SPEAKER_00: The Holy Gospel according to Matthew, the fourteenth chapter.
SPEAKER_00: Now, when Jesus heard about the beheading of John the Baptist, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself.
SPEAKER_00: But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.
SPEAKER_00: When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion for them and cured their sick.
SPEAKER_00: When it was evening the disciples came to him and said, This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late.
SPEAKER_00: Send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus said to them, They need not go away.
SPEAKER_00: You give them something to eat.
SPEAKER_00: They replied, We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish, and he said, Bring them here to me.
SPEAKER_00: Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.
SPEAKER_00: Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds, and all ate and were filled, and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full.
SPEAKER_00: And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
SPEAKER_00: This is the gospel of the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: You may be seated.
SPEAKER_00: From the one who was, is, and is to come.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: When I read this passage from Matthew, I think, where's Grandma Nancy when you need her?
SPEAKER_00: Because when Grandma Nancy travels, she always packs sandwiches and snacks.
SPEAKER_00: Just ask my boys who've traveled with her that she's got those sandwiches and those apple slices and everything ready to go, including when you're gonna fly on a plane, and it might take a bit longer for Grandma Nancy to get through uh to get through to her actual flight.
SPEAKER_00: But the boys grumble until their stomachs are grumbling.
SPEAKER_00: And then they're like, oh yeah, that sandwich from Grandpa Nancy tastes pretty good.
SPEAKER_00: Those other snacks were so glad that it took a little longer to get through security because now we have some food to eat.
SPEAKER_00: This story from Matthew could use a Grandma Nancy.
SPEAKER_00: Because what kind of person travels when they know they're gonna go past mealtime and doesn't bring anything to eat, especially when there isn't a gas station or a convenience store or a fast food restaurant along the way.
SPEAKER_00: Well, what kind of person would that be?
SPEAKER_00: Apparently it's the disciples.
SPEAKER_00: Because really the crowd that followed Jesus on that day, they we aren't told that they're grumbling about being hungry.
SPEAKER_00: It's the disciples who suddenly look around them and they look at all of these people who are there, 5,000 plus women and children, and they're thinking, Jesus, this is a deserted place.
SPEAKER_00: It's late in the day.
SPEAKER_00: You should probably send them away and tell them to come back tomorrow because they need to go take care of themselves.
SPEAKER_00: And that would have been easier to do.
SPEAKER_00: Everybody go, go find something to eat.
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe Jesus could have just done something himself right then and there.
SPEAKER_00: And yet Jesus turns to the disciples and says, You give them something to eat.
SPEAKER_00: And then in my mind, I have the disciples looking around and going, Grandma Nancy, where's Grandma Nancy?
SPEAKER_00: Or somebody like that.
SPEAKER_00: Because really, what kind of person forgets to bring food on a trip that goes past mealtime?
SPEAKER_00: But you think of all those people, along with the disciples, who are along following Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And maybe then you know what kind of person would forget to bring food for that journey.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's a person who is so focused on the one called Jesus that they aren't thinking of anything else.
SPEAKER_00: This one called Jesus who has eyes of compassion to heal and to feed them.
SPEAKER_00: Because Jesus's very actions flow out of that compassion.
SPEAKER_00: We are told he saw a great crowd and he had compassion on them, and he cured the sick.
SPEAKER_00: You see, this miracle story is found in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
SPEAKER_00: And it's a story that surprises us, it's a story that comforts us, and it's probably a story that makes us uncomfortable as well.
SPEAKER_00: It's surprising because there Jesus is.
SPEAKER_00: He wants to go away to a deserted place.
SPEAKER_00: He needs time by himself.
SPEAKER_00: He just heard the news of the beheading of his family and friend, John the Baptist.
SPEAKER_00: And yet the disciples are with him, and 5,000 plus of his closest friends that also decided to go along with him.
SPEAKER_00: And then this story does provide comfort because even though he goes away and he wants to have that time to pray on his own, he still has compassion on them.
SPEAKER_00: He still cures some of the sick.
SPEAKER_00: It would have been easy for him to turn his back and turn away from their need.
SPEAKER_00: Because really, what were they all doing there anyway in that deserted place?
SPEAKER_00: And yet he turns into their need.
SPEAKER_00: But this story could also make us a bit uncomfortable.
SPEAKER_00: Because Jesus doesn't simply take care of things on his own, he works through the disciples.
SPEAKER_00: He turns to them and he wants them not to turn away from the people's need, but he wants them to turn into their need as well.
