Mathew 14:13-21
We’ve been hearing a lot of parables lately. The
Kingdom of Heaven is like a sower or a mustard seed or a hidden treasure. And
with those parables comes the good news of God’s abundant energy of love that
turns out to be everywhere. But today we turn from parable to miracle with
Matthew’s version of the feeding of the 5,000 which, for many of us moderns, is
harder to grasp. Because, come on, the suggestion that bread and fish
miraculously multiply over and over again seems more like a children’s fantasy
or some kind of wish fulfillment. Certainly not something that is grounded in
reality.
Or is it? Because unlike parables that are really
stand-alone vignettes, miracle stories and, in particular, this miracle story
doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It takes place in the midst of real life. Our
reading begins, “When Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a
deserted place by himself.” What did Jesus hear, you might wonder? Well, what
he had just heard was devastating news. His cousin, John the Baptist, had been
murdered. Beheaded by King Herod. No wonder Jesus wanted to be alone. But that
was not to be. Because when Jesus comes ashore to what he thought was a
deserted place he sees that the crowd had beaten him there.
Yet instead of feeling resentment towards the masses,
Jesus is filled with compassion - an abundance of compassion that never grows
weary. So he gets to work. Healing the sick, making people whole until evening
comes and the disciples interrupt with a growing concern. “It’s getting late,”
they point out to Jesus, “and here we are out in the middle of nowhere. People
need to eat. Why don’t you send them away so they can fend for themselves?” And
to my mind, this is Jesus’ out. He could justifiably send them all away and
finally have some time to himself. But instead he wants the people to stay and
invites the disciples to address the need. But their resources are woefully
inadequate - five loaves of bread and two fish for thousands of people is
basically nothing at all. Yet Jesus takes what they have, blesses it, and, lo
and behold, it turns out to be not just enough, but more than enough with
leftovers to boot.
How did it happen? By supernatural intervention? Or,
perhaps, something more along the lines of people being inspired to share? We
don’t know. But what we do know is that as all those people ate and had their
fill the abundant energy of God’s love was at work. A parable brought to life -
the Kingdom of Heaven coming near. Now did that mean that everyone’s life was
fixed once and for all? No. John the Baptist was still dead. Jesus and others
would still grieve. Stomachs were full for the night, but they would be hungry
again. The oppression of Rome still weighed heavy on everyone's life. Even when
the Kingdom of Heaven came near, life was far from perfect. Yet in that
particular place, on that particular evening the blessing of God’s abundant
love was more than enough.
And that’s the way it happens. In the midst of our
particular lives, with all of its unique messes, struggles, and problems,
that’s where the Kingdom of Heaven happens. So what is it right now that you
need? Where in your life does it seem that you don’t have the resources?
Perhaps you may feel that you don’t have enough energy or patience or hope in
these times? Or maybe your need is pretty concrete, like not having enough
income or child care or physical strength and vitality? Whatever your need,
Jesus does not weary of it. He is filled with deep compassion. And he invites
you to bring it all to him - your need to him and whatever resources you have,
even if it is only a paltry five loaves and two fish in the face of thousands.
Because here’s how you can experience the Kingdom of
God happening in your life: Bring what you have. Offer it to God. Let God in
Christ take it. Bless it. And in return give back to you the abundant energy of
God’s love - a love which can take a variety of forms, from a specific answer
to prayer, to a sense of peace in the midst of uncertainty, to bread in the
face of hunger.
But whatever form it takes that energy of love, that
flow of blessing, is not just for you or for me alone. Just as the disciples
passed out what had been given to them we are to share what is given to us. For
the most miraculous thing about the Kingdom of Heaven is that the best way to
experience it - the abundance, the blessing, the love - is to share it. It is
in the sharing that it is multiplied. And as we let that energy of God’s love
fill us and flow through us we will find that, lo and behold, what we have
turns out to be not just enough, but more than enough with leftovers to boot.
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