Trinity Episcopal Church
Towson, MD
Year A - Proper 13 - August 3, 2014
Click here for the Lectionary Readings
Almost the whole month of July, we heard stories of sowers
and seeds, and fields, pearls of great value and fishing nets… all the images that Jesus uses in his
parables to describe what the kingdom of God is like...
Last week, Sara even took us through a wonderful litany of
what the kingdom of God may be like… and then challenged us to think about what
the kingdom may be like for us, in our day and time… We have heard a lot about
what the Kingdom of God may be like – but I like to think of the kingdom as the
very best thing that I could ever imagine, actually better than the best thing
I could ever imagine.
Jesus takes us away from his parables and descriptions of
the Kingdom, away from the phrases ‘the kingdom of God is Like…” to a place
away… he gets into a boat and withdraws
to a deserted place by himself. He goes off to get away in order to rest and
recuperate.
However, Jesus has gained a reputation as a great healer and
the crowds don’t leave him alone. They follow him on foot to the place where he
is, and he has compassion for them and heals their sick. We need to understand
that this was an enormous crowd, almost of an unimaginable in size = five
thousand men plus women and children.
It was getting late in the day, so the disciples came to
Jesus and told him to send the crowds away so the people could go and get
something to eat in the nearby villages and towns… but Jesus, does the
unimaginable and tells the disciples not to send them away, but for them to
give them something to eat.
The disciples scurry around and gather up what provisions
they can find among themselves. The disciples come up with 5 loaves and 2 fish…
barely enough for the 12, let alone a crowd of thousands. And then, in a very simple
act, Jesus takes what is given to him, gives thanks, and distributes it among
the multitudes.
There was no show… no lightning bolts from heaven or booming
thunder. Just a simple act of thanksgiving and then giving…
When we studied this scripture this week in our clergy Bible
Study on Wednesday morning, I asked the question. “what is the miracle?” I was
trying to go deeper into the scripture and take a story that seems so familiar
and try to understand what Jesus wants us to learn…
The miracle could have been just that Jesus simply took what
was given and made it enough to satisfy everyone… Or it could have been that
Jesus caused more bread and fish to appear… Or it could have been that the
gesture was so bold, that Jesus and the disciples were so willing to give everything
that they had for the benefit of others… that people gave of themselves to
provide for others. Thereby causing the miracle of the breaking forth of the kingdom
of God.
However, what I think actually happened is irrelevant. The
truth in the act of the feeding of the multitudes was that enough was made out
of very scarce resources. Enough for 5000 men, and women and children. Enough,
that after it was distributed and everyone got their fill, 12 baskets of scraps
were collected.
In the previous weeks, we heard a lot about what the kingdom
of God is like… but this morning, we actually get a glimpse of that very kingdom
breaking forth into this world.
The Kingdom of God is right here in front of us and we get a
very vivid picture of what the world should be as the Kingdom of God breaks
forth… and everyone has enough regardless of who they are. There is no more ‘the
kingdom of God is like…’Because we are living it and experiencing it through
the account of Jesus feeding the multitudes.
The people are gathered together… there, in a deserted
place, unknowingly seated at the foot of the creator of the universe… and he
makes no claim to his authority or majesty, but he gives up everything he has in
order to feed the others around him.
That is what the Kingdom of God is. The kingdom of God is a
Kingdom where the compassionate king gives all for us… The king gives up his
food so that we might have enough to eat. The king, full of love, gives up
everything, even his life, so that we might live and have everlasting life.
Today we leave the parables of the kingdom behind for a
preview of the real thing. And once we have experienced the kingdom, once we
have encountered God, we are like Jacob, and we are forever changed.
