Jesus vs. the Impossible ~ Matthew 14:13-21 ~ Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

Some days, I cringe when Elizabeth asks me “what do you want for dinner?”

It’s not because we hate cooking, or that we don’t have food in the house.  The problem is that we’re tired—especially after busy days.  It is tremendously inconvenient to cook dinner—and then clean up afterwards.

However, we have two fast-food restaurants that are less than a one-minute drive from our house.  For six or seven bucks and a few minutes of waiting, we can get ourselves a very convenient, somewhat tasty, and probably unhealthy meal.  And when we were finished, we threw the paper cups, sandwich wraps, and plastic silverware in the garbage. 

How tremendously convenient…

Modern times are constantly handing us new conveniences to better satisfy our needs and wants, quickly and cheaply.   And we welcome every one of them—because there’s so much that we want to do and that is demanded of us.  Our time, money, and energies are constantly being stretched to the limits.

The busier we get, the more we despise inconveniences.

But inconvenience is not a 21st century phenomenon…

Our Gospel begins with devastating news: Jesus learns that John the Baptist has been beheaded by King Herod.  His natural and very human response is to seek some time alone, to pray and be in the presence of God.  But his plans are thwarted when a large crowd follows him.  Yet Jesus has compassion for the crowds.

As evening comes, the disciples see a great opportunity to be rid of them: they suggest that Jesus dismisses the crowds, so that they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves. 

You see, the thirteen were already inconvenienced by the crowds—and they certainly didn’t want to be even more inconvenienced by having to feed them…  But it certainly wasn’t going to be convenient for the crowds to buy food.  The average person in those days didn’t have extra spending money.  And there weren’t 24-hour restaurants and supermarkets. 

So what is Jesus’ answer to his disciples?  He says, “YOU give them something to eat.” 

But with what???  All they have is five loaves and two fish—and there’s five thousand men to feed, PLUS women and children.    Even if they did have enough, you need more than twelve men to distribute food to that many people.  Let’s not forget—night was falling.  It would be dark soon.  There simply wasn’t enough time, energy, and resources to go around.

We know what this is like…

How many days do we feel like we’re running on empty?  There’s so much to do and so little time do to it.  As time passes, we lose the ability to do everything we once did because we’re all getting older and our lives are changing.  And we’re in a recession.  Money’s tighter than it’s been in a long time.  We’re all feeling the pressure—and our personal priorities will influence what we do with what we have.

But where will the Kingdom of God fit in?

We all face a constant temptation to perceive the Kingdom’s priorities as inconveniences. 

Whether we realize it or not, obedience to God’s will shall almost always appear inconvenient.  There’s always important things to do instead of church, Sunday school, or Bible study.  There’s always pressure on our finances in a recession—so why add to that pressure by tithing?  And who wants to be bothered with our neighbor’s needs when we can’t seem to take care of our own?

Who wants to be tied down with Kingdom priorities as we’re so hard pressed to fulfill what everyone else demands of us…and what we demand of ourselves?

But there are miracles in this short story.  Jesus tells his disciples to feed the thousands, with five loaves and two fish—and they do!!!  Not only that, they clean up the mess, with twelve baskets of leftovers!  AND—they do it all before it gets too dark.  God provides everything they need—time, energy, resources…  What seemed so little and inadequate in human hands was more than enough with Jesus involved. 

One more thing—God also provides Jesus the alone time he needs and didn’t get before. 

So what we see in all of this is scarcity and inconvenience on the human end—but God doing the impossible on the other.  God’s will is being fulfilled—and ordinary human beings, who have faith in Jesus’ Word, bring a real miracle to life.  And Jesus is not done making miracles!

The power of God is in calling and then sending meager people with meager resources to do God-sized works.  God’s awesome power and grace is revealed through people who are weak, weary and worn from all the changes and pressures of life.  God’s power and grace is revealed when time and money are at a premium.  God’s power and grace is revealed when we say “yes” to Jesus before anything or anyone else, and trust in him to provide for everything else that’s necessary and important.  The little bit in our hands will be much when we put it in Jesus’ hands.

And one more thing: the “bread” of the faith and hope we are given as children of God is going to feed the hungry, heal the broken, and bring new life to all who will never find it in the gods of this world. 

What you have is enough.  Who you are is enough.  This small congregation is enough.  We can do what matters to God.  So put your meager selves, your meager time, and your meager energies and resources in Jesus’ hands.  There, we are sure to receive the life we crave, along with the rest of the world.  From the cross comes new life.  From the pains and trials and hurts of today will come God’s Kingdom.