Sermon “You Give Them Something To Eat”, based on Matthew 14:13-21

 

Sometimes we hear a story like Jesus feeding the five thousand and wonder if anything like that could happen today.  Well I came across a story that had some similarities. 

 

Three fisherman had dreamed of catching a 10 foot, 750 “mako” shark.  Jeff Lassiter, his two friends, and his two daughters had seen the shark jump 15 feet in the air, not gracefully like “Shamu”, but a “get this hook out of me jump”.  So the three fisherman made a pact if they caught the caught the big one they’d feed the hungry.  That was a very big “if”.  (Slide)

 

The three had a plan if they attracted the big one, one would drive the boat, one would reel him in and one would be on backup. They spotted the big one after they had thrown out some chum, and a flock of 50 birds gathered then left and didn’t return.

 

Finally, after throwing two large fillets of tuna in, they felt the shark rock the boat.  He took the lure and they had him hooked.  After three hours the shark was still fighting and they were moving the boat around to keep the shark from jumping in which they have been known to do.   At one point the hook slipped out of the shark’s mouth only to wrap around its tail.  Solis, who was the backup, was praying.

 

At dusk, as they were almost out of line, the fight ended, they had won.  They got the fish to shore and not able to get a truck big enough to haul the shark, they put it on a boat trailer.  Driving down the 405 freeway at 1 am in the morning, the shark caused quite a bit of attention as you might imagine. 

 

The next day they chopped up the “mako” and came up with 350 pounds of meat, enough to fill a bathtub.  And a lot of empty bellies!  The meat was taken to Calvery Chapel in Garden Grove to be hauled over to Sigler Park in Westminster, where one of the guys had volunteered to feed low income families for years. 

Most of the adults who gathered at Sigler Park were stoked on the change. Each Tuesday, hundreds of hungry families gather here for the Feeding La Sheep program, where they are given a free meal, clothes, and anything else they might need. Usually, the menu is hot dogs or spaghetti.

Jodie Seguine, who founded the program eight years ago, opened a Bible.  “Jesus fed 5,000 people with two fish and two loaves, she explained, citing a verse from Matthew. Here, we fed 500 people with one mako!”  

Okay so next week we are all going on a fishing trip.  I love to hear those kinds of stories of people who get a vision of something and go for it.  I love when people go for a vision which can only happen if God is in it!

 

As I read our gospel lesson today about Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000, I realized something new.  The text says Jesus had withdrawn to go to a solitary place.  He needed some “alone time”. Throughout his ministry, we see Jesus getting away from the crowds to spend time with His Father alone in prayer, especially before crucial times in his ministry. (slide)

We see that again in this text, but what I noticed for the first time is why Jesus went away. In the previous passage we see Jesus’ good friend and cousin, John the Baptist was beheaded by King Herod’s order. Jesus wasn’t just getting some alone time, he had withdrawn by boat because he was grieving. 

When the crowds heard about this they followed him and were waiting at the beach for him to land.  Instead of seeing them as an inconvenience, Jesus has compassion on them and healed them. But now disciples see the practical need of feeding them. Realizing that the time was late and there was not a McDonald’s or Burger King nearby, the disciples urge Jesus to send the crowds away so they get something to eat in the nearby villages.  

Maybe they felt their retreat had been interrupted. Or maybe they were just worried that they couldn’t meet the need in front of them.  Or maybe they were trying to protect Jesus’ time of grieving.

Whatever their motivation, Jesus answers them very clearly, “They do not need to go away, you give them something to eat.”

I don’t know about you but sometimes I look at the world around me and see all of the needs and say, “How could I possibly make a dent?”  And I think well maybe someone else can do it.  I mean there are lots of mega-churches can’t they just give them something to eat. 

Probably the biggest excuse I have is I am too busy, I don’t have time to give them something to eat.  Does anybody else feel like that or am I the only one?

As we move into this Fall, we are going to talk about how at Northwood we can give people something to eat.   First I am working with our leadership team to figure how we can give you a substantial meal in your own spiritual life.  We are moving from just a Sunday morning experience, to providing a full experience for you to know, grow and show God’s love.

I know you guys are busy and sometimes I’m sure at times you might feel like saying pastor why don’t you give them something to eat, we’ve got enough on our plate.  But my prayer is that as we grow and seek God that He will give us a heart like Jesus when he came back to the shore and saw the multitudes waiting who needed healing.  He had compassion on them.

 

When I got sick earlier this year, one thing it did was to raise my compassion meter.  I have always been a fairly compassionate person, but when I saw the love expressed to  me when I was sick I realized how important it is for those who are sick to be loved by the body of Christ. 

Plenty of busy people took time out of their day to give me something to eat.  Including our Senior Pastor, probably the busiest guy I know, who came over and took walks with me around the lake.  After that experience I am now more likely to stop what I am doing when I see someone who needs help.  Through my trial God was teaching me how to slow down and see others around me like he does.

And isn’t that what Jesus is doing?  He is teaching his followers, who would be leading the church, that people are more important than agendas.  And sometimes they even interrupt our quiet times if need be.

Finally, this passage teaches us one more very important truth.  The disciples looked at what they had (two fish and five loaves) and they thought it was inadequate.  To which Jesus replied, “Bring them here to me.” (slide)

When the guys gave Jesus all they had, Jesus took what they had and fed the multitudes.  Do we know exactly how he did it?  I was wondering how they kept feeding all those people?  Did the fish just keep getting bigger and bigger?  Did the loaves just keep reappearing? 

I don’t think it is our job to figure that part out.  Our part is to first commit to give them something to eat, and then offer what we have, and God will do the rest.

We live here in Orange County one of the wealthiest places in the world.  But did you know that there are 3,400 foster kids, 12,000 kids in the system of social service (slide) agencies.  There are people who are looking to the church to help meet the need. This is just one example of were Jesus might say, “You give them something to eat!”

You know Jesus could have just fed all those people by himself.  But he realized there was a better way to teach his disciples about how the kingdom of God works.  He allowed them to participate in the miracle as they offered up what they had in faith.

I believe Jesus wants to do similar miracles today in our church.  He could do them by himself, but I think he would say the same thing to us today, “You give them something to eat!”  As each of us gives Jesus our loaves and fish we create an opportunity for him to multiply what we have given to feed thousands. Wouldn’t that be cool? Lets pray…  

(SLIDE)