YOU Give Them Something to Eat

YOU Give Them Something to Eat

Pastor Mark Havel

Matthew 14:13-21

Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick.

When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.’ Jesus said to them, ‘They need not go away; you give them something to eat.’ They replied, ‘We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.’ And he said, ‘Bring them here to me.’

Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

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This feeding of the 5,000 is one of Jesus’ great miracles – maybe THE great miracle, if there were a popularity contest. (You’ve got water to wine, walking on water, lots of healing here and there, and this feeding of the 5,000, right?) We wonder about how in the world Jesus could take just five loaves of bread and two fish and feed that many people. We marvel at all those leftovers – 12 baskets full – and the idea that if there were about 5,000 men – not including women and children – how many people Jesus really must have fed at the end of that day.

I also always marvel at the compassion Jesus mustered for the crowds that afternoon, when all he really wanted was to be alone, to grieve after learning that his cousin and friend, John the Baptist, had just died. It’s amazing to think about all of the people he must have healed or taught or sat with and listened to, in the midst of his grief. And you have to wonder what it was that he said to himself when he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke that food, before making the miracle happen.

But the disciples were there too. And while it’s easy to wonder about all of the other stuff – to focus on the size of the crowds and the lack of food and the miracle of it all – I also think about those disciples.

It had been a long day and they were probably tired, too. Their appeal to Jesus to let the crowd go get some food, was probably just as much about them getting the heck out of there, too. Never mind the 5,000 … those five loaves and two fish weren’t all that much for 12 tired, hungry disciples, either.

And in the face of their questions … in response to their doubts … in spite of their laziness … whatever it may have been … Jesus says, “YOU give them something to eat.”

“What do you mean, ‘you’? You want US to feed THEM? Maybe you haven’t noticed, Jesus, but there’s like 5,000 people on this hill and all we brought with us is a couple of stinky fish and a few loaves of sourdough.”

“Yes,” Jesus said. “YOU give them something to eat.”

See, the miracle’s a good one and it makes a great story, but if we only focus on what Jesus prayed or on trying to figure out how he did what he did, or on the crowds or the fish or the bread and the math – I think we miss the point. Just like the rest of Jesus’ parables – and the ones we’ve been hearing the last couple of weeks – they really aren’t about yeast or pearls or nets; they aren’t about weeds, seeds, soil, or gardening. And today isn’t really about fish or bread or a hillside picnic. For me, the Gospel – the Good News – in the story of the Feeding of the Five Thousand is found in Jesus’ short and simple response to the disciples:

“YOU give them something to eat.”

Sure the disciples are skeptical. Yes Jesus does whatever he does to make the food go as far as it did. But, what he says and what the disciples do is even more profound and powerful: “YOU give them something to eat.” Don’t send them away. Don’t look for a way out. Don’t hope for someone else to do it. Don’t wait for tomorrow, even. “YOU give them something to eat.” “And do it now.”

And don’t we sound and act like the disciples too much of the time? We don’t have enough bread – whether that means time, or money; energy, willingness, or ability; faith, love, compassion, or whatever. We’re skeptical. We’re pessimistic. We’re preoccupied, distracted, lazy, uninspired, selfish, insecure, unconvinced, we have so many other, better things to do – maybe all the things those disciples were feeling that day. A lot of the time, if you’re anything like me, you’re just downright full of really good excuses.

But just like the disciples in the Gospel, Jesus gives us something greater than even our best excuses. He gives us more than just another miracle, too. He gives us something better even then bread and fish to chew on. Jesus reveals to us just what a high opinion God has – not only of the lost and lonely; the sick and needy people on the hillside that day for whom he shows so much compassion – but Jesus reveals what a high opinion God has of those who believe in and who want to follow him so faithfully.

What I hear Jesus saying is, “Don’t pretend you don’t have the time or the skills or the resources to do God’s work in this world.” “Don’t pretend you’re not qualified or capable.” “Don’t put it off for another day or time or moment when it might be more convenient.” “And don’t wait for me to do it in your place.”

“YOU give them something to eat.”

Which is what I hope you notice and want to be a part of around here – doing the work of the Kingdom, I mean, in and for the sake of the the communities we serve at Cross of Grace. Of course, I think of our Food Pantry and Agape Ministries and Project Rouj in Haiti, that literally support and feed people in gracious, powerful ways.

But I think about our CarePortal Crew, too, who does this in ways that continue to surprise me. Stephanie Smith sends an e-mail every couple of weeks with requests for everything from diapers to bed frames to clothing to swing-sets. Ostensibly, she’s saying, “You give them something to eat – or somewhere to sleep, or something to wear, or whatever the need may be,” and before you know it diapers and clothes and all the rest start showing up – from so many of you – to be delivered to children and families nearby. It’s as miraculous as it is simple, if you ask me.

