Are You Hungry? (Aug 6, 2023) Mt. 14.13-21

I am of a certain age that I remember things from 30-40 years ago but cannot remember what I did last week. One of the things that I can remember are old television commercials. I cannot remember where I put my keys, but I sure can tell you the Oscar Mayer jingle. Another jingle that sometimes sticks out in my mind is from a Burger King commercial. The line is “Are you hungry for Burger King now?” as they flash up a picture of a flame broiled Whopper. It made me hungry just watching it. But as I read the scripture for today, I realized that this commercial jingle was just what was needed. You see, I realized that I was indeed hungry. Not for food per se (though I will never turn down a meal) but for something that would satisfy a craving for which I would not name. So, yes, I am hungry. Are you?

The crowds following Jesus knew what hunger was. They were hungering for something that Jesus had and they wanted some of it. He had something that could not be pinned down, something that was just out of reach for the people to grab. but Jesus did not hold it out like the State Farm commercial with the fisherman holding out the dollar for the woman to reach out and grab it (I told you I could remember commercials). Jesus had compassion on those who were following him. He held out what the people wanted and allowed them to take hold.

What was happening here? In the scripture before today’s text, we are told of a banquet. A birthday party really. Herod Antipas’s, the ruler of Galilee, birthday party. There was sumptuous food and wine flowing. There was a foolish oath made and finally a man literally lost his head. John the Baptist was dead. His disciples came and took the body and then told Jesus what happened that night.

Jesus, on hearing that his cousin and fellow in ministry was dead, tried to get away to a deserted place. We are not told if he wanted to go there to mourn, to contemplate what he must have known was coming in his future, or if he just needed a break from all that was going on around him. All we know is that he wanted to get away for some alone time.

So, he took a boat and went from one side of the lake to the other. But the people, the crowds that were following him for healing and teaching, found out about it and followed him. In fact, they were so quick, that they met Jesus when he came ashore. That tells you something of the crowd. That they saw something in this man that made them want more of what he was willing to give.

Jesus sees the crowd and has compassion for them. Now, this is a special word in the Second Testament. Compassion for us is a feeling of tenderness. We feel it in our hearts. The meaning here is that he felt the compassion in his gut. That place where if something hits you, you feel it. Jesus had compassion that came from the place where he would feel it the most. And because of that compassion, he heals the people. They walked, or were carried, and they came away healed. This is for what they hungered. And their hunger was satisfied.

But the evening came, and the people were still there. The disciples, showing their care for the crowd, said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”[1] Thery knew there was nothing around, no Burger King, no McDonald’s, no Hardee’s, nothing. They would have sent the people to the villages which would have overwhelmed those there because this was a large crowd, and the villages would not have been able to be hospitable to those coming. So, the people who were hungry for healing are now getting hungry for food.

Jesus turns the disciples cares on their head. He tells them that the people do not have to go away. The disciples are to give them food. See, the you in the text is emphatic, sort of like putting it in italics when we read a text. The disciples are to bring food to feed all these people.

Now the disciples are at a loss. They cannot feed all these people. They tell Jesus this by saying that they only have five loaves and two fish, barely enough to feed themselves, let alone all those gathered around them. Have you ever felt like this? Have you heard God speaking to you telling you to go and do something that you expect someone else to do? There is a saying that someone prayed to God about why God allowed hatred, racism, sexism, hunger and more and what was God going to do about it all? To which God replies, “Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing.” As disciples (and we are disciples) we are not off the hook in taking care of those around us. This is why we have the Blessing Box. This is why we have a missions line in our budget. We are called to go and feed the people however that may look to us and to the people gathered around us. And when we say we have nothing but a few loaves and fish, we are still not off the hook. Why? Let us look at what Jesus did.

Jesus tells them to bring the food to him then to have the crowd gathered to sit down in the grass. Then he looks to heaven and blesses the food like a good host would do. Breaking the bread (the fish somehow fall out of the story at this point), Jesus then gives it to the disciples who in turn give it to the crowd.

You should know the rest of the story. There was enough. Enough that there were twelve baskets filled with the leftover food. Enough to feed five thousand men, plus the women and children with them (so when we call it the feeding of the five thousand, we are off by about half the number fed). We like to think of the leftovers as God providing so much abundance that there were leftovers. Douglas Hare says that perhaps it was a very narrow margin, akin to having one package of hot dogs leftover at a family reunion. There was just enough. He says that this “…suggests that God will provide with little to spare, but there must be no greed or waste, or some will go hungry.”[2]How often is there enough to go around but someone wants more and so there is hoarding or taking more than is necessary and someone loses out, usually the poor or minorities? God is calling us to realize that God will give enough, we must realize it and make sure that we do not get greedy and take more. An illustration of that comes from scholar Craig Keener. He sat down once and figured up all that he needed to live for one year. He discovered that unless a miracle occurred that he would be on the street shortly. So, he prayed to God and told God the situation. He then got a call from a publisher asking him to do a book for them with a contract for the EXACT amount that he needed for the time frame. God provided with no more and no less, just as he had provided for the people with a little left over for those who might have come in late.

Are you hungry? For what do you hunger? Is it physical hunger? is it spiritual hunger? What is it for which you are hungry? God will provide for what you hunger. Today we sit at the table where God will provide a feast for us. It may not seem like a lot, a tiny square of bread and tiny amount of juice, but it will be enough. Enough to remind us of the bread of life that was given for us. Enough to remind us that there was a sacrifice to sate our spiritual hunger for what we needed that only God could provide.

But sometimes we need to be reminded that we are to go out and give the people food. That it is our job to take the bread blessed by God and to take it to those outside our four walls. We need to get out of the mentality that we only have enough for our needs and we say that it is not enough. God will take what little we have and multiply it if only we give it to God to use for what God calls us to do.

Are you hungry? Do you identify with the crowds and look for the sating of physical hunger? Or do identify with the disciples who needed their spiritual hunger sated? Are you hungry? Come the feast is waiting. Amen.

[1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989. Print. [2]Hare, Douglas R. A. Matthew, Interpretation, a Bible commentary for teaching and preaching. Louisville, John Knox Press, 1993. 167.