"More Than Enough!"
Matthew 14:13-21
August 3, 2008
St. Paul United Methodist Church of Little Rock
Rev. John Fleming
It's not hard to imagine the scene. Many of us have been a part of it and those of us who haven't probably have witnessed it. It usually happens right down there on that first step, though sometimes the service happens in other places like a historic home or someone's beautiful back yard.
The scene is that a couple stands in front of a pastor to be married. If the wedding is a big one, then there is a maid of honor and a best man flanked by bridesmaids in beautiful dresses and groomsmen in tuxedos. Flower girls and ring bearers may also be near. If it is a smaller ceremony, then it just might be the bride and groom and preacher. Regardless of the size of the ceremony, the same thing happens in all of them. In all of them, there is a time when they face each other, join hands, and say their vows. Both promise to love one another. Both promise to comfort and keep one another in good and not so good times, in times where there is good health and when our health isn't so good. They promise to keep each other in times of plenty and when the finances are a little tight. They promise to love and to cherish each other until death parts them. At the end of their vows, the couple says these words, "This is my solemn vow."
What they are really is that they will love each other no matter what, with everything they've got, for as long as they've got. I cannot help but to wonder if some of the couples I marry know what they are getting themselves into. Some seem so young. I want to ask, "Do you realize what you're doing up here?" Hopefully the couple will grow up together.
A preacher I know wonders if giving your marriage your all is wise. He wonders if it is wise to love with such a commitment. He wonders if they should love without holding anything back. He wonders if their love should have limits attached to it. After all, forever seems like a long time. This preacher wonders if they ought to withhold a little love so that they can still be who they are and still be married to someone they love.
The church's answer to that is a resounding NO! The church says to get married. The church says to love without limits. The church says to love in the good and bad times. The church says don't keep a record of rights and wrongs. The church says, and the angels in our stained glass windows up there sing the chorus, that love is the greatest of all things. They sing that love bears, believes, hopes, and endures all things. And the church says that what you don't understand is that love doesn't run out. It isn't like oil. There is no shortage whatsoever.
I wish I had a dollar for every time a couple told me that they love their spouse more and more every day. I'd fund our entire budget here at St. Paul for years with the proceeds! Love, you see, is something that when you give it, you receive it in return. And as far as I can tell, there is plenty of love to go around.
Hold on to that idea and turn now to our gospel lesson for this morning taken from the fourteenth chapter of Matthew's gospel. Matthew begins by telling us that Jesus needed a bit of a break. Word had gotten to him that his cousin John had been killed. John was the one who recognized the power of Jesus. Any death will cause us to want to get away for awhile. John's death had Jesus wanting to do that. It also caused him to think about what fate he might one day meet.
So he gets away to what Matthew calls a deserted place. He went by boat and when he looked up, there was a crowd of people. Jesus saw them. Matthew tells us that he somehow mustered up some more strength. More importantly than that, Jesus had compassion for those in the crowd and healed the ones who were sick.
When Jesus was finished with that, it was late. It was dinner time. The disciples are the ones who bring up the idea of taking the evening off. They suggested to Jesus that he send the crowds away so that they could eat. Jesus would have none of that. He had a different plan. Jesus said, "They don't need to go away. You give them something to eat." As far as I can tell, there was not a grocery store anywhere near by. The closest Pizza Hut or McDonalds was some twenty centuries away. Jesus said to the disciples, "You give them something to eat."
That line has been ringing in the ears of disciples ever since that day. The church itself is hungry and she's surrounded by people who are lonely and discouraged and disoriented and poor in oh so many ways. Folks are camped out on the front lawns of churches. Jesus turns to us and says, "They don't need to go anywhere else. You have all they need. You give them something to eat." And the church looks at the membership roles. The church looks at the money they have in the bank and the small amount they've set aside for missions. It's no wonder that churches join the cry of the disciples, "Jesus, this is a deserted place. Send the crowds away. Let them feed themselves."
Catch this. The disciples saw a fiasco. Jesus saw a feast. The disciples said, "We have nothing here but five loaves of bread and two fish." The disciples saw a problem. Jesus saw a hungry crowd.
