What God can do with a couple of fish and a handful of bread

      It seems as if Jesus just couldn’t get away from the crowds. The amaretz (the people of the land) followed him wherever he went. They crowded into the homes where he taught, they jostled him and cried out when he passed by, and they were waiting for him when he came to shore or down from the mountain. They always had some sort  of need and they followed him… because they were hungry.

      They were hungry. It’s as simple as that. Some of them were hungry for community. They had been isolated by a disability or by a condition that made them “unclean,” and they wanted to be healed and restored. Some were hungry for knowledge. They were interested in religious and/or spiritual things, and they thought that he taught with authority. Some of them were hungry for new beginnings and new names. They wanted to be forgiven, or accepted, or to have a second chance. Some wanted a king, who would overthrow the Romans and re-establish Israel’s sovereignty. They followed because they thought that the man from Galilee could meet their needs… and their needs, just like ours are, were varied. Some of them were hungry for serenity, for a sense of peace and knowing that things would be alright… and sometimes, yes, they were hungry for food… which brings us to the time when Jesus fed 5,000 men, sitting in 100 groups of 50, with just a couple of small fish and a little bit pf bread. It’s a moment that’s recounted in all 4 of our gospels, but our focus is on John.

      According to John, the crowds followed Jesus because they had seen the “signs” that he had performed. John believed that Jesus’ ministry was dotted with “signs” that he gave… so that people would believe that he was the Son of God. The people who congregated before Jesus arrived had seen one or more of these signs and before nightfall, they would see another sign of what Jesus could do. John says that Jesus specifically asked Phillip if they had enough money to feed the crowd, and Phillip could hardly believe what he heard. There’s no way, he noted. We couldn’t buy food enough to give each one of these people a single bite! Then, Andrew spoke up, “There’s a small boy here, but he only has five small barley loaves (a poor man’s bread) and two small fish.” Jesus heard what they said, but he didn’t respond. Instead, he told them to have the people sit down. Then he took the bread, gave thanks, and passed the baskets of bread and fish around. The people took the food as it was passed-50 of them, then 100, 500, 1,000, and finally each of them… and the food did NOT run out. It passed from person to person, but the baskets were always full. In the end, John notes, everyone was satisfied, and when they had had their fill, Jesus told his disciples to gather up the left-overs because none of God’s blessings should be wasted. It was a wonderful moment, but the people considered making Jesus their king “by force.” So, Jesus slipped away because he wasn’t called to be their king in the sense they had in mind. He fed them bread because he loved them, but he was in the salvation business- not the bakery business!

      Well, what does this ancient story say to us? Let me suggest that it says at least this much and it may say even more to you:

1.    God meets all of our needs! No need is too small or too unique to be outside of Jesus’ power. He healed those who couldn’t see; he healed people with long-standing illness and he also healed Peter’s mother-in-law of “a fever.” Jesus feeds our soul, our mind, our relationships; our finances, our hearts, and our stomachs. No one is ever outside of Jesus’ reach and none of our needs are too small to mention;

2.    Nothing that matters should be lost! Not loved ones, not good friends, not sacred moments and memories, not opportunities that God provides, not leftover pieces of barley bread that had taken part in a miracle of compassion and grace. Embrace the things that matter, Treat them gently and don’t let the slip away:

3.    Never, never underestimate the God factor! Nothing is impossible for God! God can feed 5000 with a handful of food; God can give a child to a woman who is a 100 or so, and God can still the waters. All things are possible with God, so we always need to factor him in. Mathematicians say that 1+1=2. Engineers say that this has to be connected to that in just the right way if things are going to work. Reason tells us what we can’t do, but faith shows us what God can do. Never forget the Christ factor, which is manifest through God’s grace and the power of prayer. I recall a moment when an elder stood at an important meeting when we were deciding whether or not we ought to sell our church building and unite with another congregation. He stood up and exclaimed, “Pastor Kenn and the Session are relying too much on faith”… and he wasn’t kidding! Without God, two small fish wouldn’t even feed one of us and five small barley loaves wouldn’t feed us either. Andrew and Phillip were right in a practical sense… but they were very wrong and limiting… because they left out the Jesus factor;

4.    We are called to give Jesus what we have! None of us have enough to do what God can do and few of us have enough to make the news. Most of us are in the small fish and barley loaves business… but God can use what we offer to change lives! We need to give as much as we can to as much of God as we understand every day. To do more would be impossible- to do less would be unfaithful. God could do it all himself, I am sure, but ever since he put Adam in his garden to tend to the animals and the plants, God has chosen us to love the world in his name. We are not full partners, but we are called to participate in God’s ministry here on earth;

5.    Jesus will not let us define him. He is NOT our servant, and he doesn’t seek our approval. He is more than able to do what we consider impossible… but this doesn’t mean that it’s all about us or that we always get what we want! The people whom Jesus fed out of compassion would have to feed themselves on the next day and they were not allowed to serve Jesus on their terms. God will bless us when he chooses, and we should praise him when he does. In the other moments of our lives, we ought to make it our business to serve him and feed others in his name! Amen!

THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD... AND I AM NOT AFRAID

      “I am the Shepherd who brings well being and abundant prosperity; my rule is just so that the strong might not oppress the weak, and that even the orphan and the widow might be treated with justice.” (Hammarabi, c. 1800BC ) Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! You clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you don’t take care of the flock. You don’t strengthen the weak or bind up the injured. You don’t bring back the strays or search for the lost. Therefore, I will rescue my flock from their mouths. I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. I will tend them in a good pasture…. (Ezekiel 34)                    

      I don't know much about shepherds or sheep, but the people in Israel did. They knew that shepherds were accountable for the well-being of their flocks. They knew that shepherds carried a rod and a staff so that they could protect, lead, and rescue their sheep.They knew that sheep were prone to wander, that they were very vulnerable, easily frightened, and not particularly bright. They knew that sheep could not be "trained" with a "carrot or a stick" because the shepherd and the sheep were in a relationship of trust. Often,shepherds knew their sheep by name and they shepherded them for years, They cared for them and the sheep knew their voice. People knew that the success of any shepherd depended on trust... because following a shepherd required believing that the Shepherd would meet your needs, no matter the weather, no matter the circumstance, and in the face of any threat or danger.

      According to Ezekiel, Israel’s kings failed as shepherds and God himself took over the task of leading, protecting, and comforting His people. God was their Shepherd! David believed this. He believed that God was His shepherd and while he was fleeing from danger, he wrote the 23^rd Psalm, which is a psalm of trust for the living! It is also a promise that God is present and powerful in our darkest hours. Let’s review it one more time.

THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD, I SHALL NOT WANT

      I could have other shepherds. I could trust in other things, including myself, my strength, my wealth, my family, my friends, my work, even drugs and alcohol. I could follow any one of the little gods who cry out to me. They could be my shepherd. Many people trust in things and people who cannot save them, but the Lord is MY shepherd. In him I trust and believe and get all that I need.

HE MAKES ME LIE DOWN IN GREEN PASTURES. HE LEADS ME TO STILL WATER.

      My shepherd knows that I need food for the journey. He knows that I need rest. He knows that I’m afraid of turbulent water and my own shadow half the time... and he watches over me. There are times when I didn’t get what I thought I wanted, but my shepherd has always given me what I need.

HE RESTORES MY SOUL

      Oh, my weary and troubled soul, which has broken under the weight of my sin and been starved by my lack of care. In the past, I undermined and neglected my soul, but even as a Christian, my soul grows weary unless it is restored. My soul needs to be fed and my shepherd feeds my soul. He speaks to me in his Word, in prayer, and in the midst of sacred silence when I quit moving and talking. He puts people who love me in my life and he surrounds me with community. When I ponder the blessings and wonders that are everywhere around me, my soul sings. 

HE LEADS MY IN PATHS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS... FOR HIS NAME'S SAKE.

      I’ve learned the hard way that I wander off when I don’t listen to the Lord. When I tried to walk alone, I invariably found myself stumbling down the broad highway and getting further and further lost. There are a lot of paths that we can take in life and most of them are more alluring than the paths of righteousness. They are wide and tempting, but my shepherd cares enough to lead my down the narrow, but rewarding, path of righteousness so that I might do the right thing for my God, my family, my country, my friends, my employer, and myself.

EVEN THOUGH I WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH AND DEEP DARKNESS, I FEAR NO EVIL.

      Lord knows, I’m no stranger to the valleys. Like you, I’ve seen the bodies and the storms forming overhead. Like you, I’ve been in water up to my neck and I’ve had my back to the wall. I’ve heard the voices as they cry out, I’ve seen tears form in their eyes, and I’ve done some crying myself. I’ve walked through the dark valleys many times, and I've walked through the valley of the shadow of death several times...after I became a Christian, because valleys are part of life. What is more- I know that there are more valleys around the corner. But ever since Christ has been MY SHEPHERD, I’ve never walked through the valley alone… and it becomes less and less frightening as I trust the Lord more and more. 

THY ROD AND THY STAFF COMFORT ME

      Where the word “comfort” means “with strength,” rather than a pity party, an excuse session, or a fairy tale. Shepherds used their rods and staffs to protect and rescue their sheep. They are strong and able, and I am entirely convinced that I am safely tucked in the palm of God’s hand.

THOU PREPAREST A TABLE BEFORE ME IN THE PRESENCE OF MY ENEMIES. THOU ANOINTEST MY HEAD WITH OIL. MY CUP OVERFLOWS. 
      
      Glory to God, my cup overflows! It's not half empty and even half full- it overflows. God is my shepherd and he feeds me in the midst of my enemies, He gives me drink in the midst of my troubles because He is willing and able to overcome all troubles and any circumstance. No matter what happens today or whether I see tomorrow or not, my cup overflows! O Lord, when I consider all that you’ve given me- like people to love and be loved by, something to do that’s worth doing, and the joy of knowing you, not to mention things like the breath I draw, the colors I see and the taste of homemade ice cream… I feel ashamed that I sometimes want, or think I ought to have, more. Indeed, whether I’m sailing along or walking through a narrow valley, whether I’m being applauded or attacked, I feel your affirming, anointing presence and I see that my cup is overflowing! Amazing grace- I am blessed beyond reason and anything I’ve ever earned or done!

