"What Was The Real Miracle?"

Sermon Delivered By Reverend Richard E. Stetler – July 29, 2012

Centenary United Methodist Church

Ephesians 3:14-21; John 6:1-15

 

    Last week, we discussed Jesus’ love being expressed not only by his teaching and preaching but also through his healing touch.  We discussed how his healing ministry took precedence in the minds of his listeners over everything else Jesus tried to teach them.  Mark’s Gospel offered the description that people ran to Jesus and his disciples from all over the region. 

    The same theme continues in our lesson this morning.  This time the story of an adoring crowd comes from John’s Gospel.  Jesus and his disciples once again were trying to escape the hoards of people that followed them everywhere.  There was no shortage of people wanting to watch Jesus perform healings.  (John 6:2)  

    On this occasion Jesus and the disciples got into a boat and rowed crossed the Sea of Galilee or Lake Tiberius, as it is called in some translations.  Upon landing on the other shore, Jesus observed that the people had walked around the lake and were once again approaching them.  There was no escaping the curiosity and needs of these people.  This was the scene Jesus witnessed late one afternoon.

    The feeding of the 5,000 is one of the few episodes mentioned by all four Gospel writers. This morning we are going to examine this event and hopefully draw a message from it that will help us live Jesus’ message more intentionally.  The Gospel of John, however, features details that are not included in the other accounts. 

    Tradition has it that Jesus’ cousin, John, dictated his recollections to one of John’s own disciples.   The time when his Gospel was written, John was somewhere in his mid-90s living near the city of Ephesus.  According to early tradition, John was the only disciple that was not martyred. The different details in his Gospel present a curiosity for readers because they are features that could only have been reported by an eye-witness.  

    For example, we can note the time of year because John described how Jesus invited the crowd to sit down on the grass.  Grass only appeared after the spring rainy season.   He mentioned that a boy had five loaves and two fish.  What is unique is that John mentions that the bread was made of barley.  The author pointed out that the crowd consisted of 5,000 men, which means that with women and children – people that were not counted in ancient times – could  have easily put the size of the crowd at 10,000. 

    There is no mention of Jesus performing any healings or even teaching the people during this gathering.  With a crowd that size, how many could have heard anything he said? When Jesus saw the vast numbers and the lateness of the hour, he asked Philip where the disciples could buy enough food to feed everyone.  Philip responded, “For everyone to have even a little, it would take more than $724,” – a figure that represented eight months of wages. (John 6:7)

    Our faith tradition has suggested that Jesus performed a miracle by creating some 40,000 small loaves of barley bread and between 12,000 to 15,000 fish out of thin air.  The distribution of that amount of food would have taken hours, particularly if the 12 disciples were handing out the food. Let us see if we can reconstruct what happened during this event. 

    A young boy must have heard the question Jesus asked Philip and stepped forward and offered what he had. Why was this young boy carrying five barley loaves and two fish?  The answer becomes clear when we understand how Jews traveled. Jews never walked any great distance without sufficient food and drink. They came from nomadic roots and were thoroughly schooled in the necessities during their travels. The looming question was how could Jesus get them to share?

    We can almost see the Master taking those loaves and fish, holding them up for everyone to see and exclaiming as loud as he could, “This young boy beside me wants to share his loaves and fish with all of you.  Please sit down on the grass and let us all eat together.”   The event became an earlier version of a United Methodist potluck supper. 

    Sharing was never easy for the Jews.  They carried just enough for themselves. Each member of a family carried their own food and water.  There was a scarcity mentality in those days that said, “If I share what I have, there may not be enough for me.”  The Jews found sharing very awkward but reluctantly they did so.  Jesus used the innocence of a young boy’s sensitivity to the needs of others and his desire to share his food to teach the adults to do the same.  The miracle was that it worked; there was even surplus food after everyone was full.  (John 6:11)   

    How can we use this experience to become more sensitive to the needs of people around us?  Had we been a part of that crowd of people and had not brought anything to eat or drink, how comfortable would we have felt asking for a sandwich from someone’s picnic basket?  Asking can be very difficult for proud people.  Typically, they will not ask.  Jesus used the young boy as an example of someone who offered his food.  No one in that crowd had to ask.

    Lois and I spent seven weeks on an archaeological dig in Heshbon, Jordan – about a 25 minute drive from the capitol city of Amman.  Our large group took side trips on the weekends to other ancient sites in the region.  The temperature outside was hot. The humidity was negligible.  We were asked to stay hydrated became the evaporation rate was so high that sweat never formed on our skin.  We had hiked up one of the holy mountains and saw where ancient Hebrews once made animal sacrifices to God.  I had my friend’s canteen and he was in another group.

    He went the entire time without water.  He would not ask for a drink from those in his group.  He told me later that he watched as people poured water on handkerchiefs before tying them around their head. No one in his group sensed that he was not drinking and had packed no water.