I understand that the training manual for Ritz Carlton Hotel employees has this saying in it, "If you see a problem, you own it." For them, any problem is their problem. Any job is their job. No Ritz Carlton employee can say, "Sorry, that's not my job. Oops. That's not my responsibility."
The same should be said of disciples. If you see a problem, it belongs to you. The particular problem in front of the disciples this morning is that they see scarcity. They've crunched the numbers. They see five thousand people, plus women and children, plus the twelve of them, plus Jesus. The numbers just don't add up. There is not enough food for all the people. But Jesus, you see, isn't into addition. He's into multiplication.
Church, can I ask you where we have gotten this idea that there is not enough of everything to go around? You won't find that in the Bible. The Bible is full of examples of extravagance. A man is on his way from Jerusalem to Jericho when he is beaten up and left for dead. A Samaritan finds him. The New Revised John Version of this story says that the guy put him in his car, drove him to the hospital, left all of his credit cards and said, "This ought to cover it. If it doesn't, let me know. I'll be back." One day Jesus and his mother and the disciples are at a wedding in Cana when the wine runs out. So Jesus turned the water into wine, some one hundred and eighty gallons of fine tasting wine. Now I'm a preacher and so I'm not supposed to know about these sorts of things, but that's a lot of wine. There's no scarcity there! You won't get scarcity when you read the Bible. There's always enough. Or is there?
I like the story of what happened at a church one communion Sunday. The pastor was distributing the bread and juice. He came to a little girl. He knelt down, gave her a small piece of bread. For the moment it was just the two of them. He said, "This bread means Jesus loves you very much." I say that. The girl swallowed the bread and then cupped her hands and said with hopeful eyes, "More?" Her parents may have been horrified, but what does the church have to say here?
More? Look at this. Jesus takes the five loaves and the two fish and asks the disciples to distribute them. The crowd is fed and they are full. They could not eat another bite. And the disciples have to haul the heavy baskets full of bread and fish back to Jesus.
More! With God there is always more. There is always more grace. There is always more love. There is always more room. There are always more chances. God, you see, takes the smallest that we can offer. He multiplies it to more than we can fathom.
This story is important. It's the only miracle of Jesus found in all four gospels. What is Jesus trying to say to us? I think He's trying to say that the world is hungry and we're supposed to feed it. There are some who are hungry for their next meal. Some are hungry for God and want to know a lot more about Him. Some are hungry for grace and forgiveness and for the chance to start over again.
It is late. It's been a long day. We don't have enough for us. There's not enough to go around after I pay the bills and give my family all I have. And Jesus says, "There's plenty. You give them something to eat." Instead of scratching our heads and throwing up our hands, look at those around you. I see them every week here at St. Paul. On the average four or five people a week come in our doors needing help. Some weeks there are many as ten. I see them every week, children walking down the hallways on their way to daycare classes needing attention and love. All the while Jesus says, "Don't send them away. You give them something to eat." Instead of saying there's not enough, take a look at your life. Inventory it. What can you offer? You can offer more than you think. I'm talking about money here, but I'm talking about much more than money here.
On our way to the communion rail this morning, let me tell you that there is one thing I think we have plenty of and we ought to share it. We can love. We can love God and each other. Let me close with this. Bishop Will Willimon tells the story of a woman who was in one of his churches early in his ministry. She had three children of her own and offered herself to be a foster parent. She and her husband were raising a fine family. She came to her pastor and told him that she and her husband were going to adopt a foster child. Will was trying to be both cautious and optimistic with his church member. He knew their hands were already full with the three kids they had. He knew finances were tight. He said, "You're a great mom and you're husband is a great dad, but don't you think you're biting off a lot? Love has its limits." She didn't agree. She taught her preacher something when she said, "That's not how I've experienced love. For me love grows by giving it away. The more I give, the more I seem to have. I want to make a difference in this world."
So do I and so do you. You, friends, give them something to eat. Let us pray.
(Special thanks to Bishop Will Willimon for the idea of this sermon and for some of the thoughts inside it)