Sermon for September 2nd, 2018

Matthew 14:13-21

13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. 15 When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 17 They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Miracles: Loaves and Fish

For several weeks now, we've been talking about miracles. I'm reminded of the story about old Bill, the devout cowboy, who lost his Bible while he was driving cattle across the plains. When Bill realized that his Bible was missing, he was devastated--it was his only source of hope and inspiration during those long, lonely days out on the range. He immediately got down on his knees to pray, asking God to help him find the lost book. As soon as he said "Amen" he looked up, and there was one of his longhorn cattle, standing right in front of him, holding the lost Bible in its mouth. The animal quietly dropped the Bible right at Bill's boots. At this, the grateful old cowboy lifted his eyes to heaven and exclaimed, "Thank you, Lord, for this great miracle!" To which the longhorn steer replied, "Well...It's not really a miracle, Bill. I mean, I found your name written right inside the cover." And Bill, thinking about this, said, "Yeah, I guess you're right...hey...wait a minute..."

Sometimes the *real* miracle is not the obvious thing, the flashy thing, or the first thing we notice. Sometimes the real miracle is that subtle, simple surprise that only dawns on us slowly, in the aftermath of a life-transforming experience. This could certainly be said of today's scripture passage about the feeding of 5,000 people.

This miracle, along with the one immediately following it (Jesus walking on water, which we'll talk about next week) is one of the most recognizeable miracles of Jesus, depicted in Christian art, music, and literature in just about every culture and in every century. This is also the only miracle of Jesus that appears in all four gospels, so it's kind of a big deal.

But before we jump into the miracle itself (whatever that may be) I want to spend a little bit of time focusing on where it happened, and when it happened, and why those two things are significant.

Verse 13: Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself.

Ok, you should be asking yourself, "Wait, when he heard what?" What was it that caused Jesus to drop everything and run to the desert to be alone?

If you look right before this passage, to the beginning of chapter 14, the chapter header tells you pretty much all you need to know: The Death of John the Baptist.

John the Baptist, according to the gospels, was Jesus' first cousin. But more than that--he was the one who baptized Jesus and prepared the way for his coming. Many of John's disciples became Jesus' disciples. Biblical scholars, comparing the teachings of these two men, have speculated that perhaps John was an early mentor and teacher to Jesus, a model and example for his own ministry.

And now John is gone, brutally murdered by King Herod--the puppet king and representative of the Roman Empire, which would ultimately take the life of Jesus as well. Wrapped up in the news of John's death, was a glimpse of Jesus' past as well as his future. And of course, above all that, the loss of someone dear.

So Jesus "withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself." Throughout the Bible, the wilderness is a place of refuge and escape from the forces and powers of the world. It is also a place of trial and temptation. Ultimately, the combination of these two leads to renewal and rebirth.

Moses, fleeing the might of Egypt, led his people through the wilderness where they were forged into the nation of Israel.

A young shepherd boy, David, escaped from King Saul into the wilderness, where he gathered to himself the mental and material resources that would propel him to become Israel's greatest King.

Jesus himself, as a young child, escaped with his parents into the wilderness, fleeing the wrath of King Herod. And then as a young adult, he was tempted for 40 days and nights in the wilderness, right before the beginning of his earthly ministry.

And now here he is, right back in the desert again. His two greatest miracles are less than 24 hours into the future, but the story begins with a Jesus who is mourning, grieving...perhaps questioning his entire purpose and mission.

Why have I spent this much time on just one verse that isn't even about the miracle? Because there's a powerful message for all of us here: Sometimes it is out of our most profound tragedies and losses that our greatest moments, our greatest miracles emerge. Don't be afraid of the wilderness: It's where some of God's best work takes place.

Now. On to the "miracle" at hand. If you are impressed by the idea of Jesus providing bread to 5,000 or more people, you shouldn't be. Around the same time that Jesus walked the earth, another man (who also claimed to be the Son of God) successfully provided bread for over 50 million people. Every single day. His name was Caesar Augustus, and he was, of course the Roman Emperor. It was a long-established policy of the Roman Empire to provide the poor with "bread and circuses" -- in other words, cheap food and cheap entertainment designed to keep people from rioting, and to keep them dependent upon the government (as opposed to other things, like regional leaders, religious movements, and each other).