August 6, 2023 — Pentecost +10A; Matthew 14:13-21

Now when Jesus heard [about the beheading of John the Baptist], 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.

Where do you go when you want to get away from everyone and everything? Do you have a deserted island you like to retreat? The text tells us Jesus had heard about the death of John the Baptist — a beheading at the whim of Herod Antipas — and as such, he was looking to withdraw to a deserted place — but he couldn’t have gone too far. He most likely wouldn’t really be able to escape the rule and power of Herod — and he couldn’t outpace the crowd who followed on foot and anticipated where Jesus’ boat would land — even though it was a deserted place. But it is clear, Jesus and his disciples needed some time off.

Matthew the Gospel writer put together his Gospel with divine revelation — and his own ability to write a narrative. He puts many parables that Jesus taught together in sections of his Gospel — he does the same with his miracles. The placement of these stories and teachings seem to be placed to move the Gospel story along. For example, in chapters 8 and 9 of his Gospel, Matthew places about 10 miracles of Jesus which seem to highlight discipleship and its meaning for his followers, especially the issue of trust.

So, for the context of the miracle story today, the disciples do not sound so trusting. We know they have been on this journey with Jesus — escaping to this “out of the way” place since the death of John the Baptist. And in the midst of being tired and afraid, they hoped for some time alone. But this was not to be the case. Jesus needed some time alone as well, but the crowd that follows him takes that opportunity away from him. Does Jesus send them away? Of course not. Instead, he turns his focus off himself and his disciples and turns to curing the sick among them. The disciples must have been feeling hurt and disappointed.

And then, to seemingly pour salt into their “injured egos” — Jesus asks them to solve an unsolvable problem. There are about 10000+ people in need of food, and Jesus tells them to find something to eat for all of them, and to do it within the hour, in a deserted place, before it gets dark. His disciples are tired — they are weary — they are hurting and hungry — and now they must be angry as well.

What is Jesus doing? We ask that question, at least I have asked that question a lot lately. What is Jesus doing in the world, in our country, in the church, in our lives…..right now? G-d is active every day in the world, in our lives, in places we expect and often in places we cannot ever expect. I believe that. I also believe G-d can do the miraculous — but not only the miraculous — G-d has the power to do quite a lot, with just a little. If we take the accounting of the miracle as if we are hearing it from a 1^st century reporter — well then we are not necessarily hearing it in the same way the community of Matthew’s Gospel heard the story. How could we. In other words, we should hear this story not as “G-d can feed the entire world if G-d wants to”. Instead we should hear “Through Jesus, all people can be fed the bread of life — Jews, Gentiles, everyone.”

G-d looks to us and says “You give them something to eat.” When we accept that challenge, when we move forward in obedience and trust, well, then G-d really begins to act — and miracles, both great and small, will happen as well.

Pastor Dave

August 5, 2023 — Psalm 102

Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry come to you. Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress. Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call. For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace. My heart is stricken and withered like grass; I am too wasted to eat my bread. Because of my loud groaning my bones cling to my skin. I am like an owl of the wilderness, like a little owl of the waste places. I lie awake; I am like a lonely bird on the housetop. All day long my enemies taunt me; those who deride me use my name for a curse. For I eat ashes like bread, and mingle tears with my drink, because of your indignation and anger; for you have lifted me up and thrown me aside. My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass. But you, O LORD, are enthroned forever; your name endures to all generations. (Verses 1-12)

Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry come to you.

Some commentaries call this Psalm the “Psalm of the lowly”. Of course, you cannot read lines like “I eat ashes like bread and mingle tears with my drink” without getting some sense of the plight of the writer. Whether this is the writing for an individual or for the people collectively is unknown. I would say it really doesn’t matter for this devotion, for the importance of prayer is the lesson for today.

We all hope that the Lord hears our prayers. The biblical witness tells us that Jesus prayed — and prayed often. He prayed at his baptism; he goes on top of mountains to pray; he teaches his disciples how to pray. Prayer was important to Jesus, and he expected his prayers were heard. Of course, prayer has been a consistent theme in the Psalms, like the 71^st which reads: “Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel. For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O LORD, from my youth.” (Verses 4-5)

But we cannot confuse “Hearing” with “Answering”. We trust G-d hears our prayers, but the answers we receive cannot be controlled by our human desires and wants. Notice that even in this Psalm the writer notes the timelessness of G-d (you O Lord are enthroned forever). We trust our prayers are heard, and the answers are up to the Lord — we may never receive an answer, we may receive an answer immediately, or our patience in waiting may be rewarded. No matter, we should always lift up our joys, our thanks, and our needs to G-d in prayer.

Prayer

Lord God, while our days vanish like shadows and our lives wear out like a garment, you are eternal. Although our earthly lives come to an end, help us to live in Christ’s endless life and at length attain our home, the heavenly Jerusalem, where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

Pastor Dave