This is the first summer I have lived here in Windom and the first year in many years when I have had a garden. I have been watching, watering, weeding and fertilizing with care, watching for leaves and buds and waiting for the first emergence of vegetables. Last week, I harvested the first zucchini – the first fruits of the garden - and took it to share with my husband. It was special to us. Not only did it taste wonderful but it contained the promise of new life, of a plentiful harvest and of the joy of God’s bounty in the world.
This morning, two of our scripture portions have more than a little in common – something in common with each other and in common with that first zucchini.
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Our first reading from 2 Kings 4:42-44, recounts one of the miracles attributed to the ministry of Elisha. Elisha inherited the mantle, or ministry, of Elijah who was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha asked for a double portion and it seems that he got it since through the power of God Elijah performed 7 miracles and Elisha performed 13.
It is spring and there is famine in the land. People have been in want through the winter. They are desperate for food. Their children are crying because they’re hungry. They have been watching and weeding and - perhaps most importantly – waiting for the beginning of harvest, praying for the right amounts of rain and sun and waiting for the first of the harvest to be ready so they can fill their empty stomachs and replenish their stores.
Even Elisha and his company of prophets are going hungry. Now a man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing food from the First Fruits to the man of God: twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. He had brought some of the first produce from his farm. At a time of famine, when there would be natural tendency to gather it all, to hoard against the possibility of future famine, he has obeyed the command of God found in Leviticus 23 to bring the first fruits of the harvest as an offering to God. This is an act of faith as much as it is an act of gratitude.
He brings his offering to Elisha and the company of prophets who live with him and the prophet Elisha commands the man to set the food before the people – 100 people.
How can he feed 100 people with twenty loaves of bread? These are not 20 loaves of Wonder Bread – which would contain about 400 slices in total; these are 20 loaves of pita – small, flat loaves that will fit across your hand. This is not nearly enough to satisfy 100 people.
This man of faith who has sacrificed part of his own welfare in his faithfulness to God is now facing shame and failure by not bringing enough to feed everyone. Elisha says again, ‘Put the food before the people because the Lord says there will be enough’. The man puts the food before the people and indeed it is just as the Lord said: every one eats their fill and there are leftovers.
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In this week’s gospel portion, we have the big chunk of the gospel story that was left out of last week’s scripture lesson, the story of the feeding of the 5,000 and the story of Jesus walking on the water. The only problem is that we have switched gospels. Last week, we were in the gospel of Mark and this week, we are reading from the gospel of John. Actually, we could be reading about the first of these two miracles in any of the gospels because this is the only miracle included in all four of them - but the fact that we are reading it in John should clue us into the fact that there is more going on here than meets the eye.
Matthew, Mark and Luke are called the synoptic gospels. Each writer tells the story of Jesus from their own point of view and with a measure of personal commentary, but theirs are pretty linear and often similar stories. John’s gospel stands by itself. John even tells us so in John 20:31, “These things are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the son of God, and that through believing, you may have life in his name”. John is not telling us the story of Jesus’ life. John is pointing us to faith and he does it by showing us signs about who Jesus is and who Jesus represents.
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The first miracle is the feeding of the 5,000. It’s easy to gloss over this account -- we read it three times before in the other gospels -- but there is something different here. John never says that Jesus has compassion on the crowds or that he is in any way concerned about their physical hunger. For John, this is no last minute decision nor a spur of the moment blessing. For John, this is yet another way for Jesus to show -- with a sign -- who he is.
The time of Passover is near. This is a time when even today, Jews gather to share a meal with wonderful history and promise. They gather to rejoice and to remember. They will remember the great works of God that caused the 10 plagues in
They will also be thinking about First Fruits because the day following the Sabbath – or Saturday - during Passover is called the Feast of First Fruits (Leviticus 23:10-11). And so they will remember the first of our scripture readings.
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Jesus asks Philip what they should do – Jesus doesn’t really want to know, he just wants Philip to think about it, to consider the difficulty so that he will have a greater realization of the enormity of what is about to happen. Andrew, who it seems is always bringing someone to the savior, brings up a small boy who has 5 barley loaves and a couple of fish. Now this is not 5 loaves of Wonder Bread and two twenty pound catfish – even if it were, that would not be even enough for the disciples and Jesus. This was 5 pita bread loaves and a couple of small, dried fish – perhaps enough for 2 or 3.