SPEAKER_00: And when I think about people who are hungry, I think often of the meal that we are about to take today in worship.
SPEAKER_00: This meal at Jesus' table.
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes we get caught up in the details of things as well.
SPEAKER_00: And I've had times in different churches, not this one, so I'm not saying Luther Memorial, where when we start to set this table, people get caught up in making sure things are in the correct place, and I know why they want to do that.
SPEAKER_00: The Altar Guild many times, they want to make sure that the table is set for the guests who are coming.
SPEAKER_00: They want to show hospitality.
SPEAKER_00: But in one particular place that I was at, it got to be that it was so worried, they were so worried about where everything was that they started to get mad at each other and get mad at the congregation.
SPEAKER_00: And so I turned to them and I said, Well, you know, those are all good things to be worried about.
SPEAKER_00: But did everybody get fed today?
SPEAKER_00: And they said, Well, yes, everybody got communion.
SPEAKER_00: Then we did our job.
SPEAKER_00: We could set the table differently, we could have people come up the aisles differently, but as long as everybody gets fed, then we have done our job.
SPEAKER_00: Because there are many things that can distract us, but the purpose of this table is to be fed by Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Because Jesus says to us as well, they need not go away.
SPEAKER_00: You give them something to eat.
SPEAKER_00: So we gather at this table of abundance where there is food for all.
SPEAKER_00: And it is Jesus himself who blesses it and breaks it, and helps us open our eyes to not only to see our own needs, but to see the needs of those around us as well.
SPEAKER_00: Our eyes become clearer and we see one another and we see our community who can be fed by this food that provides sustenance of grace, love, and forgiveness that never runs out.
SPEAKER_00: And so it can make us uncomfortable at times because we may wonder: is there enough for all?
SPEAKER_00: Is there enough of God's abundance for all?
SPEAKER_00: And there is enough.
SPEAKER_00: All may be invited to this table.
SPEAKER_00: And all are invited to all the other tables that we find ourselves in our daily life.
SPEAKER_00: Because there are people who are not only hungry for this meal at Jesus' table, but they are people who are hungry for literal food as well.
SPEAKER_00: And it would be easy to say, send them away, let them take care of themselves.
SPEAKER_00: And yet Jesus calls to us and says, they need not go away.
SPEAKER_00: Give them something to eat.
SPEAKER_00: So what does it look like when we turn into the needs of our neighbors to feed them instead of turning away?
SPEAKER_00: We've experienced that right here in this place when we've collected items for high more and we've had volunteers who've said, I will drive all those supplies to the community of Highmoor after they dealt with storms.
SPEAKER_00: It happens right here in this place when you wonder, what can we do?
SPEAKER_00: Why do people like the noisy offering?
SPEAKER_00: Because it's a way to help fill a need.
SPEAKER_00: And we do the noisy offering to help people in need.
SPEAKER_00: What does it mean?
SPEAKER_00: It looks like filling a blessing box with food outside and collecting items, even though sometimes people put in things that may not be the best item to put in there.
SPEAKER_00: If you've followed Facebook, you realize somebody put in a slightly defrosting old chicken the other day.
SPEAKER_00: You know, maybe not that, it's not a refrigerator, but people's hearts are good because they want to feed their neighbors.
SPEAKER_00: And when that blessing box gets filled, the word is out, and people are hungry and they come by to receive food.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it can bring a headache, but it is sure a joy knowing that you have a crowded table and all are fed.
SPEAKER_00: And it's not unusual for this to make us uncomfortable at times, or for it to create tension, or for us to have to step back and say, wait, the purpose is for all to be fed.
SPEAKER_00: We'll deal with all the other things that come with us.
SPEAKER_00: Because it is a call and it is a command from Jesus, and it is a gift.
SPEAKER_00: When Jesus is there taking the bread, breaking it and blessing it and giving it and saying, This is for you.
SPEAKER_00: This is for all of you.
SPEAKER_00: So we will continue to meet in this place.
SPEAKER_00: We will continue to eat at Jesus' table and to be filled with grace, forgiveness, and love.
SPEAKER_00: And then we will continue to go out into our daily lives and deal with the tension and the messiness of how we feed our neighbors.
SPEAKER_00: And we keep doing that because we are God's people.
SPEAKER_00: And we know that we are called, and we know that we are beloved, and we know that we want the table to be crowded.
SPEAKER_00: Thanks be to God.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.