God's Overwhelming Gifts
Sermon
Some years ago I undertook some training in an introduction to counselling. The basis of counselling is good listening skills, listening with very close attention to what somebody has to say. I remember we were told that the client would probably slip in the most important things right at the end of any counselling session, and that if we failed to hear those important things they would probably be repeated in some other way. Since then, in all spheres of life I've tried to listen out for repeated comments from people, for those are likely to be comments which are important to them even though they may sound like throw-away lines.
Today's miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 is the only miracle which is repeated in all four gospels, and it appears twice in both Matthew's gospel and Mark's gospel, so perhaps that means that it's very important indeed.
St John in his gospel uses the story to introduce the Eucharist, the communion service. The other three gospels introduce Holy Communion at the last supper, when Jesus breaks the bread and pours the wine just before he goes out to his death. But at the Last Supper St John concentrates on Jesus washing the disciples' feet and on the interplay between Jesus and Judas Iscariot.
Even in the other versions of the feeding of the 5,000 there are hints of the Eucharist. We're told by all four gospels for instance, that the disciples were instructed to gather up all the fragments that were left so that there were no crumbs - just as the priest must be careful together up all the remaining fragments of bread at the Eucharist. Bread that has been blessed by God is especially precious and must not be left lying around as if it had no special significance or as if it was just ordinary bread. And at the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus followed the four-fold action of the Eucharist - taking bread, blessing it, breaking it, then distributing it.
It's interesting too that this miracle of Jesus convinced many people that he was someone special. He had already healed a great many people, but apparently healing miracles didn't necessarily convince the crowds. But after he had somehow or other changed just five barley loaves and two small fish into sufficient food to feed 5,000 people, the bystanders were really impressed.
Barley loaves were the food of the poor. Jesus took what the most impoverished of people had to offer, and transformed it into a heavenly banquet.
Jesus is always concerned with nourishment. In last week's gospel of Mark 6:30-34, he saw the people as sheep without a shepherd, people unfocussed, not really knowing where they were going, people who needed spiritual teaching.
In today's gospel he sees people who are hungry, people who are dying to be fed. In the miracle he blessed bread and it immediately satisfied the needs of all the people. And in St John's gospel the story of the feeding of the 5,000 is followed by a long discourse by Jesus who identifies himself as "the bread of life".
In the Eucharist today Jesus sees people who are dying to be fed and feeds them with the bread of life - bread which is broken, which is blessed by him and which represents his body. The Eucharist is a special time of blessing for anyone who receives the symbols of Christ's body and blood, for they receive spiritual food which will satisfy their innermost needs. Whenever you receive the bread of the Eucharist, blessed by God, you receive the bread of life - Jesus himself.
The feeding of the 5,000 occurred during the Spring, for we're told there was a great deal of grass in the place. When we were in the Holy Land in June there was no grass at all, for it only rains between October and April. Spring was Passover time, so perhaps John sees this miracle as complementing that first saving act of God when through Moses he led the Ancient Israelites out of slavery into the Promised Land.
Jesus too leads people out of slavery into the Promised Land, into a land flowing with milk and honey. Jesus calls this land "the kingdom of God" and the slavery from which he frees us is slavery to sin. Just as Jesus could control the elements, so he has control over human nature. The situation is no longer, "I couldn't help it," or "I don't know what came over me." Jesus has freed us from that kind of slavery for he gives us genuine control over our own nature and can heal wounds from the past which might cause us to act in destructive ways.
And just as the world around us is over-abundant during Spring with new foliage and masses of blossom, so Jesus was over-abundant with this miracle. He didn't provide just enough to keep away hunger, so that there was no danger of waste. He provided an over-flowing amount to fully satisfy everyone there and to fill an extra twelve baskets when everyone was replete.
John's gospel has a series of "signs of glory". As you read through the gospel, there are a number of signs which increasingly point towards Jesus as the Messiah, the promised one from God. During this feeding of the 5,000 John is pointing towards Jesus as divine provider. And immediately after satisfying every hunger, Jesus walks on the surface of the lake. For John, this is the fifth sign of glory.
So perhaps John is saying, "Here is the Bread of Life who will nourish you and feed you and save you and lead you into God's kingdom. And nothing is impossible for him, he has control even over nature itself."
For some people today, miracles can be stumbling blocks to belief. We no longer live in an age where miracles are expected around every corner. Miracles today, such as the annual miracle of new life in Spring, are carefully sifted and examined until a satisfactory scientific explanation can be offered.
That wasn't so in the time of Jesus, when miracles were usual. Miracles were seen as signs pointing to a greater and deeper truth, and perhaps that's how we should consider them today. We shall never know exactly what happened in the time of Jesus for we must rely on other people's accounts, accounts which often differ in detail. But to look only at the miracle and miss the deep truth behind it is to miss the point. Christian faith depends not on miracles, but on truth.
Miracles in the time of Jesus were gifts from God to his people, gifts which were not only for that time, but which have gone on being gifts to all of us ever since. But God hasn't stopped giving. He still gives gifts to his people today, and it may be that some of those gifts are genuine miracles.
