“Michel and I”
One time Chicago Bulls legend
Michael Jordan scored 63 points in one game. After the game, a reporter interviewed one of his teammates,
Scottie Pippen. The reporter asked, “What’s the highlight of your life so far?”
Pippen answered without hesitation, “Today’s game is the highlight of my life because
Michael and I together got 65
points!”
5 Loaves vs. 5000 People
We, as an individual and as a
church, often feel that what we have is so limited, whereas the needs of the
world around us are so great. In today’s scripture the disciples worried about
their limited amount of food and how it could reach a growing crowd. They said,
“We only have five small barley loaves, but what good is that with this huge
5000 crowd?” (9) Like the disciples, we often feel like what we have is 5
loaves, and the challenges we are facing are like 5000 people. So we worry. We
feel overwhelmed and powerless and say, “I have only such and such, but what
good is that with this great need? What should I do now?” Thankfully, today’s
story gives an answer to this question. In particular, I want you to pay
attention to the following four verbs that Jesus used: “take,” “give thanks,” “break”
and “give.”[1] (cf. Matt 14:19; Mk 6:41;
Lk 9:16; Jn 6:11)
“Take”
First, Jesus takes what we bring to him. The story of feeding the 5000 is written
in all four gospels. In fact, in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus asks his disciples, “How
much bread do you have? Go and see! (6:38)” Here Jesus gently invites us
to think about what we already have. His point is not to literally check
and count how much bread we have. For Jesus, five loaves or seven loaves – it
doesn’t matter. His point is for us to see what we are already given. Because
so many times we tend to focus on what we don’t have: Our church is so small.
We don’t have enough money to meet the budget or do missions. We don’t have young
people. We don’t have children and youth. Philip, one of Jesus’ disciples, had
a similar mindset. He basically said to Jesus, “In order to feed all these
people, eight months’ wages would not buy enough bread.” He focused on what
he didn’t have. But then, another disciple, Andrew did go and see to find
something what he had. And he found one boy. He brought the boy to Jesus. Jesus
took what the boy brought to him – five loaves and two fish. Jesus takes what
we bring to him – our bread, our prayer, our work, our strength, our weakness,
our hunger, whatever we are. Jesus takes who we are.
“Give thanks”
Jesus then gives thanks for what we bring. He blesses and celebrates. He doesn’t
criticize or condemn or reject our offering, who we are in our bringing. Jesus
welcomes us just as we are. God loves us not because we did something good or
impressive for him. God just loves us even before we commit our lives to him. When
Israel, God’s people, was still in their sins, God said to them through Prophet
Zephaniah, “The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take
great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you
with singing.” (3:17) Our giving does not
change God; it changes us. In today’s passage Jesus said to Philip, “Where
are we to buy bread to feed all these people?” Jesus said this to test him, for
he himself knew what he would do. Here Jesus was inviting Philip to see the way
he saw.
A few years ago, in an interview
Dallas Willard was asked about the challenges facing the church. Dr. Willard
spent much of his life addressing the problem of why the church isn't raising
up more people who look and act like Jesus. At the end of that two-hour
interview, Willard was asked this pointed question: "When you look at how
off track the church is, do you ever just throw up your hands in despair?"
Willard smiled and said, "Never." "But how can you not?"
the interviewer asked. "Because," he said, "I know Christ is the
head of his church and he knows what he's doing."[2]
Jesus knows his church. Jesus knows us. And he loves us even before we turn to
him. But when we turn and come to him, when we bring ourselves to him, we hear
him say, “You are my beloved child. I am well pleased with you!”
