I never took economics in college. My wife majored in it. And we consistently have debates about economic policies of our county, state, and national government. And because she studied it and is smarter than I am…she usually wins those debates.
I took classes on the Bible. So that is usually where I land.
The more and more I read in Matthew, the harder it is. I always thought John was tough. Mark is basic, Luke specific, John hard to understand. But Matthew is tough to understand, first. Then, secondly, it puts demands on our lives that are tough to carry out.
I say this in comparing the four gospels because this story we read this morning is the ONLY miracle story that is present in all four, with slight variations. That’s important. Because the early stories of Jesus were passed down orally, this one story is the story to which ALL FOUR writers attest.
It is like if I had one on one interviews with all of you, and asked you what was important to you about this church. And you all said different things. Some say the children’s ministry, some say the work we do in the cemetary, some say heritage, some say youth, some say mission, some say Sunday School. But if ALL of you said the same specific thing, then I would know that while everything is important…that one thing is REALLY important.
If you remember, back on November 14 of last year, we all came together and I asked you a series of questions about this church while we were in small groups that you defined yourselves. That conversation was VERY fruitful to me, and I began to understand what was important here. And what I found was important is that here, you are family. And so I was able to reinterpret all of our efforts to make sure that, like the Olive Garden; when you are here, you’re family, no matter what your last name is or why you came here. When you are here, you are family, and I hope we convey that message tonight when we have guests here for our fifth Sunday night program.
So if this story is one that all four writers have in their gospels, we should invest a large amount of energy to it so we can better understand the gospel story.
The scene that we enter in Matthew is that Jesus has just been rejected in his hometown of Nazareth. He goes back to the place where he was from, and tells them who he truly is. And he tells them what he is doing. And the people laugh at him. Call him names. Aren’t you Joseph’s son? Yeah…you used to be a carpenter. You redid the cabinets at my house and now you are telling us that you are the Messiah?
That had to be hurtful to Jesus. The people he grew up with, knows, and loves…don’t believe him even though he is telling the truth.
Then, his best friend is executed by a corrupt government because he wasn’t doing things the government’s way. John the Baptist fought against the system, and lost.
So he wanted to go away for a while. By himself. And he went to a deserted place.
Being in a deserted place is very significant. A desert symbolizes that a big decision is to be made. It symbolizes wandering and new directions. It was in a desert that Jesus was tempted by Satan, and he goes to a desert once again to reorient his life because right now things aren’t going so well. The things he is saying aren’t accepted by the people he loves…so what does he do? Where does he go from here?
Yet, people follow him out there. And the desert becomes more than a symbol. It becomes what a lot of us think of as a desert. Dry, hot, without much hope of finding food or water anywhere. So he wants to be alone, yet people follow him because they are so spiritually hungry.
And he has compassion on them.
Throughout the book of Matthew, this is a theme that runs through whenever Jesus is about to perform a miracle. He has compassion on them. He shows them mercy.
Recently, the debates have been heated on both sides of the aisle in regards to our country’s debt ceiling. Some want compromise. Others don’t. Some want to raise it, others want to see what will happen if we don’t. And it is vicious. And, honestly, I don’t think anybody is going to win. Something will happen. That some will like and others won’t, but seeing what is happening to our country right now tells me that no one is going to win.
On Thursday, 11 people were arrested in the rotunda of the capitol building. They were protesting, which is illegal in the rotunda of the capitol building. They were called protestors, which I don’t think is a fair term. They were protesting the proposed budget, but I wouldn’t call them protestors. Advocates is more what they were. They were against the budget being proposed because they were advocates for the poor, which they felt the proposed budget neglects.
It was something that happened that was a blip on the radar. But what is most interesting about these advocates is that they were all clergy. Some United Methodist.
I’m proud of them. Because they show compassion. And compassion is something that is the first to be cut when it comes up against practicality. And I think that is backwards. When compassion and practicality are both in the conversation, my faith to tells me that practicality has no place being there.
And so does Jesus.
He has compassion on the people, and heals them. The day gets longer and longer and now people are hungry. Not just spiritually hungry, but physically hungry.
And the disciples tell Jesus to let these people go get themselves something to eat.
And Jesus says, no, you get them something to eat.
The disciples protest and say that they only have five loaves and two fish.
To which Jesus takes, asks for a blessing from God, and distributes to all of them. And they collect twelve basketfuls at the end from the leftovers.
