We, in modern America, if anything have
too much food. You learn this in a new way when you go to places
like Singapore where the portions are smaller – you know, normal
sized. But in super-sized America it is hard for us to relate to
people who truly live in hunger. We might be tempted to immediately
jump to a spiritual application of this miracle – but let's not be
so hasty.
The catechism teaches us in the First
Article of the Creed, and in the Lord's Prayer petition, “give us
this day our daily bread”: we acknowledge that each day, our food
comes not from the fridge or the grocery store, but from the giver of
all good things. This is one reason we pray before and even after
meals – to acknowledge and give thanks for such blessings.
And sin is always there – crouching
at our door – tempting us to make the lesser gifts into the greater
gifts. To turn wants into needs. To prioritize poorly. To love the
treasures of this world over the treasures of the world to come. To
love ourselves and despise our neighbor. To make the created, the
phyiscal things into gods, and fail to fear, love and trust the
Creator.
The people who ate the miraculous fish
and loaves that day were no different. If we were to read the
parallel account of John 6, we'd see the people chasing Jesus around,
trying to make him king by force – a “bread-king” who kept
their bellies always filled. But they miss the point. Do we?
Jesus Christ himself is the bread of
life. He himself is the only true sustenance for the soul. His
bodily death on the cross, his shedding of blood, his atonement for
our sins – this alone satisfies the deepest hunger of the human
soul. Without such food, there is no life in us anyway. Without the
cross you have, ultimately, no need of bread.
But just as there were more leftovers
in the baskets than the food they started with, his provision is
over-abundant. He gives all that we need and more. He provides for
the salvation of our souls, as well as the resurrection of our
bodies. And he sustains us with blessings too many for us to gather
up in baskets. Blessings physical and spiritual, temporal and
eternal. All from Christ, crucified for sinners.
And yet there are still more lessons to
draw from this miraculous feeding long ago... Let's consider four:
We are dependent upon him.
Without Christ, we have nothing; we are
nothing. We must look to him for all good things. This goes for the
mundane food and clothing as well as the salvation itself. It's not
as if Jesus gets us started and then it's up to us. We are and we
ought to depend on him for daily bread, the air we breathe and the
lungs to breathe it in. We have no more reason to expect any of this
than the people he fed would expect a full and free meal – except
that we know the giver gives abundantly, and loves to provide for our
needs.
And it goes for the spiritual, as well.
We cannot come to faith without His Spirit who calls us. We cannot
make a decision to follow Christ that is of any value, but instead he
chooses us. We cannot bring any good works that will wipe out our
bad works and tip the balance in our favor – but only Christ's
righteousness can suffice. And we cannot pay enough to cover our
debt – only the blood of Christ has such value. We depend on him
entirely.
And here we have even more reason to
depend on him – for we have strong promises of forgiveness,
salvation and eternal life with our God. Life in this world may
bring trouble and hardship and nakedness and danger or sword, but no
one can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ!
He has compassion.
Christ always has compassion on those
in need. He never turns a cold shoulder to one who has faith and
seeks his aid. This doesn't mean you will always have plenty and
will never be in want of bread, or health, or that no sorrow will
ever come your way. It doesn't mean the Christians will never
suffer. But it does tell us where to go with our suffering, and who
has the only and final answer to it, and the inclination to do us
good. He knows our suffering, for he suffered it himself – he took
it all to the cross . And so he sympathizes with us in our weakness,
in all things.
Working through means.
Jesus very well could have hand-fed
each of those 5000 plus all on his own, but he appointed the
disciples to do it. He made them the go-betweens to distribute, to
minister if you will, to the people. So today does he charge
pastors, “you give them something to eat”. So do we often feel
ill-equipped to do it, but so must we rely on the word and promise of
Christ that in him there will always be plenty. As we distribute to
you the blessings of salvation in word and sacrament, even greater
miracles ensue – Christ's abundance is given freely, sinners are
forgiven, and faith is strengthened. We can give only what we
receive from Christ.
He taught them first, then fed.
Today he teaches, then feeds.
First Jesus preached, taught –
proclaimed the kingdom to these thousands. It must have been quite a
day, as he had much to say and they stuck around to hear it all.
Then he fed them as only he could. And we follow the same pattern
today – we gather to Christ – around his word, to hear it,
receive it. The word is read and proclaimed, sung and prayed. And
then he feeds. We come to the table to feast on the word made flesh
– and his body and blood are multiplied to far more than 5000, and
stomachs and souls are sustained.
Whatever pangs of suffering you feel in
your stomach or pangs of sin in your soul, turn again to the one who
provides bread – daily bread for our bodies, and the bread of life
for our bodies and souls. He himself is that bread – and he gives
himself freely, on the cross, in the word, the water, and the meal of
his altar. Come, eat and drink and live. In Jesus Christ, Amen.
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