some call this miracle "The Feeding of the 5000." Others call it "The Feeding of the Multitude." Whatever you call it; this is the only miracle story to appear in all four gospels. So let's listen for what God must be trying very hard to tell us in this story.
13When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food." 16Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." 17"We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish," they answered. 18"Bring them here to me," he said. 19And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Have you ever imagined how difficult life must have been for Jesus?
We often focus on the difficulty of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, but have you ever considered the sacrifice he made simply to take on human flesh? How remarkable that the God who created the universe would be willing to experience a tired, hungry body and a grieved heart or even the need to get away from it all in order to reconnect with the source of all love and grace!
What's more, Jesus wasn't even granted an easy life! He was born to a working family. At a young age, he lost his father, Joseph. Like everyone claiming to be Messiah, he had a large following but from day one he faced tremendous opposition. Furthermore, the crowds were so needy, so frightened, so lost and demanded so much from him. And, sadly, all too often his own disciples just didn't understand what he tried to teach them. Then this tragedy occurs-the unfair and humiliating execution of his cousin and mentor. All that was human in Jesus must have been screaming out for a break from it all!
Of course, some of you are thinking: "Yes, but he was also God. So these things couldn't affect him like they would a normal human!" But I suspect that his divine knowledge made things more difficult for him rather than less. After all, he knew what was to come-the betrayal by both the crowds and the disciples and the excruciating death that made John's execution seem humane by comparison. We can only imagine the struggle going on within him. And if it is true that he was tempted in all ways as we are, I suspect that when Jesus climbed on that boat, he was hoping against hope for a break, a vacation, a mountaintop experience with the Father, or at the very least a Calgon moment-a closed door and a few moments of peace.
However, that moment of peace and quiet wasn't going to happen. On the other side of Sea of Galilee, he found what he had left behind-crowds of needy people calling to him for help. How he must have wanted to get back on that boat and float away!
But he didn't! Rather than running away to some place far away, he stays where he is and he meets the people at the point of their greatest need and he fills that need.
Jesus looks at the crowds and, once again, his heart is wrenched with concern, with sorrow, and with love for them. So Jesus reaches out and heals the sick. He opens his mouth and he teaches those in need of instruction. He lifts up the bread. He blesses it. He breaks it. Then he feeds them. He listens to the doubts and excuses of the disciples and he puts them to work.
In Jesus' final lesson to his disciples before his crucifixion, Jesus said to them, "If you know me, you will know my Father also." The God we know in Jesus is not a distant God who wishes us well from afar. Nor is the God we know in Jesus a cranky God out to get us because we've messed up. The God we know in Jesus is the God who comes to us where we are, sees our need, feels compassion for us, and then reaches out and fills that need.
For some, their greatest need was healing. And that was the first need that God in Jesus met. He reached out to those who were sick, he touched them, and they were healed.
At this point, I feel like it is important to say a word or two about God's healing power. Yes, I believe that God can miraculously heal. I've heard about tumors disappearing. I've heard people share of moments when they stood up from the altar rail and their pain was gone. I know that prayers are said and unexplainably illnesses are gone. But to claim that God only heals in supernatural unexplainable ways is to limit God. God heals through doctors. God heals through medications. And it is important to remember that all those who Jesus healed and even those he raised from the dead eventually died of something. The truth is that God's healing will not always occur the way we want it and on our time schedule.
Furthermore, the Bible clearly indicates that Jesus did more than heal the body. Jesus healed by forgiving sins. He healed by restoring people to relationship with God and others. He healed by giving life meaning and direction. It is no accident that the Greek word for "to heal" is also the word translated "to save." A saving relationship with Jesus means that our deepest wounds are healed and those wounds most often go much deeper than any physical illness. And as one of the old hymns reminds us it is Jesus who heals our sin-sick souls!
God in Jesus reached out and made them whole. He forgave their sins. He restored them to community. He accepted them as they were.
And all of them were hungry. By the end of a long day, they hungered for physical food, but they also hungered for something else or they wouldn't have followed him so desperately. They hungered for the presence of God. And God in Jesus recognized that need and he fed them both physically and spiritually. He fed them spiritually with his presence. He feed them with his compassion. He fed them with his love. But he didn't stop with spiritual food; he also fed their empty stomachs.
The God we met in Jesus cares for us-all of us. He cares about our spiritual well-being and he cares about our physical well-being. The simple meal of bread and fish reminds us that there is nothing in our life that is not of concern to God. He cares about our jobs, our marriages, our relationships. He cares about our relationship with others as well as our relationship with him. And he cares enough to act on our behalf to meet our needs.
This leads us to the lesson of what the disciples most needed that day!
Looking at the huge crowd of hungry people, they made a logical observation.
"Jesus, the crowd is getting hungry and there are no restaurants here. You'd better send them home so they can get some food." To which Jesus responded simply, "You feed them." Actually the Greek here is even more emphatic, Jesus says something more like, "You! You feed them!"
"But we only have two fish and five loaves!"
Then bring them to me.
And thus God in Jesus met the disciples at the point of their greatest need that day-the need to be a part of God's ministry in the world. In his instructions to the disciples that day, Jesus summed up what I have been trying to share with you over the past six weeks; Disciples of Christ meet God when they work with God to feed those around them! Disciples of Christ meet God when they bring others into Jesus' presence!
So today we come, like the disciples and crowds of old, to dine with Jesus.
For nearly 2000 years now, Christians have recognized that something special occurs when we gather at Christ's table-something more than simply remembering an event that happened long long ago in a place far far away. Like that day long ago, Christ calls us to this table. And, somehow in that calling, in the blessing, breaking and sharing of the bread, heaven and earth intersect and Christ is present with us in a very special way.
Like that day so long ago, here at the table we are accepted. Here at the table, we are forgiven. Here at the table, we are made whole-we are healed-as we are made one with Christ and one with one another!
I suppose we could try to explain what happens when we eat the bread and sip the juice like some scholars try and explain the miracle that day in the wilderness. But our attempts to explain only seem to lessen the experience as we reduce our experience to what we can explain. The truth is the best things in life defy our attempts to explain. Things like love, compassion, sacrifice, and grace cannot be explain logically and they can't be proven in a laboratory. We only know them when we experience them. And love, compassion, sacrifice and grace are the very things that the church has proclaimed we receive when we eat the bread and drink the wine!
In a few minutes, you will be invited to come to the table-Christ's table. As you come, I invite you to hold out your hands and let the server hand you a piece of bread or a cup of juice. And as you do remember that this is God's gift which we receive-not something we take. And as the server hands you the bread and the juice, remember Jesus' command that his disciples feed others.
What happens when we dine with Jesus is a holy mystery but it is a holy truth as well! Come; let Jesus meet you where you most need him. If you are broken, come and experience his healing. If you are separated from God and others, come and experience Christ's power to tear down the walls that separate us. If you are hungry for the presence of God, come receive the nourishment of his presence. And if you seek to be a disciple of Christ, come and renew your commitment to do what he commands, to feed those who are hungry and thirsty, to announce his forgiveness to those who sin, and to bring broken and hurting people into the presence of Christ.
The table is prepared. And the invitation is given: Come and dine with Jesus.
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