Giving Thanks…They Were Satisfied

The crowd gathers, even when it really would be better for Jesus and the disciples to lay low for a while. They are just getting back and eager to share with Jesus all that they have done, preaching the kingdom of God and healing. The power and authority that Jesus had given them as he sent them had cast out demons and cured diseases, people had been open to hearing about the kingdom of God and lives were changed. It was amazing; the news was spreading everywhere. Hope was high.

Meanwhile, Herod has heard about all about it, Jesus of Nazareth teaching and healing, performing miracles, and then sending out his disciples…and he is perplexed. Some are telling him that this is John the Baptist raised from the dead, others that Elijah has appeared, still others say that one of the prophets of old has risen. Who could he be? What could he be? What could this mean? Herod broods over the question. “John I beheaded; but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And Herod determines to seek and see this Jesus.
When they returned, Jesus took them to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, to Bethsaida. It is on the Northern shore of the Sea, close to Capernaum, but on the other side of where the Jordan River feeds into the waters. And while it was on the Gentile side of the Sea, three of the disciples, Peter, Andrew, and Philip had been born there. The people, and culture in the town, were mostly Jewish. So, when the crowds learned where Jesus and the disciples had drawn apart, they followed.

What happens next is really important. There are 6 versions of Jesus feeding a multitude in the Gospels, and it is the only miracle recorded in all 4 Gospels. Now, I think it is possible that scenes like this happened more than once in Jesus’s ministry, and so we have some slight variations on where the 5 loaves and 2 fish come from, how many people there were to feed…. What is the same is that just as at his last supper with the disciples, and the Lord’s Supper at this table, Jesus feeding the crowd is a foreshadowing of the Great Banquet in the Kingdom of God.
Jesus welcomes. Even though it might cause more problems with Herod, Jesus welcomes the crowd. He teaches and heals, and when the disciples suggest that it is time for Jesus to encourage them to go, or they are going to get stuck with a crowd of frustrated people who are without dinner and lodging for the night.

Jesus commissions. Give them something to eat. Now, here is where I identify most with the disciples. Here they have been out healing people and teaching people about the amazing new life of joy and abundance that comes from recognizing God as the center of our lives, and they were sent out with nothing – no food, no bag, no money, no extra set of clothes – nothing, and they had no lack as they went from village to village ministering. Yet, now, they look at the reality of what they have – 5 loaves and two fish – and they know it just won’t feed 5,000 men plus their wives and children. They look at reality instead of to God, and they lose hope. There’s not enough. It is impossible for them to do it themselves, but Jesus equips the called and will enable them to feed the people.

Jesus announces God’s time. Get them into groups, 50 households to a group. The number is symbolic, and allusion to the year of Jubilee in Leviticus 25. Every 50th year is a year of Jubilee. And in that year 3 things happen, any land that has been sold to pay debts during the preceding 49 years returns to its original owners. And anyone who had to submit to being a slave to pay debts is set free. All debts are declared “paid in full.” The jubilee is a regular reminder to God’s covenant people that every acre of ground, and every soul belongs to God, not to those rich enough to buy them. Leviticus 25 directs, “The 50th year is to be your jubilee year. Do not plant. Do not harvest anything that grows on its own or pick grapes from the unpruned vines. You may eat what the land produces naturally. For it is a jubilee, a special, sacred time for you.”

And then Jesus uses the same words that we hear in the Upper Room, the same words that we remember at this Table, Jesus took bread, he blessed it and broke it, and he gave it to them.

Jesus took what was offered, all that they had, and he blessed it. The Greek word for “blessed” is eulogeo, the same word from which we get euology, it literally means “to speak well of, to praise.” Even in the 1st Century, a blessing was said before you ate. Their version of “God is great, God is good, let us thank him for our food” was “Blessed are you, Jehovah, our God, King of the World, who causes bread to come forth from the earth.”

Henri Nouwen, a Dutch priest and professor of pastoral theology, tells the story of a powerful experience of blessing. Henri spent significant time in his life at a community for mentally handicapped adults, L’Arche. One day he was getting ready to lead worship. Janet, one of the members of the community, came up to him and said, “Henri, can you give me a blessing?” So, he made the sign of the cross on her forehead. Janet objected. “That doesn’t work. I want a real blessing!” He really had no idea what she meant so he invited her into worship.
After he led the worship service Henri said to everyone, “Janet has asked for a special blessing.” Janet immediately got up and walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him. Henri had on a long white robe, and as he put her arms around her she almost disappeared underneath the robe. Henri said, “Janet, I want you to know that you are God’s beloved daughter. You are precious in God’s eyes. Your beautiful smile, your kindness to the people in your house, and all the good things you do show us what a beautiful human being you are. I know you feel a little low these days and that there is some sadness in your heart, but I want you to remember who you are: a very special person, deeply loved by God and all the people who are here with you.” When he finished Janet looked up at him and smiled. He knew that Janet had heard and received God’s blessing. Others in the room came forward to receive a blessing as well. It is a craving of all of our hearts, to be named in praise for God’s image within us.

Jesus took the bread, he blessed it, and then he broke it. And until it was broken, it would do no one any earthly good. It is as we are broken that we realize who we are and whose we are, and we understand that we live for more than ourselves. Paul reassures in his letter to the church at Rome that God knows their suffering and that it isn’t for nothing. “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for redemption. And the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit intercedes for us through wordless groans. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” In our brokenness, we turn in weakness to the Spirit of God, and God is able to redeem us and re-form us. We are made pliable, and if we allow God to take that pliable part of us, the result will be that we are even more useful and beautiful than we were before we were broken.

And Jesus gave it to the disciples to share with the crowd. The abundance is entrusted to a few, to share. They could have sold it to the crowd. No one said the crowd didn’t have money. The disciples went initially to Jesus to get him to stop talking and healing so that the crowd would leave and get some food and a place to stay before it got too late. They could have kept it and stored it for themselves. They had been relying on other people, and it was always possible that they would hit a rough patch. It would be nice to not have to rely on the kindness of strangers to eat. For the bread to do what it was meant to do, the disciples had to give it away. They received a miracle, but it was only helpful when they released its power in the world. And all ate and were satisfied.

They took up what was left over, twelve baskets of broken pieces, enough for each of the disciples to have a basket full.