SURELY, GOODNESS AND MERCY SHALL FOLLOW ME ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE!

      O Lord, I’ve seen the darkness and I’ve known a hundred more people who’ve been in the valley too. Many of them, like my wife, Sherry, and a number of our friends- Dave, Sue, Jon- and my cousin, Richard, are walking with cancer. Others, like our granddaughter, are walking through divorce. Some are in a dark place in their work or personal lives. Some are burdened with stress. Some of them have buried their spouses and their children, some can’t pay their bills, some can’t cope with their own or a loved one’s sexuality. Darkness, Lord, it’s all around, and then there’s the valley of death that each one of us must walk through. It’s enough to make a grown man cry… but when we know you as our Shepherd, all of our fears melt away because we know that we are in your hands and that no power on earth or in heaven can separate us from your love! YOU are my shepherd. You ARE my shepherd. You are MY shepherd. You are my SHEPHERD and I fear no evil! Amen.

TAKE A PLUMB LINE, CHRISTIAN

      Amos was a shepherd in Tekoa, a small village just south of Jerusalem, and he had a vision when Uzziah was King of Judah and Jeroboam was king of Israel. It was a time of relative prosperity and peace in the land and many of the people in the northern kingdom of Israel were living well. They ate the best of foods, drank the best of wines, had big homes made of stone, and they were quite pleased with themselves. They were also a religious people who gathered together for festivals and presented offerings to God. At a glance it looked like things were well, but God had a case against them- one that involved justice and righteousness (mishpat and sedeqah).

      Amos received his call while he was tending his sheep in Judah, and he traveled north so that he could present God’s case to the religious leaders of Israel. He prophesied against the way in which the poor and marginalized were being treated in the northern kingdom. He condemned those who had winter homes and summer homes, while others were struggling, and he singled out the entitled women of Bashan, whom he called “fat cows” because they oppressed the poor and crushed the needy. Speaking to the wealthy in Israel. God said, “You bring sacrifices every morning… and you brag about your freewill offerings, for that is what you like to do.” (Amos 4:4) “There are those,” God went on to say, “who hate the one who upholds justice and detest the one who tells the truth.” (5:10) There are those also, God noted, who “levy a straw tax on the poor” and who “oppress the innocent by taking bribes,” while they build stone mansions for themselves. “I hate, I despise, your festivals.” God said. “I will not listen to your harps”… until justice rolls down like a river and righteousness like a near falling stream. “Your beds adorned with ivory (and) and you drink wine by the bowlful,” but you “do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.”
      God presented his case and accused the people of Israel of leaving their worship "at the church door." The people, it seems, were lost in their own sense of entitlement and they had forgotten about their neighbors. However, from the beginning, God had made it clear that true worship meant 1) keeping his commandments and 2) taking care of the widows, aliens, and orphans in their midst. From the beginning, God had called his people to 1) give gladly to him… and 2) to leave some grain around the edges of their fields for the poor. From the beginning, God told his people to honor him in the sanctuary, in the courtroom, and in the market place. Mishpat and sedeqah demanded worship inside… and outside… of the worship center! And now God’s people were living lives of luxury that were funded by bribes, trumped up charges against the innocent, unbearable taxes on the poor, a smug sense of entitlement, and a pervasive lack of concern for the least among them (the very ones that Jesus lifted up in Matthew 25).

      “What do you see?” This is the question that He asked Amos (see 7:7)… and it’s the question he asks us today! What do you see? I see a plumb line, Amos replied. I see you, O Lord, standing on a wall with a plumb line in your hand. “I am setting a plum line among my people,” God concluded, and things are way, way out of plumb. They were out of plumb because the people had gotten drunk on their own wine. They were full of themselves and lost in their own desires. It's a sad story in my view, but it's an opportunity for us to answer the same question that Amos was asked. How are things going for us these days? What do you see, dear Christian… in the world today? Are things plumb or have they gone awry?  Are we rearing our children in the way of the Lord? Is the family circle unbroken? Have we tamed our tribal tendencies? Are we doing better at knowing and trusting our neighbors? Have we broken the cycle of violence? Do we leave some of our crops for the poor and the strangers? Are we, as a people, in good shape physically, morally, and spiritually? Do we really walk hand in hand? Do those who have two coats give one to the person who has none? Do we speak for those whose voices have been silenced? Do we speak truth to power? Does Abel’s blood cry out to us. as it did to God so many years ago? Do we pray for the church? Do we embrace the unloveable and forgive the unforgivable? And when we look into the eyes of the person who may be next to us in a line somewhere, or at table with us, who may or may not look like us; who may be, or not be, in agreement with us- can we look into that person’s eyes and see a child of God?  Or is our vision blinded by stereotypes and our own self interests?

      Take a plumb line, Christian (you and me) and see if things are plum… in the world, in the church, in your family, and in your heart? Amen.