Text: John 6:1-15
In
the name of Jesus: Amen.
We
are halfway through the Season of Lent.
Easter is not that far away. And
today, at the hallway point, we get a bit of a break from the sober disposition
of Lent. Yes, in today’s service we have
a sense of celebration – not heavy repentance – as we hear about the Lord
multiplying bread and fish in order to feed some 5,000 men, plus women and
children.
Now,
in regard to the feeding of the 5,000, liberal scholars and liberal pastors
will read this miraculous story and will conclude that it is a miracle of ‘sharing.’ In other words, they will teach that Jesus
did ‘not’ multiply bread and fish, but rather, Jesus inspired generosity among
the people, so much generosity that they began to share fish and bread with
each other. According to this liberal
perspective, the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5,000 is not that Jesus made
bread into more bread and fish into more fish – for that would be physically
impossible according to their perspective – but rather the people learned to
share bread and fish with each other. Being
inspired, they shared bread and fish that was already there – bread and fish
that wasn’t multiplied by Jesus.
If all
of this is true though, why does our Gospel reading say that the hungry people were
given as much bread and fish as they wanted to eat? That is not the way to share. Sharing involves that the resources are
divided up equally among all persons where each person limits their portion;
whereas, in the Gospel reading we hear that people ate as much as they wanted. Some had one portion, others two, and others
three, as much as was needed to be full.
My point is this, “if the message [from our Gospel reading] is that we
should all share resources and stop hoarding, so that no one is rich and no one
is poor, then [today’s Gospel reading] would be a [metaphoric story] meant to
teach [limits] and moderation, maybe even self-sacrifice. But [contrary to this liberal fantasy, the
Gospel reading] is described as a feast.
Each [person] has as much as he wants, and there are leftovers remaining
that can barely be contained. Sharing
doesn’t make a feast”[1] but leaves everybody kind
of hungry.
My
friends, this story is not about Jesus inspiring sharing. It is not about Jesus teaching self-sacrifice
– giving up bread and fish for your neighbor, as good as that can be. It is none of this nonsense. But rather, this Gospel reading is about Jesus
providing for the needs of the people by feeding them – every… single… person... no one left out and no one left hungry. All full.
All feasted upon a bountiful meal.
Yes, it is a true story of Jesus feeding 5,000 men, plus women and
children, even though there were only five loaves of bread and two fish. This true story is about the Lord miraculously
providing for all, so that all could be satisfied. It is about the Lord changing bread into more
bread and fish into more fish, making an abundance of gifts to feed several
thousand people. It is the Lord taking barely
anything and then having baskets upon baskets left over. It is the Lord doing the impossible, showing
that He is God in the flesh. It is a
story showing that the Lord Jesus Christ has the power not only to change water
into wine, heal the blind, walk on water, and raise people from the dead, but
to also multiply flour particles, yeast, and fish meat. Simply stated, it is about the nature of the
Kingdom of God, that there is grace upon grace for you and for me – no
shortage, no rations, and no need to portion it out in order to share. Plenty of grace for you and for me –
unlimited and abundant and more than you will ever need regardless of
circumstances or earthly limitations.
All
of this is good news for us this morning to hear.
There
is a problem with this though. As we
hear in the Gospel of John, there were many in the large group of people who
simply did not get what Jesus had done.
They ate the multiplied bread; they ate the multiplied fish. They had their fill. They wanted bread and fish and wanted more
bread and fish; however, they were acting like a snot-nose rebellious adolescent
boy who demanded the keys to dad’s car and dad’s liquor cabinet, as well as mom’s
ATM card, in order to please his immediate desires. In other words, “the people there were so
impressed by what Jesus did – which makes sense – that they decided to seize
Jesus and force Him to be their king.
They knew a good thing when they saw it, and they reacted to free food
the same way we do - get it while the gettin’s good.”[2] Jesus, fill my belly! Jesus, make me rich! Jesus, give me this and give me that! Jesus, we want you to do for us whatever we
ask!
My
friends, this is not faith. Jesus is not
a means to another end. Jesus is not
some dispensable savior that we can crown king and then, as they say, milk him
for all he’s worth. Being a Christian is
not grabbing a hold of Christ to flippantly cast aside His Word and Sacraments
and then wring Him with our tight fists to squeeze every drop out of Him for
our own wicked pleasures. Again this is
not faith; this is not love, but this is coerced extortion.
Let
it be clear, if we do not want to hear the Word of God, but see it as a waste
of our time; if we see the Sacraments and the Church as some dead ritualistic
place that we must endure in order to get close to the Lord for the sake of
getting Jesus to do stuff for us, well then… that is not faith, but
self-centered greed. This is the way of
the old Adam; this is the actions and mentality of a non-Christian… Repent of this with me. Jesus does not respond
to our self-centered bidding. Why should
He? And besides, typically what we ask
for are things that would destroy us anyway and Jesus has so much more to give us
than our immediate self-centered desires.
Dear
friends, we must never forget that in the wilderness of the world we need
refreshment. There is no food for our
souls in the wilderness of the world and we do not have the strength within
ourselves to endure. Seeing that we are
impoverished and how poor and how empty we are – that we do not even have five
loaves and two fish to spare at times, the Lord has compassion. Yes, we as the church are a bunch of poor and
helpless people out on in the wilderness of the world. But like our Gospel reading, the great
miracle is that Jesus has power to satisfy human hearts. Our Lord can and does satisfy human hearts
when nothing else can – not the world, not sin, not temporary pleasure, not
high positions of power, not learning, not health, and not wealth. Our Lord
alone is Bread and Fish for our souls.
He forgives, He satisfies; He fills; He sustains; He gives life. We feed upon Him.[3]
As
the bread and fish were multiplied to the large group of people, so dear
Baptized Saints, the Lord goes on breaking bread and consecrating wine at this
altar and millions more, as long as His children – like you - are before
Him. When Christ blesses the Holy Meal
of Communion, the supply will never run short for you and for me. Yes, grace upon grace for you and for me! He, who supplied the bodily needs of the five
thousand in the wilderness, offers us an abundance of grace and forgiveness
right here and right now this day.[4]
So,
into your ears and into your mouths, the Lord does not place multiplied bread
and fish, but His very body and blood for the forgiveness of your sins and mine
too. The same grace given to you in
baptism, the same grace given to you in the Word, the same grace given to you
two weeks ago in the Supper, is here for you again.
Grace
for you, grace upon grace: this day; in the weeks to come; and unto your very
last day. No shortage, no need to
ration, no limits, nothing held back, all of Him for you; 200 proof grace –
100% all for you – for the forgiveness
of all of your sins.
In
the name of Jesus: Amen.
[1] David H.
Petersen, Thy Kingdom Come: Lent and
Easter Sermons (Fort Wayne, IN: Emmanuel Press, 2012), 86.
[2] Robin Fish,
“More Than You Will Ever Need,” LCMS Sermons,
http://lcmssermons.com/index.php?sn=3732 (accessed March 4, 2016).
[3] Fred H.
Lindemann, The Sermon and The Propers:
Volume II (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1958), 80.
[4] Ibid.
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