Sermon for Pentecost 9 Year A 2017 You Give Them Something to Eat

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Adele Sherilyn Nelson
5 years ago
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1 Sermon for Pentecost 9 Year A 2017 You Give Them Something to Eat Come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk --without money and without price! Eat what is good... Delight yourselves in rich food. Every time I encounter this passage from Isaiah, I never fail to think of the opening scene of the musical Oliver! when all the ravenous, undernourished boys in the orphanage sing Food, glorious food! Three banquets a day Our favorite diet! Food, glorious food What wouldn t we give for That extra bit more That s all that we live for. Why should we be fated to Do nothing but brood on food Magical food Wonderful food Fabulous food Beautiful food Glorious food! Actually, thinking about the terrible poverty and neglect of Victorian orphans imagining their barely fed and starved existence, is, in fact, the exact place or condition in which we need to be. To hear the prophet s Isaiah s words well, we need to know the circumstances of those to whom he preached. 1

2 For the prophet Isaiah was not speaking to comfortably situated, well-fed people. No, Isaiah was addressing these words to a people who had endured the neglect, abuse and injustice of exile in Babylon. The people who first heard this invitation had experienced a genocidal starvation by their captors Just read through the book of Lamentations for a terrifying, heartbreaking description of their social, physical and even spiritual devastation. The orphaned children in Victorian England experienced similar unmitigated violence, loneliness, abandonment, and dehumanizing suffering. Many of Charles Dickens books were prophetic in their day, appraising and revealing the social injustices of England in his time. Sadly, such dehumanizing suffering continues today Just think of the famine-starved people of South Sudan, or the thousands of Syrian refugees, or even the many hungry people here in our own country men, women and children in our time experiencing hunger and seeking relief. Here s the thing about Isaiah s prophetic words: Yes, Isaiah was appraising the inhumanity of the Babylonian conquerors but Isaiah was also speaking to the people of Israel who had survived because they were in great danger of surviving by becoming like their captors. It s the going along to get along survival plan a plan that, sadly, we are all too familiar with. So Isaiah s invitation seeks to discourage complacency. Isaiah s invitation challenges the wrong use of power, and seeks to evoke remembrance of the covenant and promises of God. 2

3 Using the language and style of the street merchant, Isaiah s call to an extravagant and elaborate banquet seeks to be heard over the din of the market. What a marketing strategy to describe a meal beyond expectation and hope to a people who have been conquered, exiled and struggling to exist! You that have no money, come, buy and eat! Once again, a song from Oliver! can help us stand inside the shoes of such desperate conditions and soaring hope. Oliver eventually finds himself in the home of a Mr. Brownlow (who, you may remember, turns out to be Oliver s uncle). Oliver is in Brownlow s home after having been taken in by the gang of the Artful Dodger and Fagin professional thieves. Oliver now all cleaned up amid unaccustomed luxury, looks out of the window to see street sellers They begin their calls Who will buy my sweet red roses? Two blooms for a penny! Will you buy any milk today? Oliver suddenly joins in and sings, Who will buy this wonderful morning? Such a sky you never did see! I don t want to lose it So what am I to do To keep the sky so blue? There must be someone who will buy... 3

4 It is understandable that Oliver thinks that a wonderful morning is something that must be bought, and yet, what he actually desires is things that cannot be bought, things that are gifts to all people, and yet are among those things that are good and which satisfy. Oliver and all of us get caught up in the marketplace mentality and machinery either victimized or victimizing caught up in the financialization of everything, caught up in the rush and struggle of buying and selling. Most of us, however, will probably never experience what Oliver and countless others then and today know what it is like to need and want bread and milk while having no assets at all, standing at the margins, begging for a handout, so that they too might taste their daily bread. And, here, it is good to recall what Luther s Small Catechism explanation of what daily bread means: Please turn to page 1164 of the ELW hymnal: Top of the page: What then does daily bread mean? Let s read it together: Everything included in the necessities and nourishment for our bodies, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, farm, fields, livestock, money, property, an upright spouse, upright children, upright members of the household, upright and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, decency, honor, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like. All this we are asking every time we pray: Give us this day our daily bread. Not just for ourselves notice, we pray for us, that all will receive daily bread. 4

5 How does that all come about? Right about now, is a good time to place this beside the gospel story for today the feeding of the five thousand. Now one of the first things I want to point out is that the title of this miracle is exactly accurate. Did you notice that the text says: And those who ate were 5,000 men, besides women and children. Matthew is the only gospel writer (and this story appears five times in the four gospels) who adds those last words, "besides women and children." So, how many would that be? Did most men come with their wives? That would mean at least ten thousand adults. If each family had two children, that would bring the total to 20,000 or more if they had large families. Of course, we'll never know the exact number, but now that we have thought about these women and children, the task of feeding so many seems truly daunting, downright impossible, perhaps even... ridiculous. And, yet, Jesus sees this great crowd and he has compassion for them, and he cured their sick. But then, seeing that the hour is getting late, and they are in what seems to be a biblical food desert, the disciples tell Jesus to send the crowds away so they may go to the villages and buy for food for themselves. And what did Jesus tell them to do? Did you notice that Jesus actually says to the disciples? They need not go away. You give them something to eat. 5

