August 6, 2017　

18 "Bring them here to me," he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Jesus took only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish and fed about 5000 men plus their wives and children. Yes, it was a miracle, but it was more than just a big picnic. Jesus is teaching us something. It is something about growth.

Last month we read the parable of the sower. The wheat that landed in good soil brought forth a great crop, a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown (13:9). One small seed of grain produces many more. Then there was the parable of the mustard seed. A tiny seed produces a bush as big as a tree, big enough that birds of the air can come and perch in its branches (13:32). Then there was the parable of the yeast. A woman baked a lot of bread by using only a small amount of yeast that made the bread rise. Jesus was teaching about the Kingdom of Heaven. It starts small with great difficulties, but becomes large. We usually interpret these parables by saying that they are about evangelism. Just a few words of Gospel can take root and start to grow in a person’s heart. This gives us hope and confidence in our evangelism efforts. Besides, we know that the Holy Spirit is working with us. It is the Holy Spirit that gives growth and faith.

Today’s miracle story of the feeding of the 5000 is also about growth. Perhaps this miracle is proof for the teaching of the parables. It is the growth in the Kingdom of Heaven of love and compassion. It is the love and compassion of Jesus Christ. We read, “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” That love was first shown to the sick and to their families who had brought them to Jesus. And then in the breaking of the bread, he showed that love and compassion to everyone who had come there that day. The disciples did have compassion. They came to Jesus and suggested that he send the people home early so that they could get something to eat. But Jesus had a better plan that would teach the people, and the disciples, about the true love and compassion of the Kingdom of God. Jesus looked up to heaven and said a prayer of thanks. He wanted the people to see him pray so that they would know this would be an act of God. Then he broke the bread and continued to multiply the bread until everyone was satisfied. It is hard to measure love, but on that day the measure was over 5000 people.

Just a side note, when Jesus does a miracle, he does it well. The disciples collected twelve baskets of broken pieces that were left over (vs. 20). There were more leftovers than the original loves of bread! The love and compassion and power of God are infinite. This is the love that feeds the whole world every day. “Give us this day our daily bread” is more than a request for food; it is a statement of faith that God is the source of the all food and every blessing that the people of the world need to live. And when we pray before we eat, we thank God for his gracious love and compassion.

Jesus wants to teach us something. He wants to teach us about compassion. Usually we are alone with our pain. Other people are the same. We have our worries and problems, and often we think only about ourselves. We might even wonder if God knows about us. And yet, we are like the people in the Gospel story. The people followed Jesus to the place he was going. We have come here this morning because we know that Jesus is here. Of course the Lord Jesus is everywhere, but here in church we can clearly hear his words of love and compassion. And this gives love and compassion for others. Perhaps this is taught in the Lord’s Prayer. After the words “Give us this day our daily bread” there are the words that pray for other people, “and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” When the walls of sin and grievance are broken down, true love and compassion can flow. That happens from God to us, and then from God through us to others.

Jesus took a few loaves of bread and fed the multitude. In baptism, the Holy Spirit can take a few drops of water and give us complete forgiveness and eternal salvation. In the Lord’s Supper, a small piece of bread and a sip of wine give us the infinite blessings of his body that was hung on the cross and the forgiveness and new life of his blood that was shed on the cross. That is because in the One Man Jesus Christ, the love of God for all the people in the whole world was shown in his death and resurrection. Jesus shed just a few pints of blood, but it was enough to forgive the sin of the world. That is the measurement of God’s love and compassion.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church

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