I never saw this until I read it this week in Matthew. But the disciples’ protest of giving them something to eat rather them going to fend for themselves had a familiar ring to it.
I read it again and again and again, because there was something there that sang out to me but I just couldn’t put my finger on it. Some other Gospel writers say that it is only because a young boy brought the fish and loaves, but not in Matthew. Its different.
Its like when you are watching a TV show and an actor comes on that you recognize, but you don’t know where it is from. The internet movie database has saved my sanity for this reason. I can look up anyone and find where I know them from. Its great. Just type something in, and all the connections are made for you.
And the disciples’ words, “let them go get themselves something to eat”…and “all we have are these five loaves and two fish”…sounded so familiar to me, but I just couldn’t put my finger on it.
And then, I suddenly realized where I had heard it before. I have heard it in church meetings, in school board meetings, and in talks around the dinner table.
The words of the disciples are the same words that I have told myself time and time again.
And those words or protest are…”but, we only have enough for ourselves.”
I have said these words when I think about giving to the church. When I feel that I should give more to the church I think, but, we only have enough for ourselves.
Or when I think about new forms of ministry that we can do and I try to think through all of the reactions I hear the protest…but, we only have enough for ourselves.
Or when I am asked to give more of my time to something…but, I barely have enough time as it is!
Or when I’m asked to help someone…but, I barely can do that for myself!
I have thought these words whenever I am faced with a need. And a need that is big. One that I can’t fulfill easily. I can’t do anything, I only have enough for myself.
It is the first line of defensiveness.
We can’t feed these people…let them go fend for themselves…we barely have enough food to eat, ourselves.
So if we are to carry out our mission. To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world, we cannot let this defensiveness take root.
Because look what Jesus does with the amount of food the disciples were planning on having for a meal. He asks God to bless it, and it turns into a meal for 5000 people. More than 5000 people. Because 5000 is a conservative estimate, it doesn’t include women and children. In my family, that would mean only 1 in 4 of us would count in the 5000 people, so it may have been as many as 20000 people…maybe more!
AND…there are 12 basketfuls left over. One for each disciple. So while the disciples wanted to split five loaves and two fish 12 ways, they were instead given an entire basketful to eat.
That is what happens, when we give what we have to God, rather than worry that we aren’t going to have enough to feed just ourselves.
I’m talking about money. I’m talking about time. I’m talking about clothing. I’m talking about food. I’m talking about relationships. I’m talking about it all. All of the things we so jealously guard thinking that if we gave ANY of it away, we wouldn’t have enough for ourselves.
What Jesus does, is not the way our world operates.
Be practical, preacher, you might be thinking. Put it in the bank. Save it so that we can be sure we have enough for ourselves. Keep the closet full and the pantry packed so we can have enough for ourselves.
But my faith tells me that when compassion and practicality are in the conversation, practicality has no place.
I say, put it in the bank, keep the closet full, and have the pantry packed, sure. But do it so if 5000 people show up on your doorstep needing money, clothes, or food; you can do something about it.
And God will bless it. That is my faith and my hope.
If we stay attune with the direction God is leading this church, and acknowledge that all we have comes from God…our church will not only do great things that will significantly impact this community and the world…but more than we can ever imagine will be given for us.
Its not the way our world operates, but it’s the way God operates.
So let the debates continue of how we can make sure that we have enough for ourselves, first. That’s how economics works.
I, for one, am going to trust God that it is in giving that we are blessed. That’s how God’s economics works.
After all, I believe in Jesus Christ, who gives. And I believe in a giving life. I am where I am because I have been given so much. Our church is where it is because it has been given so much. So we must also give generously.
So, like I said. Matthew is first hard to interpret, and then it tells us to do things that are hard. Matthew is a hard book.
Because it doesn’t make sense in our world. Its not a transaction that we do with God, its trust. We don’t love God for a purpose or a resolution, we love God with purpose and resolve. We don’t care for our own, we care for God’s own. We don’t pity, we have compassion.
In which world would you rather live? One that is based on our economy? Or one based on God’s economy?
Because I’ll go ahead and tell you, whenever we see God’s economy, it isn’t fair based on our economy. And the feelings will be there that what people give and receive aren’t fair.
But we will know, that it is good. And as we continue to be disciples of Jesus Christ, our protest of just having enough for ourselves will go away, and we will be left with another basketful to give.
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