"If you have eyes, use them," said Jesus. "And if you have ears, listen and hear the truth." And perhaps that's exactly what we should be doing today, for when we find the truth, no matter what form it might take, we find God himself.
Today's miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 is the only miracle which is repeated in all four gospels, and it appears twice in both Matthew's gospel and Mark's gospel, so perhaps that means that it's very important indeed.
St John in his gospel uses the story to introduce the Eucharist, the communion service. The other three gospels introduce Holy Communion at the last supper, when Jesus breaks the bread and pours the wine just before he goes out to his death. But at the Last Supper St John concentrates on Jesus washing the disciples' feet and on the interplay between Jesus and Judas Iscariot.
Even in the other versions of the feeding of the 5,000 there are hints of the Eucharist. We're told by all four gospels for instance, that the disciples were instructed to gather up all the fragments that were left so that there were no crumbs - just as the priest must be careful together up all the remaining fragments of bread at the Eucharist. Bread that has been blessed by God is especially precious and must not be left lying around as if it had no special significance or as if it was just ordinary bread. And at the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus followed the four-fold action of the Eucharist - taking bread, blessing it, breaking it, then distributing it.
It's interesting too that this miracle of Jesus convinced many people that he was someone special. He had already healed a great many people, but apparently healing miracles didn't necessarily convince the crowds. But after he had somehow or other changed just five barley loaves and two small fish into sufficient food to feed 5,000 people, the bystanders were really impressed.
Barley loaves were the food of the poor. Jesus took what the most impoverished of people had to offer, and transformed it into a heavenly banquet.
Jesus is always concerned with nourishment. In last week's gospel of Mark 6:30-34, he saw the people as sheep without a shepherd, people unfocussed, not really knowing where they were going, people who needed spiritual teaching.
In today's gospel he sees people who are hungry, people who are dying to be fed. In the miracle he blessed bread and it immediately satisfied the needs of all the people. And in St John's gospel the story of the feeding of the 5,000 is followed by a long discourse by Jesus who identifies himself as "the bread of life".
In the Eucharist today Jesus sees people who are dying to be fed and feeds them with the bread of life - bread which is broken, which is blessed by him and which represents his body. The Eucharist is a special time of blessing for anyone who receives the symbols of Christ's body and blood, for they receive spiritual food which will satisfy their innermost needs. Whenever you receive the bread of the Eucharist, blessed by God, you receive the bread of life - Jesus himself.
The feeding of the 5,000 occurred during the Spring, for we're told there was a great deal of grass in the place. When we were in the Holy Land in June there was no grass at all, for it only rains between October and April. Spring was Passover time, so perhaps John sees this miracle as complementing that first saving act of God when through Moses he led the Ancient Israelites out of slavery into the Promised Land.
Jesus too leads people out of slavery into the Promised Land, into a land flowing with milk and honey. Jesus calls this land "the kingdom of God" and the slavery from which he frees us is slavery to sin. Just as Jesus could control the elements, so he has control over human nature. The situation is no longer, "I couldn't help it," or "I don't know what came over me." Jesus has freed us from that kind of slavery for he gives us genuine control over our own nature and can heal wounds from the past which might cause us to act in destructive ways.
And just as the world around us is over-abundant during Spring with new foliage and masses of blossom, so Jesus was over-abundant with this miracle. He didn't provide just enough to keep away hunger, so that there was no danger of waste. He provided an over-flowing amount to fully satisfy everyone there and to fill an extra twelve baskets when everyone was replete.
John's gospel has a series of "signs of glory". As you read through the gospel, there are a number of signs which increasingly point towards Jesus as the Messiah, the promised one from God. During this feeding of the 5,000 John is pointing towards Jesus as divine provider. And immediately after satisfying every hunger, Jesus walks on the surface of the lake. For John, this is the fifth sign of glory.
So perhaps John is saying, "Here is the Bread of Life who will nourish you and feed you and save you and lead you into God's kingdom. And nothing is impossible for him, he has control even over nature itself."
For some people today, miracles can be stumbling blocks to belief. We no longer live in an age where miracles are expected around every corner. Miracles today, such as the annual miracle of new life in Spring, are carefully sifted and examined until a satisfactory scientific explanation can be offered.
That wasn't so in the time of Jesus, when miracles were usual. Miracles were seen as signs pointing to a greater and deeper truth, and perhaps that's how we should consider them today. We shall never know exactly what happened in the time of Jesus for we must rely on other people's accounts, accounts which often differ in detail. But to look only at the miracle and miss the deep truth behind it is to miss the point. Christian faith depends not on miracles, but on truth.
Miracles in the time of Jesus were gifts from God to his people, gifts which were not only for that time, but which have gone on being gifts to all of us ever since. But God hasn't stopped giving. He still gives gifts to his people today, and it may be that some of those gifts are genuine miracles.
"If you have eyes, use them," said Jesus. "And if you have ears, listen and hear the truth." And perhaps that's exactly what we should be doing today, for when we find the truth, no matter what form it might take, we find God himself.
