“Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.”  Matthew 14:13-21

“I remember…leaving the publisher’s office afterwards and running into somebody in the building whom I had known slightly at college. He was working as a messenger boy, he told me. I was, as I thought, on the brink of fame and fortune. But instead of feeling any pride or sense of superior accomplishment by the comparison, I remember a great and unheralded rush of something like sadness, almost like shame. I had been very lucky, and he had not been very lucky, and the pleasure that I might have taken in what had happened to me was all but lost in the realization that nothing comparable, as far as I could see, had happened to him. I wanted to say something or do something to make it up to him, but I had no idea how or what and ended up saying nothing of any consequence at all, least of all anything about the contract that I had just signed. We simply said goodbye in the lobby, he going his way and I mine, and that was that. All I can say now is that something small but unforgettable happened inside me as the result of that chance meeting—some small flickering out of the truth that, in the long run, there can be no real joy for anybody until there is joy finally for us all…” (Buechner, Frederick. Listening to Your Life. HarperOne. Kindle Edition.)

“…there can be no real joy for anybody until there is joy finally for us all…”

The story of the feeding of the 5000, and the feeding of the 4000, are stories about abundance. From just five loaves and two fish, Jesus feeds 5000 men, plus women and children — or as should be said, he fed everyone. Where does the abundance come from? It comes from Jesus of course. And they come through the hands of the disciples who are willing to partake in the miracle.

Skeptics of this story say “Oh it is just hyperbole, a myth, story, a fabrication.” Oh, really? If this was just a story, why are we still telling it 2000 years later? And not just repeating a story written 2000 years ago, but a story that was first told and shared by mouth from generation to generation, person to person, household to household before it was finally written down and put into any kind of book. If this story is a fabrication, it wouldn’t have had enough gas to last for two millennia. Just like the man from our story who mistakenly put gas in the wrong vehicle, perhaps the skeptics are mistaken in understanding the parable – that the story is not about “How Jesus did it”, but about “How Jesus’ Disciples trusted enough to listen to his instruction.”

More importantly everyone was fed – and there was still some left over. There was joy for all – no one was left out. Perhaps this is the most important aspect we take from this miracle – Jesus has enough abundance, enough joy for everyone. Miracles are always possible – we just need to trust Jesus and listen to his instruction.

Pastor Dave

“On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.” So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.” Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.” John 2:1-11

“A wife asks her husband, “Could you please go shopping for me and buy one carton of milk and, if they have avocados, get six.” A short time later, the husband returns with six cartons of milk. “Why did you buy six cartons of milk?” his wife asks. He replies, “They had avocados.” (Tom Buoye, Manchester, New Jersey)

“I think I first began to have a pale version of the experience that Saint Paul describes in his letter to the Philippians. “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,” he writes, “for God is at work in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” I was a long way from thinking in terms of my own salvation or anybody else’s, but through the people I met…it seems to me now that a power from beyond time was working to achieve its own aim through my aimless life in time as it works through the lives of all of us and all our times.” (Buechner, Frederick. Listening to Your Life. HarperOne. Kindle Edition.)

Mary and Jesus are at the wedding of a nameless couple. We know nothing about the status of this couple or their relationship to Mary and Jesus – all we learn is that they seem to have no idea how much wine to order for a week-long wedding. Disaster has struck their wedding celebration – and they faced possible embarrassment and humiliation. This miracle comes at the beginning of John’s Gospel and the purpose of this story soon becomes very clear – it is Jesus’ first miracle. And it is from this miracle that the power of Jesus is unleashed – and word of his actions spreads far and wide. Of course, we cannot miss the fact that by Mary telling the servants “Do whatever he tells you”, she initiates the miracle. She takes the risk of either embarrassing her son or further embarrassing the host. But if Mary had not spoken up, would Jesus have acted?

As Buechner suggests, it is often through the people we meet in our lives that we are given purpose and direction. As Paul says, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for God is at work in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

Perhaps Mary does not speak out of turn like some might think – instead this was part of G-d’s plan. If we think we can work out our own salvation, if we believe that we do not need others in our lives, then we live to our own detriment. Living in community means we open ourselves to the influences of others, and they open themselves up to our influences as well. We often need the others in our lives to give us the opportunity to do G-d’s will – and to offer our gifts – and to be the miracle in someone else’s life. We always need to be on the lookout for opportunities – to see the miracles happening in our lives, and to see the opportunities to be someone else’s miracle. Being the miracle in other’s lives only takes the openness to see the opportunities.

Pastor Dave