The 10th Sunday after Pentecost 2024
Texts: John 6:1-21; Ephesians 3:14-21
Among the estimated 37 miracles performed by Jesus are the two for this morning—the feeding of the 5,000 and his walking on water. One of my Bible dictionaries defines a miracle as “an extraordinary event perceived to be the result of the direct, purposeful action of God or an agent of God.”
God has intervened where we human beings would ordinarily see the limitations of nature. Five barley loaves and two fish are not ordinarily enough to feed 5,000 people. People do not ordinarily walk on top of a sea.
Each of these miracles has something to teach us about God.
First, let’s look at the context of the first miracle. It is one of the few miracles included in all 4 Gospel accounts. The feeding of the 5,000 occurs just before the most important Jewish holy day of Passover. On the first night of Passover a ceremonial feast is held within a liturgy of the reading of sacred scripture and prayer, celebrating the liberation of Israel from Egypt and the beginning of their journey to The Promised Land. The Passover meal would have been familiar to the Jewish people in the crowd, which we believe would have been most of them.
The Passover occurs during the warm months of spring in Israel. A large crowd had been gathering throughout the day in a remote area on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Toward the end of the day they would have begun to be hungry, but there was no food, or money to buy enough food if there had been any place to buy it.
Yet, the people had not been asking for food. They were following Jesus because they had other, more important concerns. The crowd was following him because they had seen or heard of the healing Jesus was bringing to the sick. So, they had brought their own sick friends and family, the lame, the palsied, the blind, deaf, and those possessed by demons, hoping for a miracle. Though Philip and Andrew were skeptical that 5 barley loaves and 2 fish could feed thousands of people, they asked the people to sit down for a meal.
What came from the meager 5 loaves and 2 fish was more than enough, because it came from Jesus himself, it came from God. It was like the manna that sustained the Hebrews in the desert during the Exodus. Jesus was pouring out to the people what they needed the most, and it was not simply food. That day Jesus shared himself with the people—something much more important than bread and fish. He taught them about the Kingdom of God.
Where God is present in His creation, where He mixes the heavenly with the earthly, the holy with the profane, that is where He shares himself with us personally. This is the Holy Eucharist.
Most of us know when we are hungry for food. Our stomach might growl or we might feel a little dizzy. Some folks get irritable when they are hungry. When we haven’t eaten for a long while, we might begin to feel weak. We just know what we need most is food, and after a while it doesn’t matter what that food is. You and I can’t imagine being desperate enough to resort to cannibalism to survive, but some have. We all know we need some kind of food to live.
But, do we know or realize when we are hungry for God?
Babies cry when they are physically hungry. As adults, when we have an unsatisfied hunger for God, we are not at peace within ourselves, and are often at odds with others. The things we think will satisfy us, leave us empty. We have great desires, but are often confused about priorities.
In his Letter to the Ephesians Paul expresses what it feels like to have our deepest hunger fed by God. “I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with the power of his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.”
Being filled with the riches of God’s glory, strengthened with the power of his Spirit, with Christ dwelling in our hearts, we are rooted and grounded in love. Our soul resonates with God. This is something more important and enduring than food for the belly.
While the first miracle had to do with hunger, the second has to do with fear. These are two of the most primal motivators. Which of the two has a greater hold over us? Hunger or fear?
The disciples were in a boat crossing the Sea of Galilee when a great wind come up, and the boat was being tossed by waves and swamped by water. Though they had been rowing and making some progress, they had only gone 3 or 4 miles. Their great effort was not enough. They were still not in a place of safety.
Jesus came to them walking on the water, saying, “It is I, do not be afraid.” He knew how terrified they were, what was in their hearts, and knowing what they needed most in that situation was the peace of God, and he gave them what they most needed, passage to a place of peace and safety.
In 1736 the great Anglican John Wesley was traveling across the Atlantic in a ship with German Moravians when the ship hit rough seas, and it was in danger of sinking. Though Wesley was a devout Christian, he was truly terrified. Yet, the Moravians were calm and singing hymns throughout the storm.
When the trip ended, Wesley asked the Moravian leader about his serenity, and the Moravian responded with a question: Did he, Wesley, have faith in Christ? Wesley said he did, but later reflected, “I fear they were vain words.”
This crossing brought a dramatic change in Wesley. He realized he had been living as a Christian in name only. How often have we, when faced with a terrifying situation, forgotten to turn to God? The Moravians immediately turned to prayer out of habit. What is the value of a faith that exists in our hearts only in good times?
The phrase ‘be not afraid’ or ‘have no fear’ or ‘fear not’ occurs at least 80 times throughout the Bible. It is the most commonly repeated phrase in the Bible. God often uses these words to comfort His people in times of fear and distress. In those moments fear is replaced with calm acceptance of the protection of God.
These two miracles this morning, the feeding of the 5,000 and Jesus walking on the sea, remind us that God is involved in the lives of His people, that Christ came to share the fullness of God with us, and this is a love that rescues us from fear and feeds us deeply with lasting peace. We remember that God’s love is a perfect love that casts out all fear and satisfies our deepest hunger. Amen.