“Break”
Jesus takes and gives thank for
what we bring. But then Jesus breaks
what we bring to him. Once we ourselves are in Jesus’ hands, we are not
permitted to remain self-sufficient. We ought to be broken or pruned first before
feeding the world. I like the story of “mashed potato love” told by Juan Carlos
Ortiz. I know many of you in this room are very familiar with potatoes. Hope this
analogy helps us to understand what it means to be broken. The story goes like
this. As you know, in growing potatoes, each potato plant in the garden has
three, four, five or more potatoes under it. Each individual potato belongs to
one particular plant or another. When the potatoes are ready for harvest, we
dig up all the potatoes and put them into one sack. Now they are all “regrouped”
– but they are not yet “united.” They may say, “Oh, praise the Lord! Now we’re
all in the same sack.” But they are still not yet one! To prepare the potatoes
for use, they must be washed and peeled. Now they think they are closer yet.
They may say, “How nice is this love among us!” But that’s not all. Next they
must be cut in pieces and mixed. They have now lost a lot of their
individuality. However, what God wants is mashed
potatoes. Not many potatoes, but “one” mashed potato! The word “I” no longer
exists, but only “we” do.[3]
So we become one with Christ, and one with each other. In John 12:24 Jesus
said, “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and
dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”
“Give”
Jesus takes, gives thank, break,
and then he gives back what we bring
to him. But it is no longer what we brought. Something happened. It’s new
creation, new bread that feeds thousands of people.
Do you remember how God fed the
Israelites in the wilderness? God said to Moses, “In the evening you will have
meat to eat, and in the morning you will have all the bread you want.” But
Moses said, “I’m with 600,000 people on foot… Even if we butchered all our
flocks and herds, would that satisfy them? Even if we caught all the fish in
the sea, would that be enough?” Then God said, “Is the Lord’s power limited? Now
you will see whether or not my word comes true.” Then what happened? Now a wind
set in motion by GOD swept quails in from the sea. They piled up to a depth of
about three feet in the camp and as far out as a day's walk in every direction
(cf. Num 11:16-23). So they all ate and were satisfied. It’s still a mystery
how Jesus fed the five thousand with five loaves and two fish. But the Bible
says, “They all ate and were satisfied” (cf. Mt 14:20). And it still happens today
when we share what Jesus gives back to us.
“Jesus and I”
In today’s passage there is a boy
who could be easily missed. It seems like he is from ordinary or even poor
family. At that time, barley bread was very common, and it was typically for
low class people. And the Greek word used for the fish the boy had was opsarion,
which meant very small fish. So if this kind of fish was caught in the net,
people released it back into the water. What the boy had – five loaves and two
fish – was not great, but it was everything he had. By faith the boy brought what
he had to Jesus. He had no idea what Jesus would do with it. But he had faith
that Jesus would do something with it. Jesus wants us to have this faith: “If I
bring what I have to him, he will do something with it.” Once one of my
colleagues encouraged me to put the boy’s shoes on and asked me an interesting
question. She said, “Have you ever thought what the boy would tell the story to
his parents after coming back home?” Do you think he would simply say, “Mom,
Dad, today Jesus fed the 5,000?” Probably not! He would say with excitement, “Mom
and dad, today Jesus and I together did feed thousands of people!!!”
Through today’s story Jesus invites
us to a rich and satisfying life. What do you see? Do you see what you
don’t have? Or do you see what you have? For instance, let’s think about our church.
Our church may not have enough young people, but we do have quite a few active
and devoted senior members. Our church may not have enough money and resources,
but we do have a good lay leadership. Each of us in this room has something to
offer, something to share. This morning Jesus says to us, “Bring them here to
me.” Jesus takes, gives thanks, breaks, and gives back. And all are satisfied. So
what do you have? Let us bring them here to Jesus. And we will say with
great excitement, “Jesus and I together did feed all these people!” With
Jesus all things are possible. Amen.
[1] I must give credit to Eugene Peterson
for how he expounds those four verbs as the pattern for our lives in his book Living the Resurrection: The Risen Christ in
Everyday Life, kindle location 767-797 of 1446.
[2]
Skye Jethani, Immeasurable: Reflections
on the Soul of Ministry in the Age of Church, Inc. (Moody Publishers,
2017), 49.
[3]
Juan Carlos Ortiz, Disciple (Creation
House, 1975), 60-64.
