2 Samuel 11:1-15, Psalm 14, Ephesians 3:14-21, John 6:1-21

When they were satisfied, Jesus told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.”

The Feeding of the 5,000 is the only miracle that is recounted in all four Gospels.  The writers of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all include the miracle with some variation in detail.  In John’s Gospel, it is a small boy who comes with 5 barley loaves and 2 fish – the common, the ordinary stuff of our daily existence brought forward by the humblest of humanity – a small child.  Barley loaves are the food of the poor. [In the Book of Ruth, we read that it was an ephah of barley that Ruth gleaned from the field of Boaz as the result of his gracious generosity to this foreign woman seeking bread for the day.]  Through God’s grace, Jesus received the meager offering of this small child, blessed it, broke it, and fed the multitude.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke refer to this event as a miracle; John, on the other hand, refers to the event as a sign – a signrather than simply a miracle – a sign that Jesus is truly God the Son, the Word made flesh, the Messiah.  Certainly, these signs are tremendously significant to us as affirmation of Jesus as the Divine – God the Son.  As our Lord walked the earth 2000 years ago, these tangible signs were visible to his audience – an audience that could not deny Jesus’ divine presence in human form.

But, as we gather again and again to read and reflect and digest these accounts of the miraculous, it is equally important that we come to understand that we are not separated by 2,000 years from the intended message.  The message is as critical for us in Jesus’ audience today.  We don’t read the account of the Feeding of the 5,000, then put the book away and smile that it is such a sweet story.

We read, we listen, we reflect and digest the message that we are expected to take to the world as we leave this place, fueled for a week of mission and ministry in the World.  What is that message?  What is the sign for us from the Feeding of the 5,000 that we are to gather and share?  How do we experience an event in which a tiny meager offering becomes food for the multitudes?

If you are a teacher, whether formally in the classroom or very informally in any setting, you know what it is to share a seed of knowledge and an appreciation for learning.  The learner takes that seed and casts it upon more fertile soils so that your seemingly tiny effort has been magnified to produce good fruit for many you will never know.

A kind word to a frazzled mother in the grocery store may have the effect of turning her day around, giving her a renewed sense of joy – joy she will share with another frazzled mother who might as the result speak more gently to her husband in regards to leaving the wet towel on the floor, which in turn might diffuse his tendency to an abusive outburst at the dinner table when little Suzy spills her milk – again.  We just never know how far and wide our impact reaches when our actions are blessed by God and shared with those hungry for the Good News.  Conversely, it is frightening to consider the multiplicity of harmful actions precipitated by an initial unkind word inspired by evil.

So, we experience the phenomenon of the Feeding of the 5,000 with all praise to God in untold ways through our mission and ministry. Here at Advent, a less widely acclaimed, yet equally faithful and significant ministry offered to food pantry patrons is the prayer ministry.  Phyllis O’Quinn hangs out her shingle directing anyone in need to seek her out for quiet prayer in the library.  Other volunteers routinely pray with and for those they serve.  

I marvel at the thought of the changed lives – perhaps even the reduced incidences of violence – that are directly precipitated from this ministry.  Have you ever been discriminated against by a potential employer, shunned by a passerby, distrusted by a store clerk, or scrutinized unjustly by a security guard?  Have you been harassed because you couldn’t pay a bill?  Do you carry the deep scars of physical or emotional abuse or assault?  Do you have a physical or mental handicap or a debilitating addiction?  Are you estranged from your family, even you own children?  Have you ever been so beat down that you felt you just couldn’t take it anymore?  And, as the result, have you been so filled with anger that the tiniest thoughtless slip by a stranger would likely send you into a violent raging fit?  

These situations describe those who come seeking the ministry of our food pantry.  Many are marginalized in multiple ways we cannot imagine.  Yes, the food and the clothing bring comfort and sustenance; they are necessities of life.  Jesus fed the multitudes with real physical food, and he instructs us to do the same.  But it is the hundredfold blessing of faithfulness through prayer and compassionate service that changes lives.  A despondent and desperate soul finds a glimmer of hope and carries that hope to another equally in need.  

Bread and fish – meager offerings of the earth, significant, broad-based meaningful symbols – metaphors throughout our faith journey. Meager stuff – the tiniest gesture of love without fear of disappointment, love without expectation of return – the tiniest gesture offered with all glory to God, and multitudes are fed.

Isn’t this what we experience every time we come to the Lord’s Table?  The ordinary bread and wine of our daily existence is sanctified and distributed to the multitude.  Through it we become living members of the Body of Christ and heirs of His eternal kingdom; we are charged to go forth serving Him as faithful witnesses of this miraculous sign that we are instructed to model.  It is we who carry the presence of Jesus Christ to the world, we who are charged to feed the multitudes.