“More Than Enough” – Matt. 14:13-21 – August 3, 2008

This is one of my favorite stories because Jesus escapes the crowds by going for a boat ride. To escape the pressures of life I like to go out on Grand Lake St. Mary’s on my pontoon boat. There is something calming and restful about being on the water, far away from the busyness of life. It’s not uncommon for people to say to me, “Have you been out on your boat lately?” They know the demands of a minister’s life and they know I am refreshed when I am able to get away.

Jesus took a boat trip to a deserted place because he was grieving over the death of John the Baptist, his closest friend. This was a low point for him and he badly needed some private time. But it wasn’t long before the crowds caught up to him. They apparently followed him along the shore. Without an outboard motor Jesus couldn’t have gotten too far from shore. He likely rowed or used a small sail. He wanted to be by himself but he couldn’t help notice the people on the beach.

Last weekend we were out on our pontoon boat and my wife said to look behind us. Following us were some seagulls. They have a habit of following boats since some folks toss them bread crumbs. The motor also stirs up the water which causes small fish and minnows to rise to the surface. You can’t even escape on your pontoon boat without the seagulls looking for food. Perhaps I’m not very compassionate because I don’t throw food to the seagulls. I just want them to go away.

Jesus was compassionate. He put his grief on hold and went ashore. When he saw the crowd he went to them and cured those who were sick. They assembled on the shore to hear him preach. So much for his private little boat trip. When Jesus saw a need he immediately attended to it, especially when it came to people. That was his mission, attending to the needs of others. He put aside his personal agenda because he had compassion.

When you have experienced something painful in your life such as the loss of a loved one the best way to work through your grief is to be compassionate toward others. Our load becomes lighter when we lighten the load of others.

Later that evening the disciples determined it was getting late and the crowds were hungry. They didn’t have a local catering service and there were no fast food restaurants around like MacDonald’s. The disciples suggested that the crowds be sent to nearby villages to get food. Jesus responded by saying, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.”

Do you see the contrast here? Jesus saw a need and he responded. The disciples saw a need and they wanted the crowds to find their own food. To be a follower or disciple of Jesus is to respond to those needs of others that we see. According to the training manual for Ritz Carlton Hotels, employees are encouraged to follow this simple rule: “If you see a problem, you own it?” In other words, you are to take personal responsibility rather than pass it on to someone else. (from Homiletics, August 2008)

In our society the normal thing to do is to say, “It’s not my job,” or, “I don’t have the necessary resources.” We’re good about passing the buck, avoiding opportunities that could meet the needs of others. We would rather spend our energy directing those with needs to the right person, the right agency or the right organization instead of attending to them with our own resources.

In Mark 10:27 it reads, “All things are possible with God.” Yet, we are too much like the disciples, whining about what little we have. We don’t believe in the abundance of God and unfortunately we are defeated before we even try.

We are like the experts in Germany who said that trains that go faster than 15 miles per hour would give people nose bleeds. You laugh. In the United States experts believed that the building of railroads would cause people to go into insane asylums because of the terror of locomotives. Now we are dependent on rail to distribute material around the country.

Jesus refused to let the disciples throw in the towel. He said, “You give them something to eat.” When Jesus challenged the disciples to come to the aid of the crowds they immediately reverted to whining. “We only have five loaves of bread and two fish.” They couldn’t possibly feed the crowd with so little.

We like to criticize the disciples for their lack of faith but we do the same thing. Whenever we face an obstacle or challenge we too respond by saying, “I can’t do that,” or, “We don’t have enough (you fill in the blanks) to accomplish a particular task.” How often do you find yourself saying, “There isn’t enough money, there isn’t enough time, or there isn’t enough energy to meet some need.”

Once again Jesus saw things differently. He believed there was enough food to feed the crowd. He blessed what little they had and then told them to distribute it. Surprise! Everyone was fed and there was twelve baskets left over.

We see a scarcity of resources, Jesus sees abundance. Why is it so hard for us to see that we have ample resources to do virtually anything? Some are afraid, afraid to let go of what they have. Others care only for themselves. The rest don’t trust that God will provide. Notice that Jesus didn’t perform any magic here. Jesus simply blessed what there was. By blessing the five loaves and two fish he acknowledged that God would find a way to feed the crowd and God did.

One time three young men were each given three kernels of corn by a wise man. He admonished the men to go into the world and use the corn to bring themselves good fortune. The first young man put his three kernels of corn into a bowl of hot broth and ate them. The second man thought, “I can do better than that.” He planted his three kernels of corn. Within a few months, he had three stalks of corn. He took the ears of corn, boiled then and had enough to eat for three meals.

The third man said to himself, “I can do better than that.” He planted his three kernels of corn, but when the three talks of corn grew and matured, he stripped one of the ears of corn and replanted all the seeds. He gave the second ear of corn to a sweet maiden and he ate the third. The ear of corn that he planted produced 200 stalks. He planted the kernels from then and set aside only a small portion to eat. He eventually had one hundred acres of corn. With his fortune, he not only won the hand of the sweet maiden but he purchased the land owned by her father. And, he never hungered again. (from God’s Little Devotional Book, Class of 2001, Honor Books)

When we change our attitudes about what we have the multitudes can be fed. We can either be grateful to God for those things we see or we can think only of ourselves and miss an opportunity to be a blessing to feed those around us. “Nothing is impossible with God.”

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio