Sunday's Message - A Great Show

Here's the message I offered during the celebration service in the Presbyterian Church of Hopedale, Hopedale, Ohio on Sunday, August 2.

Matthew 14:13-21 (Contemporary English Version)

After Jesus heard about John, he crossed Lake Galilee to go to some place where he could be alone. But the crowds found out and followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus got out of the boat, he saw the large crowd. He felt sorry for them and healed everyone who was sick.

That evening the disciples came to Jesus and said, “This place is like a desert, and it is already late. Let the crowds leave, so they can go to the villages and buy some food.”

Jesus replied, “They don’t have to leave. Why don’t you give them something to eat?”

But they said, “We have only five small loaves of bread and two fish.” Jesus asked his disciples to bring the food to him, and he told the crowd to sit down on the grass. Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up toward heaven and blessed the food. Then he broke the bread and handed it to his disciples, and they gave it to the people.

After everyone had eaten all they wanted, Jesus' disciples picked up twelve large baskets of leftovers. There were about five thousand men who ate, not counting the women and children.

A Great Show

Now I don’t know about y’all, but back in March, you know, when we were entering this pandemic, I watched more television than usual. I even learned how to binge. And since we got Netflix a couple of years ago, man, I had plenty to watch. And you know, it didn’t take me long to sort of separate the good shows from, well, the not so good.

For example, since this all broke in March, one of the first shows I watched was Tiger King. Of course, I wasn’t alone. It was almost a cultural phenomena. Now if you’ve never seen it, I’ve got to tell you, it was a trip, and as Netflix goes, I think it was actually pretty good, and I’ll tell you why. First, it had a really engaging story, about all these men and women who owed private zoos full of these big animals, you know, like lions and tigers and bears. But more than that, my goodness, you had all these subplots that involved personality cults and murder for hire and burying a spouse under a septic tank...maybe. And I haven’t even scratched the surface. And to fit all that into eight, 45-minute episodes, now that makes for an engaging story. Now that’s one reason I think it was good. And second, Tiger King was filled with interesting characters, to say the least, starting with Joe Exotic, who looks exactly like his name, mullet and all, and who actually ran for President 2016. He didn’t win. And then there’s Carol Baskin who may or may not have fed her first husband to a tiger and who may or may not have been the focus of Joe’s hit. And of course, who could forget Doc Antle who ran this sort of culty thing with a bunch of young women and big cats and as I found out later, owned a private zoo back in Buckingham, Virginia, the little, bittie county where I taught school about fifteen years ago. And those were just the main characters. Man, we’ve got Joe’s three husbands and the guys feeding the animals old bologna donated by Walmart and the transsexual who got his/her arm bit off by a tiger and was back to work in a week. I’m telling you, you couldn’t make these characters up, and why would you. And third, the ending was actually pretty satisfying, with enough loose ends to make for a sequel. I mean, although he was convicted, did Joe really try to kill Carol as she was riding her bicycle and will he throw his hat into the 2020 presidential race? And will they eventually find the skeleton of Carol’s first husband and will her second husband stop either singing or wearing a caveman suit? And of course, will Walmart stop donating expired lunch meat after finding out that not all of it was eaten by the animals? Inquiring minds want to know. You see, these are some questions that could be answered in Tiger King, Part 2. And so, in my opinion, given the story, characters and ending, this was a pretty good show, at least in my opinion.

And you know, I think we’ve also got a pretty good show right here in the passage we just read, you know, about Jesus feeding the 5,000. For example, from my perspective, this is a really engaging story, one that’s just full of miracles but also a little bit of tension there in the middle. You see, we’ve got Jesus healing and then feeding a large crowd, but how he goes about the feeding business is in doubt right up to when he did it. And so, the story itself is interesting. And let’s get real, so are the characters. I mean, anything that involves Jesus is going to hold my attention. But right here, we’ve also got the crowds and of course, the disciples. And as to the ending, well, I think it’s pretty satisfying too and not just because everybody pretty much got their need met. I mean, even though we’ve got the immediate problem resolved in a pretty amazing way, as we leave the story, we’ve still got a lot to chew on. I mean, what happens next? And what does all this mean? And how does it relate to what we know is going to happen in the future? Now these are some questions that I know I have as I move on. And so, just like that Netflix series, we’ve got an engaging story, interesting characters and a satisfying ending right here in Matthew.

But I’ll tell you, in this little account about Jesus feeding the 5,000, one of only a hand-full of stories found in all four gospels, in my opinion, this is a whole lot better than just good. You see, I think we’ve got one great show going on in this passage, and I’ll tell you why. Right here, we have something that reminds of what Christianity is really all about. But even more than that, it also reminds us who we are as his disciples in this world that we’ve got, not necessarily the one we want. And for me, that’s what makes this show in the desert, the wilderness truly great. And I say that for three very specific reasons.

You see, first, the story we’ve been looking at reminds us of power, and in particular, the power that Jesus had and has. And I’m telling you, we see that right from the beginning, because after going across the lake, “when Jesus got out of the boat, he saw the large crowd. He felt sorry for them and healed everyone who was sick.” [Matthew 14:14, CEV] Let me say that again: “...everyone who was sick.” Of course, that’s not a surprise, man, according to Matthew, Jesus had been healing all over the place. But not only that, he’s also been casting out demons and stilling storms. In fact, in the very next passage, the disciples are going to see him walking on the water. Jesus has power. And if the healing wasn’t enough, a little bit later in this same story, he’s going to be feeding 5,000 people, not counting the women and children, with five loaves and two fish. But again, that’s not unusual, not for Jesus. In the very next chapter, he’s going to do this same kind of thing again, only this time for 4,000 with only “seven small loaves of bread and a few little fish.” [Matthew 15:34b, CEV] You see, when you take the healing and the feeding together, we’re talking about a lot of power on display here.

And you know, I think that’s something we need to remember, especially right now. Our whole world is really messed up, isn’t it? Let me give you an example. Somehow all this COVID-19 stuff has become political. I mean, just yesterday, I had someone tell me that it’s all a hoax that’ll be over after November. Of course, if that’s true, it means that every nation in the world decided to participate in a complex, global conspiracy, which seems to hard to pull off therefore pretty unlikely. Still, some folks see it all as political. But I’m here to tell you, it’s not political, because how we face it is actually spiritual. You see, we follow the one who healed the sick. And even though I don’t think that means we run around and do things that are reckless and stupid, the cornavirus is not stronger than Jesus Christ. And the same one who could feed over 5,000 people with a snack, still has authority over the world that he made. And I’ll tell you, we have a sign of that authority. Remember, before he fed all those people, “Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up toward heaven and blessed the food. Then he broke the bread and handed it to his disciples, and they gave it to the people.” [Matthew 14:19b, CEV] You see, every time we celebrate communion, we’re reminded of the power shown in this story. And in my opinion, this reminder is the first thing that makes it truly great.

And second, I think what Jesus did here reminds of his compassion, and I’m talking about the compassion he feels toward regular people. For example, twice in this story, Jesus gave the crowd exactly what they needed, didn’t he? I mean, remember, according to Matthew, “when Jesus got out of the boat, he saw the large crowd. He felt sorry for them and healed everyone who was sick.” [Matthew 14:14, CEV] Now I think that’s important. I mean, he didn’t get on shore and start teaching or preaching. That’s something I may have done. Instead, because of what he felt, he worked to meet their needs. And I’ll tell you, by gum, he did it again, didn’t he? Matthew wrote, “That evening the disciples came to Jesus and said, ‘This place is like a desert, and it is already late. Let the crowds leave, so they can go to the villages and buy some food.’ Jesus replied, ‘They don't have to leave. Why don't you give them something to eat?’” [Matthew 14:15-16, CEV] Man, he saw they were hungry, and so what happened? “But they said, ‘We have only five small loaves of bread and two fish.’ Jesus asked his disciples to bring the food to him, and he told the crowd to sit down on the grass. Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up toward heaven and blessed the food. Then he broke the bread and handed it to his disciples, and they gave it to the people.” [Matthew 14:17-19, CEV] Just like he did when he healed them, Jesus saw the need and did something about it.