Of course, Jesus didn’t need to start with anything. The people recline along the hillside and Jesus himself distributes the meal.
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Through the centuries, wiser people than I have studied this gospel and divided it into three parts -- sort of like John circling around to tell us again who Jesus is, and with each circle taking us higher and higher, the language getting more and more intense, the miracles becoming greater and greater – the language getting plainer and plainer – John telling us more and more clearly who Jesus is. This is the first sign in the second part and it mirrors the first sign in the first part -- the miracle at the wedding in
In the first of Jesus’ signs, water is turned to wine --- and all are astonished by the amazing abundance and astonishing quality of God’s provision. In this sign, Jesus himself distributes a few fish and loaves and 5,000 men plus women and children are fed until they are filled and twelve baskets of leftovers are taken up.
This miracle mirrors the other, but is an even greater miracle -- more than just enough wine for a hundred or so dinner guests; this is free lunch for thousands. The miracle of wine on the one hand and bread on the other, the picture of Jesus himself breaking and distributing the bread just has to recall for us the body and blood of Jesus we take symbolically at communion.... but it is also so much more. It is a picture of Jesus anticipating our every need - of Jesus giving us more than we can hope for - of better things in the life of Christ than in the life of the world.
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Once again, there is famine in the land. But this famine is not one of food. What people in the land hunger for is freedom and justice. Recalling the miracles of Passover and First Fruits, the people say, “Wow! This must be the prophet who was to come.” What they hope for is the next king in the line of David who will rule the throne in the same glory as that of David and Solomon. What they hope for is a king who like David will battle the enemies of
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Have you even known someone who was your friend because of what you could do for them instead of for who you are? Maybe someone at work who needed your help to get a job done, or a neighbor who only came over to borrow a drill or cup of flour or a cousin who never called unless they needed money? Surely Jesus did – and he still does.
The Roman emperors knew something important about the people they ruled. They knew that they could do almost anything they wanted if they would just keep the people fed and amused -- and so they gave them bread and circuses -- bread for their empty stomachs and circuses to give them something to look forward to and talk about. Of course, while they were being amused, the great
The crowds in this morning’s scripture saw the signs. They saw the miracles of Jesus. They listened to his teachings. Perhaps they even tasted of the spiritual food he offered, but they too wanted to settle for bread and circuses – full bellies and empty souls. They saw the signs, but never thought about what might lie behind them. They saw the signs and never caught a glimpse of the God who was at work in them. They saw the signs and looked only as far as their stomachs and their physical healings. They saw the signs and missed the savior – they mistook their need for bread and Jesus retreats further up the mountain to escape the mob scene that would make him king in this would when he is already king in the next.
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They saw the signs, amazing signs that told plainly that Jesus anticipates our needs – Jesus can provide more than we could ever ask for – Jesus can calm our fears – Jesus can violate the rules of nature – and in the end, the people only wanted bread and circuses. Jesus offered freedom from a spiritual famine, but the people preferred a good meal.
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Once again there is famine in the land. We may not live without enough food or worry about where our next meal will come from. We may not live without freedom and justice – at least not in this country - but like all those in our two scripture portions who ate and were satisfied, we live in a land where there we hunger for God. We long for a relationship with the holy but look for fulfillment in things or people. We wander through out own desert wilderness needing what we cannot buy and lacking that which is free. We hunger and thirst for righteousness, but settle for a big meal and a nice dessert. We see the signs of God all around us and settle for just what will fill our bellies and ease our consciences.
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There is still famine in the land. Recent surveys tell us that 70% of the people in our own country are ‘un churched’. They have no relationship with the living God or even with a community of faith. Many may believe they are ‘spiritual’ but not ‘religious’. Most are hungering for God, but do not see God’s power in the world or in their lives.
Did we come to church this morning because this is where we meet our friends every Sunday, or did we come to meet the Creator of the Universe? Did we come to church this morning because this is what we do every Sunday or because it makes us feel good, or did we come to worship the God who works the signs and wonders, who loves us more than we love ourselves, who counts the hairs on our heads and numbers our days in this live and gives us numberless days in the next?
More important than that, will we go home still hungering for God or will we turn our hearts, our time our prayers to God and be filled with heavenly food for the soul?
In John’s gospel, the people saw the signs and missed the savior. Let us not do likewise. Amen.