And I think about less-obvious things like our Summer Reading Program, too. Inspired by a desire to help English Learners in our neck of the woods, I proposed this idea with more hope than I had plans – a couple of stinky fish and some crumbs of bread, if you will. But we had dozens of Cross of Gracers sign up and show up to make it happen. We didn’t pack a hillside every Wednesday, this summer, but we consistently gave about a dozen children a regular dose of patience, time, opportunity, and learning over the course of the last couple of months that I believe fed and filled them in some meaningful ways that will last and linger as they begin another school year.

And, of course, I have in mind the fantastic week of our “Toy Story” themed Camp @ Church that we just pulled out of our behinds. When Lutheran Outdoor Ministries canceled our annual Camp @ Church about a month out, it was temping … it would have been easy – and reasonable – to just cancel the whole thing and try again next year. There wasn’t enough time. There wouldn’t be enough resources, ideas, hands-on-deck. These kids and families could have found other ways and places to fill their days, instead.

But we decided to give them something to eat, after all. Day after day, there were crafts and songs and Bible Studies and games and – no loaves and fish – but plenty of good food, too. Every day, 45 kids – and a gaggle of men, women, and teens, too – were filled to overflowing with reminders of God’s love for them, with the Truth of their value in God’s eyes, with the promise of their call to love one another, with the hope of their place in God’s story.

This is all a reminder that there is some way each of us can help to feed somebody else – literally or otherwise – through the ministry we share here. Maybe it’s helping with Sunday school this fall, sharing a meal, helping to clean, mowing the lawn, getting onto that CarePortal e-mail list, or showing up for the CrossRoads class to learn more. Let’s not wait for someone else to do it. Let’s not pretend we aren’t capable or qualified or called, even, to respond to the needs around us, in this place or in our world. And let’s not wait for Jesus to do it all by himself, either – that was never God’s plan.

No, let’s be amazed by the story. Let’s wonder about the miracle on that hillside. But let’s think about our mission here – as a congregation and as individuals trying to follow the ways of Jesus. Let’s hear the command to give the world something to eat. And let’s realize that we have all we need to make that happen – that because of God’s love for us, we are called and capable of doing the work of love and grace and generosity for the sake of the world. And let’s trust that when we do, there will be more than enough of go around – with leftovers besides.

Amen

Weeds, Wheat, God's Work and Ours

Weeds, Wheat, God's Work and Ours

Pastor Mark Havel

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

[Jesus] put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may compared to somebody who sowed good seed in his field, but while everybody was asleep an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away, so that when the plants grew and put forth grain, the weeds appeared as well. So the slaves said to the householder, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where then did these weeds come from?” He replied, “An enemy has done this.” They said to him, “Do you want us to go out and gather them?” He said, “No, for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat, as well. Let them grow together until the harvest and at the harvest I will tell my reapers, ‘Go and collect the weeds first and bind them into bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”

Then Jesus left the crowds and went into the house. His disciples came and said to him, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” He said to them, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evildoer; the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are thrown into the fire to be burned, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels to collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers and they will be thrown into furnace of fire where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their father. Let anyone with ears listen!”

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Many of you know I spent the week before last with a dozen of our high school youth, over in Ohio. Most of our time was spent at Bellwether Farm, an Episcopal camp and retreat center, that includes a fully operational farm with pigs and goats and cattle and chickens. (One of the sows gave birth to her first litter of 11 piglets the night before we arrived, which was pretty cool.) They also grow a lot of the food, which they serve to guests and campers by way of their farm-to-table kitchen – and very capable and skilled chef, Kevin.

So, while we fed some pigs, collected eggs from the chickens, and milked a goat, our first farm chore of the week was to pull weeds – so many weeds – from around the pepper plants growing in one of the very wet fields behind our sleeping quarters. I couldn’t help but think of this when I got back to reality and this parable of the weeds of the field was on deck for this morning. We experienced, first-hand, what the householder in Jesus’ parable was talking about when he warned against uprooting the good stuff along with the weeds.

First of all, most of us needed to be told very clearly about what we were to pull and what we were to leave behind – what the pepper plants looked like and what the weeds were; and that it was actually okay to pull the stray tomato plants that had made their way into the plot of peppers, too. Secondly, it had rained so much the week before we arrived at the farm that – the soft soil was so wet – that it was very easy to “uproot the good plants along with the weeds,” if you weren’t very careful. In fact, if you were doing it right, you almost had to hold the good plants you wanted to leave in the ground with one hand, while pulling the weeds around them out with the other. (I learned after-the-fact that some of us were better at that than others.)

