Sermon on John 6:1-15
Pastor Jennifer Garcia
At the nonprofit I worked at before I started seminary, I did some event planning. It was fun—I liked the fastpace and getting to work out all the details. But, no matter how many times I did it or how far in advance I made all the preparations—no matter what,—the night before, I would get this sudden feeling of panic:
· Did I order enough breakfast sandwiches for the board meeting?
· Will there be enough entertainment for the guests at the fundraiser?
· Are we going to run out of sodas?
· Is there enough money in the budget to make this a successful event?
· Why do I do this to myself?
No matter how many times I had planned events that went smoothly, I would get that clenching feeling in my stomach, that tension in my shoulders.
I always had this nagging fear of scarcity—of there not being enough—and it would all be my fault.
If Jesus had come up to me and asked me to feed 5,000 people with no planning time and no resources, I think my head would have exploded!
Yet, that is exactly what Jesus did to his disciples.
“Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?”
Poor Philip—I really resonate with him here.
He knew what it would take to feed those people: more than 6 months’ wages.
‘You’ve got to be kidding me, Jesus. We can’t do it. There’s just not enough.’
Fortunately, Jesus had a plan B.
The people were fed; there were tons of leftovers.
The feeding of the five thousandis one of the most well-known of Jesus’ miracles, but it had the disciples pretty freaked out.
The disciples didn’t really get yet who Jesus was. So, they came into the situation with a sense of scarcity and fear.Understandably!
Jesus shows signs throughout most of the Gospel of John, leading up to an understanding of his identity as the Messiah, the Son of God.
But the disciples didn’t see the whole picture yet.
They, like the crowds, knew that Jesus could do amazing things. They had seen him heal people and teach powerfully.
This, though, was new territory.
This story—and the whole of John’s Gospel—speaks to who Jesus is.
The disciples saw Jesus acting mercifully and powerfully.Jesus saw the people’s need and satisfied it.
His disciples were unable to imagine a solution. They didn’t know yet that they were dealing with an abundant God. A Creator God, who didn’t stop creating and acting in the world after its birth.
This act echoes evokes the manna in the wilderness that God provided for Moses and the Israelites in our first reading today.
It also echoes the first reading from Second Kings that we read last week, when Elisha fed a hundred people.
And also Elisha’s teacher, the prophet Elijah, when he had the widow cook a meal during a famine that would have hardly fed her and her son, and the food lasted for many days.
God has a history of feeding people and creating plenty out of very little.
The crowds heard Jesus teach so wisely and then create an abundance of food, and they recognized that he was a prophet of God like Moses or Elisha. They knew the pattern of God feeding people. Jesus fled, because they wanted to make him king. They knew something powerful was going on.
But the disciples didn’t seem to quite see this yet. As we read last week, even after they saw this amazing act of plenty, they just kind of hung around after the crowds dispersed. They waited until it was dark, then they got in their boat and sailed away.
They were afraid when they sawJesus out on the water.They still didn’t get who Jesus was…
Now, we get to see the entirety of John’s Gospel, and others besides it, and the rest of the Bible, and two millennia of scholarship and tradition and art. We have a much bigger picture of who Jesus is than the disciples did.
And yet, I’m still afraid.
I still wrestle with scarcity and anxiety and insecurity and fear.
My head would still explode if Jesus asked me to feed 5,000 people.
It’s scary even recognizing that we’re in a new chapter here at First Lutheran with Lutheran Social Services no longer having an office onsite.
We have almost 5,000 square feet and 17 vacant rooms to fill, and our budget is taking a hit forall the time it’s empty.
That’s daunting.
But imagine what could happen if we really acted as if we had a God of abundance. Because we do!
We have a God who saw the great need of people and filled them. We have a God who multiplied a kid’s sack lunch into a meal for 5,000, with 12 baskets left over.
Now, I can’t do that. But what if we’re not meant to do it on our own? What if we are the 5 loaves and 2 fish?And when we work together and listen to the guiding of the Holy Spirit, maybe, maybe, we can do infinitely more than we can imagine?
Maybe, if we work with those sitting beside us, and five rows over, and our ministry partners here at Faith at First, and the church down the block, and the faith community of a different tradition on the other side of town, and the nonprofit in the next county, and the network in the next state, and so on, and if we keep imagining and listening and letting our fear get replaced by awe and joy, maybe, God can do wonders with us.
God has something in mind for our church house building. God will use all of us—our time, talents, and treasures, all of who we are—to make this community on Earth a little more as it is in heaven.
We are part of the Body of Christ, which spans the world and exists throughout time. We are not alone. We are filled with the Holy Spirit, who works in powerful and mysterious ways. We have a God who can do wonders with nothing more than a little kid’s lunch. And we are so much more than a little kid’s lunch.
Will you pray with me?God of Abundance, you cast out fear and anticipate our needs and the needs of those around us. Lead us in this new chapter to imagine and create with you in this place. Give us courage to share your abundance with others and continue to feed people body and soul. In your name we pray, Amen.