Eat and Be Satisfied – Sermon – 6 August, 2017

Eat and Be Satisfied!

Matthew 14:13-21

Have you ever heard of the saying, “Every dark cloud has a silver lining”? The story is a good example.

The story happens just after the death of John the Baptist. When Jesus heard that His cousin was killed, He did what most of us do when a friend/relative dies; He went off to a quiet place to think, pray and grieve.

We have to understand that at this point in His ministry Jesus was extremely popular. Thousands of people were following Him. Everyone wanted a piece and something from Him. And that is exhausting.

People had heard of Jesus and His teaching and healing. They searched for Him and found Him just when He wanted to be alone. Was He angry with them? No. On the contrary, He had compassion for them and taught them and healed the sick. Christ’s compassion made Him unable to ignore the needs of the people.

What does Jesus experience? Upon seeing that huge crowd, the Son of God had “compassion on them and healed their sick.”

Jesus felt COMPASSION… And that sure is good news for us all!!!

The word compassion means: a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering. That is what Jesus experienced, even in His terrible grief and exhaustion, when He saw the crowds who so needed Him.

By night time, the people were still there, and they did not have anything to eat all day. The disciples wanted Jesus to send them away so they could get food in the nearby villages, but Jesus had other ideas, and just like the crowd interrupted Jesus’ plans, Jesus in turn interrupted the disciples’ plans. He told them to feed the crowd. Where were they going to get enough food? All they had was five loaves of bread and two fish, and that certainly would not be enough to feed everyone-or so they thought. God often asks His people to do the impossible, but He makes the impossible possible. He gives us the strength and resources to complete tasks that we can’t complete on our own.

The miracle of the loaves and fish shows that in God’s kingdom there is enough of everything for everyone. Jesus’ ability to create so much out of so little shows His mastery over the natural realm. The miracle shows us God’s character, the nature of the coming Kingdom, and the nature of the Kingdom in our hearts when it has transformed us. Our heavenly Father establishes His household (us), sustains and liberates and guides us to spiritual fulfilment. The foundation of God’s household is the duty He imposes on us to care for each other.

Jesus took the food, blessed it and had the disciples distribute it to the people and there was MORE than enough food-in fact; there were 12 baskets of leftovers!

The feeding of the 5000 hungry mouths was God’s act and a significant historical event. Both events are a demonstration of the Divine prerogative. Because He is God, He is able as God to make a small amount of food go much further than is humanly possible.

The miraculous feeding of the 5000 in the Gospel is not an everyday occurrence, but it does carry a spiritual message for those with eyes to see.

This is not to take away from the historicity of the event, nor to needlessly allegorise. However, in light of Jesus’ own teaching of Himself as the Bread of life, we cannot fail to acknowledge that the miracle stands as a sign of His own sufficiency as discovered in the Cross.

This also lays upon us an obligation. We must seek to bring the spiritual food of life to a world that hungers not only for bread, but for the very Word of God.

God’s abundance is right here, right now. We think we don’t have enough, because our supplies are too small, but because our “we” is too small. The “we” includes God and the gifts of all those among whom we are sent as Christ’s body. Indeed, far more of the gifts are “out there” than “in here”. God meets our needs daily. He will give us what we need when it is needed. Matt. 6:32-33 reads, “Your heavenly Father already knows your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”

This story is a witness to the power of God. It is a story of grace that is sparked and motivated by the love and compassion of Jesus. He is also going beyond feeding the people. He is transforming this moment on this remote hillside into a holy moment-a sacred celebration. He intends to offer these people something to eat, but He also intends to offer them something more. He wants them to experience the presence of God in their midst and see Jesus revealed to them as the Son of God.

When we share together the Lord’s Table, God’s power becomes alive. His power produces an abundance of grace, power, love and the fulfilment of our needs; just like the twelve baskets of leftovers after everyone was fed. This can only happen when everyone is included. The church should become a beacon of welcoming light to the disadvantaged and the less fortunate.

We remember the Bread every time we return to the Communion table and see the blessing given, the bread broken, and the food shared. We again commune in memory of and in the presence of the One who looked at the crowds with compassion. Sharing a meal creates and maintains a sense of community. When we gather together to celebrate the Eucharist, Christ satisfies our deepest hunger, heals our brokenness, binds us together as one body and strengthens us to do His work.

God has given each of us different gifts, talents and abilities. We are different parts of the body of Christ. We all stand together to work for the kingdom. Some are called to make great sacrifices, but God wants all of us to respond to His call in our lives.