My wife will be the first to tell you, I’m not much of a gardener. I’ll water a plant when I’m asked. I will pull weeds in the mulch around the flower beds at my house. But gardening isn’t my thing as much as it is hers. I certainly wouldn’t mess around with weeding someone else’s garden, without an invitation and very clear instructions, like the ones at the farm with the kids, because I’d have a hard time knowing what I should pull up and what I should throw away and what I should leave well enough alone.

And that’s something like what Jesus’ parable is all about this morning.

His disciples want to know about how they should handle this allegorical, cosmic sort of weeding project he was describing. We know – and the disciples finally figure out – that the weeds in Jesus’ story represent the evil that springs up in the world, and Jesus wants them – and us – to think about those weeds – and all the sin and evil they represent – differently than we’re inclined to most of the time.

What I mean is, our first intention, our first temptation, our first desire, too often, is to determine who is or what are to be considered “weeds” and who is or what are to be considered “good seed.” When we talk about heaven and hell, about the end of time, about the coming of God’s kingdom, about “the harvest” as it were – our great desire is to be on the right side of that proverbial fence; to be on the winning team; to choose up sides, so that we aren’t one of the ones who gets “left behind.”

And this leads to even greater and scarier temptations. Temptations to point fingers and decide who’s right and who’s wrong. Temptations to make decisions about who’s worthy and who’s not. Temptations to judge – by our standards – who’s good or bad, who’s saved or damned, who’s forgiven or not, who’s welcome or not, who’s loved or loveable or whatever, or not.

And we know how ugly this can become. In Jesus’ time, it was the Pharisees who did a lot of the finger-pointing. They worried about who was eating what, or who was working on the Sabbath, or who wasn’t following the law to the letter. These were well-intended, God-fearing, faithful people and based on their fears and worries, they pretended to determine who should be in and who should be out.

And, while the Pharisees get a bad rap so much of the time, we don’t have to look very hard to find instances in our world – or in our own circles – or in our own heart of hearts – where people take it upon themselves to make decisions about who should be in and who should be out – decisions about “pulling weeds from wheat,” as Jesus might say.

- The Ohio and Indiana highways to and from my road trip with the kids last week are littered with billboards warning drivers to repent, to get ready, to follow Jesus or else – to “turn or burn” like so many weeds, I suppose.

- Someone set an Israeli flag on fire in Zionsville a week and a half ago, in what looks like a hate crime, they say.

- Our Lieutenant Governor has doubled-down on his disdain for Muslim people and their calls to prayer.

- Too many Christian denominations continue to treat women like weeds, preventing them from preaching or leading in meaningful ways. The list goes on…

So what I hear in Jesus’ parable is that there are too many of us choosing not to grow alongside too many others of us. And I believe Jesus is challenging us with this parable, to remember that weeding the field of God’s world is not our work to do; it’s not our garden to tend; it’s not our Kingdom to cultivate, all by ourselves.

Whether we do it out of fear or out of love… out of genuine concern or out of ignorance… with all the Biblical scholarship and well-reasoned theology or not, Jesus tells us that this sort of thing is not our job, when it comes to the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus tells us God is the one – “The Son of Man will send his angels” he says, and then “at the end of the age.” What that means to me – at the very least – is that we’re to leave the weed pulling and the weeping and the gnashing of teeth, for another time – and to more capable hands.

Please don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting we “live and let live” to the point that the weeds of hatred, intolerance, racism, willful ignorance, and injustice are given a pass for the sake of “going along to get along.” I’m not suggesting we bury our heads in the sand … that we live and let live … and leave well enough alone. I’m saying that we may not have weeds to pull, but there are other chores to tend to: there are pigs to feed, and eggs to collect, and goats to milk. There are churches to build, people to feed, neighbors to love, and enemies to forgive.

I’m hopeful that the good seeds of the work of justice, love, and grace; the good seeds of mercy, forgiveness, and transformation, will grow boldly and bravely, faithfully and resiliently alongside all of those weeds – in spite of all of those weeds – and until all of the world’s weeds – are transformed to bear fruit worthy of God’s Kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven.”

That is hard, holy work for sure. And some of us – people of privilege, mostly – have some heavy lifting to do, in this regard.

If the weed is racism, those who benefit from racist systems have some growing alongside to do…

If the weed is sexism, good men in our culture have some growing alongside to do…

If the weeds are willful ignorance, intolerance, systemic injustice, or greed, many of us have some learning, and repenting, and growing alongside to do…

And this “growing alongside” is hard and holy because it looks like humility and change and forgiveness and persistence. And it is God’s call to the Church, because it is much more Christ-like than all the world’s weeping and gnashing of teeth can muster. It’s harder to “grow alongside” … and to bear fruit among the weeds … and to trust that God’s way of grace will win the day. But I believe it will, in the end, for the sake of the world. I believe we can do this work precisely because God’s grace has – already – won the day, through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Amen