    When he finally arrived back at the base camp, his lips were parched and cracked.  His saliva was like cotton balls.  He could hardly talk.  He choked out the words, “You had my canteen.”  I felt awful.  I brought him water and coached him on drinking it very slowly.   It took him quite some time for his internal organs to begin absorbing water.  He was too proud to ask others for some of their water.  Being sensitive to those around us is essential to caring for them.  Again, his group never sensed his need.

    Back in the mid-1980s there was a massive flood in West Virginia where hundreds of homes became uninhabitable.   The silt on the first floor of some of these homes was 8 to 15 inches.  I was part of a team that went into the flood zone.  We had several truck loads of washers, dryers, refrigerators and stoves for people, appliances that had been donated by various appliance companies.  Other organizations were responsible for food, bottled gas and paper products. Every Christian denomination sent teams and resources into the region.

    As we pulled up in front of one home, the man greeted us with his hunting rifle.  He was not happy to see us.  We told him we had some new appliances for him and he refused.  He said, “I don’t need anyone’s handouts.”  It was very obvious, however, that swift currents had poured through his home and carried away most of the contents of his kitchen.   It was a wonder that the home stayed on its foundation.   

    Fortunately, the driver of one of the trucks was a West Virginian himself and he knew how to handle this very proud farmer.  He said, “We can’t take these back with us.  We understand that you are okay.  However, you might have some friends that are not as fortunate as you.  Could we leave these appliances with you?”  He agreed and he accepted a washer and dryer, a refrigerator and gas stove.  The driver was sensitive enough to find a way to give while protecting the man’s dignity. 

    The spirit of sharing that came from the young boy is a spirit from which all of us can benefit.  He approached Andrew and showed him that he had five loaves of barley bread and two fish.  That gift caused the chain-reaction that lead to the miracle of feeding thousands of people.  This event was the real miracle.

    As we mentioned last week, sharing our love is an act every person can do whether they are wealthy or poor, older or younger, or Jewish or Greek.  Also, last week we discussed how authentic love is a one-way street that has no strings attached.  A problem many of us have with sharing is that quite often we want our gift to matter, to count for something.  We want to know if people have done everything humanly possible to help themselves.  We frequently quote from some unknown source that, “God helps those who help themselves.”

    Suppose someone in Galilee followed the crowd and had gone to watch Jesus perform miracles.  Further, suppose this person had a reputation in his village of being a freeloader.  He never worked.  He often loitered around the marketplace hoping that people would take pity on him and give him something to eat.  He followed the crowd but brought no food or drink and he sat beside us?

    This type of individual has existed in every generation.  When we love such people there are going to be others that will be critical of our doing so.  Critics will say,

You are only enabling him to stay the way he is.  What he needs to do is get a job!  What he needs to do is grow up!  What he needs to do is take responsibility for himself!  What needs to happen here is tough love. Everyone should cut him off.  He is a slacker getting by on everyone else’s generosity. 

    The teaching of Jesus could not be any clearer in this circumstance. In fact, Jesus’ love reached beyond all common sense.  Jesus said, “If someone steals your coat and you find out who did it, give him your shirt as well. Give to anyone who asks.  Give to others in the same manner that you would like them to give to you.”  (Luke 6:29f)

    Think about how the scriptures would read if someone came to Jesus to be healed.  Instead of laying his hands on him, Jesus said,

You need to get a life.  You drink too much.  From the looks of you, you also eat too much.  When is the last time you took a bath? You are a failure at everything you have tried to do.  You refuse to follow-through on any of your responsibilities.  Why should I heal you?  You have abused your health since your childhood. 

     We could not imagine Jesus having such comments in his spirit.  Jesus healed everyone who came to him.  He was a believer in second, third and fourth chances.   In fact, he taught his listeners to let go instantly of any resentments that they have toward anyone’s character qualities.  (Matthew 18:21f)  It does not matter what others do with what we give them.  What matters is that we love just like God who does not first look at how worthy we are to receive.

    In our second scripture passage today, Paul wrote these words to the Ephesians:

I have prayed that you may have your roots and foundation in love, so that you, together with all God’s people, may have the power to understand how broad and long, how high and deep, is Christ’s love.  Yes, may you come to know his love and be so completely filled with the very nature of God.

     In the final analysis, we can only take responsibility for the quality of our own life. Long ago, a young boy approached Andrew with his five loaves of barley bread and two fish.  That story has produced the same image in our minds as the widow who put into the Temple treasury two copper coins worth only a penny.Are we striving to have the same mind as God? 

      Are we part of the miracle of sharing with everyone as God has shared and continues to share with us?  These are questions we can take with us this morning as we face opportunities to serve this coming week.  I hope we will answer them the way God has.