And I’ll tell you, that’s something else I think we need to remember. And I say that for two reasons. One, maybe this reminds us that Jesus offers what we actually need but not necessarily what we think we need; therefore, maybe we should focus more on what we have and less on what we want. And maybe we’d be a whole happier and more content if we just accepted the love shown to us by Christ and made better use of what we have. Now that’s one. And two, when we truly recognize his compassion, that just might lead us to be more compassionate ourselves. I mean, just think about how Jesus fed that crowd. I’m telling you, he could have given them anything they wanted to eat. Or he could have filled their stomach without using food at all. My gosh, we already know he could have changed every stone in that desert into a loaf of bread. The Devil told us that. But he didn’t do it. Instead, he had his disciples distribute the food that they’d found in the crowd. In other words, his followers became the instruments of his compassion. And so it can be for us. We can demonstrate our love for Christ by actively working to meet the needs of others. We can be as compassionate as the one we encounter in these verses. And for me, that’s the second reason this story is great.

And finally, if we choose to listen, this miracle in the wilderness can remind us of the abundance that Jesus offers. I mean, just remember about how the story ends. Matthew wrote, “After everyone had eaten all they wanted, Jesus’ disciples picked up twelve large baskets of leftovers. There were about five thousand men who ate, not counting the women and children.” [Matthew 14:20-21, CEV] Now just think about what that means. Everybody ate all that they wanted. In other words, there was enough to meet the entire need. But not only that, there were twelve large baskets of leftovers. Of course, twelve is an important number. It represents the twelve tribes of Israel. And so, not only did Jesus heal everyone in that large crowd who was sick, he also made sure that every man, woman and child there had enough food to be satisfied and then some. In this passage, both his power and compassion was abundant.

And brothers and sisters, so can ours. Now, I recognize that our resources are limited and we’ve been called to be good stewards of what God has given us. Still, I don’t think God wants us to be stingy with what we have. Rather, I believe he wants us to be generous with what we’ve been given. And that applies to us as individuals as well as communities, even nations. And if we want to know what that means in practical terms, just listen to what Jesus said in the last lesson he gave his disciples before his arrest. He said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory with all of his angels, he will sit on his royal throne. The people of all nations will be brought before him, and he will separate them, as shepherds separate their sheep from their goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘My father has blessed you! Come and receive the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world was created. When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, and when I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was a stranger, you welcomed me, and when I was naked, you gave me clothes to wear. When I was sick, you took care of me, and when I was in jail, you visited me.’ Then the ones who pleased the Lord will ask, ‘When did we give you something to eat or drink? When did we welcome you as a stranger or give you clothes to wear or visit you while you were sick or in jail?’ The king will answer, ‘Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me.’” [Matthew 25:31-40, CEV] You know, I think you could say that this passage reminds us to take the abundance we’ve been given and to pass it forward. And along with the power and the compassion, I’m telling you, Jesus feeding the 5,000 is one great show.

And believe that’s something Tiger King is not. You see, even though the story is engaging and the characters are interesting and the ending is satisfying, there’s really nothing great about this eight-part freak show. And the only reminder it offers is the reminder to thank God everyday that you haven’t had your arm bitten off by a tiger or that you’re not buried under the septic tank...maybe. But it’s completely different with this passage we have from Matthew, because along with being engaging and interesting and satisfying, it also reminds us of the power Jesus has and the compassion Jesus feels and the abundance Jesus offers, three things that can not only shape how we see him, but also how we see ourselves and others.