6 Are you kidding?! The disciples knew they couldn't feed all these men, besides all the women and children! They answer We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish. Did you notice that they start out by saying they have nothing? It s almost as if they didn t really want to admit that they had five loaves of bread and two fish. Perhaps this was what they brought for themselves? But Jesus simply says, "Bring what you have to me." Then he told the people to sit down. So it would seem that, as we stand in the shoes of the disciples in Matthew's account of this story, we are called to obey Jesus' daring, ridiculous command. We are to offer our limited resources to him to bless and multiply, and take responsibility, not to hoard them for ourselves, but to share and distribute them to others. Resources could be money and possessions, but they also include time, energy, innate abilities, and acquired skills. (Remember that great list of what daily bread means?) I mentioned before this story of the feeding of the multitude occurs five times in the four gospels. It is recorded for future generations because we need to hear it over and over again too. Why? Because over and over again in life, we stand in the shoes of the disciples in this passage: surrounded by human need, faced with a challenge, knowing we do not have the resources, in our own wisdom, wealth, and strength to meet the need, to stand up to the challenge. 6

7 With the disciples, we say, "This is a deserted place. We have nothing but... We sometimes feel our only option is to sit in our La-Z-Boy and try not to see the needs, to ignore the challenge. What other choice do we have? Because we do not have enough of what it takes to meet them. Better to just send them all away. But Jesus says They need not go away. Bring me what you have. You don t have nothing. You have something. I will take what you have, bless it and brake it open so you can give what you have away. If you have been viewing the reflections on the various ways we can grow in discipleship over these past six weeks (and I hope you have or will very soon!), you have been hearing some good advice about what it means to be disciple. From Michele Hickey we heard that discipleship brings some discomfort because we step outside what we know. Our discomfort forces us, she says, to rely on God, rather than on our own abilities. Marge Heeren, also, reminds us that worship keeps us in contact with God, worship blesses us and sustains our faith. Alice Wright reminds us that evangelism or sharing the good news is about upright relationships meeting others where their needs are, just as you would want them to meet you where yours are. Lisa Janeiro tells us about generosity that goes beyond charity giving of your time or abilities or possessions to those in need. Sharon Ramsaier reminded us that servanthood is offering what have, what you can and trusting in God s grace that it will be enough. 7

8 And Karen Niestempski reminded us that prayer is how we can get through the overwhelming challenges and struggles not just our own but on behalf of others because through prayer we are touching the lives of others. Standing in the shoes of the disciple Hearing the cries of hungry, suffering people here at home and around the world, it is all too easy to say send them away. But I keep hearing Jesus say, They need not go away. You give them something to eat. I hear Jesus say this and I know I have something rather than nothing. We can do what we can in faith, with love and hope inviting others to join us. There is something each of us can do make a donation, volunteer, advocate, pray, encourage and support and welcome. Whatever it is, don t discount it. Offer it in the name of Jesus. Ending hunger is personal. It's also political, but most of all, it is holy work. Jesus prayed that God would bless the food in his hands so it would be enough for all these hungry people. But he didn't pray until after he said to the disciples, "...you give them something to eat." Then, after praying, Jesus gave the broken bread and the fish to his disciples. Here's the surprising thing: they took the pieces! They didn't argue and say this is preposterous, this isn t enough. They didn't laugh at this ridiculous assignment. They took those broken pieces and started passing them out. They must have wondered how long the food in their hands would last, but they just kept going. 8

9 They fed 5,000 men, besides women and children, a multitude. And when everyone had eaten, there were twelve baskets left over. If you ll permit me, one final reference to Oliver! At the end of the musical, Oliver has been restored to his birth family recognized and accepted by Mr. Brownlow as his nephew. At the same time the ringleader of the gang of thieves, Fagin, now completely penniless and homeless, emerges from under a bridge and asks: Can somebody change? It s possible. Maybe its strange, but it s possible. All my companions and treasures I ve left them behind. I ll turn a leaf over, and who can tell what I may find? And as Fagin contemplates repentance Mr. Brownlow the lawyer, Oliver the orphan, and Bette the prostitute come out with a huge hamper of food and Oliver calls out: Help yourself, lads! Now, Jesus turns to us with the same calling: "They need not go away; you give them something to eat." 9

Jesus Tur ned Water to Wine John 2:1-12

Do you believe Jesus is the Messiah? Are you willing to obey Him? Why or why not? Jesus Tur ned Water to Wine John 2:1-12 MAIN POINT: JESUS FIRST MIRACLE WAS TO TURN WATER INTO WINE. FOLD One day, Jesus