Jesus Abundance

Service South Chadderton

Readings.

2Kings 4: 42-44

John 6: 1-21

I would like to firstly move forward in John’s Gospel where we find the day after the provision of food. The people searched for Jesus and set off to Capernaum, when they found him. There is no doubt that Jesus knows they are here in hope of more food, so he begins to teach them who he is and what it means to them and us today in verses John 6: 33-35.

33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

34 “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”

35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

Which brings out the whole idea of the miraculous event of the day before.

The people and the disciples are confused about who Jesus is, they think that he is a prophet some even believe Jesus was Elijah reborn, and when we read the exploits of Elijah, the miracles he performed, it’s no wonder that the people wondered if Jesus was indeed the prophet reborn that they knew of in their past especially when he performs the miracle of feeding them, it takes Peter in Matt 16 to answer Jesus with the statement “You are the Messiah, the son of the living God”

Someone far greater than the prophets of old.

The feeding of the five thousand is one of the most famous of Jesus’s miracles. In fact, it is the only one recorded in all four gospels.

It sets off as an exchange between Jesus and the crowd seeing and dealing with their needs and in a very practical way.

One of the first things that we learn in today’s story is that Jesus is going to feed this crowd even though they are following him for the wrong reasons.

This chapter begins with a large crowd following Jesus, “because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick.” Not because they want to learn from Jesus, or because they have come to believe that he is God’s promised Messiah, but simply because they want to see more miracles.

In today’s story Jesus doesn’t seem to mind why the crowds are there. He sees an opportunity to care for them anyway, and then to teach them about the coming kingdom. And he also sees an opportunity to teach his twelve apostles a lesson, too. A simple but radical lesson, that with Jesus, there is always enough.

He begins by asking one of the twelve, Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” He said this to test them, for he knew what he was about to do.

The disciples hear this question through the lens of scarcity and are quite sure they can’t do anything about this problem. It would take six months wages to buy enough bread for five thousand people, and even if they had the money, who has that much bread to sell?

One of the twelve Andrew says, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” Not enough. Not nearly enough. Five loaves of bread and two fish are not going to feed the thousands of people that are there with Jesus.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that they don’t have enough to feed this crowd. But the problem is that these disciples are looking at this situation from their view their understanding, not as followers of Jesus.

They are convinced that they don’t have enough, because they are focused on what they don’t have. And they are forgetting what they do have. What they do have is Jesus.

Jesus has been performing all of these miracles, And his disciples have been witnessing these amazing displays of his power.

So, why wouldn’t Jesus be able to feed this crowd? The disciples don’t believe that Jesus can. Why?

Because when you look at the world through the lens of scarcity, there is never enough of anything. It is almost as if these disciples are looking at Jesus as a scarce resource, only able to do so much.

And they want to make sure that they use this resource carefully. But Jesus is not a scarce resource! With Jesus, there is always enough!

Jesus doesn’t play by the rules.

And so, in this great story, Jesus teaches us a different way of looking at the world, his way. Through the lens of abundance, not of scarcity. And looking at the world this way changes how you live in the world. When we see the world through the lens of abundance, not scarcity, amazing things can happen.

Come From Away

When I was looking at this reading, I came across a story of what happened in the small town called Gander, in Newfoundland, Canada, after the terrorist attack on 9/11.

Thirty-eight planes in the air were diverted to this small town, almost seven thousand passengers and airline crew members, which was equivalent to two-thirds of the local population.

So, what did they do? Did they panic, thinking they would not have enough food or shelter for these stranded passengers? Did they look at this problem through the lens of scarcity? No, they simply got to work, feeding the seven thousand, housing them, and entertaining them.

It was an inspiring, modern day “feeding of the five thousand story,” in the midst of those terrible events. The people of Gander reminded the world of what can happen when we look through the lens of abundance rather than the lens of scarcity.

Do We Have Enough?

But it’s difficult to do, isn’t it? To look at the world through the lens of abundance? Everything around us teaches us that it’s not true. Even when we have enough, we are taught, in so many ways, that we need more.

The truth is that most of us have enough. We have enough food to eat, enough clothes, homes, and on and on. But very few of us, if we are being honest, really feel as though we have enough. And that is true for most people in our society. And this can create a restlessness, and a feeling of discontent.

Now, of course there are also many people in our country, and in our world that are hungry, that are homeless, and that clearly don’t have enough.

And there are some who wonder whether there isn’t a connection between the two. A connection between the feeling that we don’t have enough, because we are taught to look at the world through the lens of scarcity, and the reality that there are many in our world that really don’t have enough.

Not to pick on any millionaire, but it has been pointed out that if those same millionaires were to put their resources toward feeding the hungry of the world, they could virtually wipe out the problem.

So, why don’t they? Perhaps because even, they don’t believe that they have enough. Or perhaps because they are looking to the next great thing to feed their hunger, When will they have enough wealth? Our world teaches us that the answer is never. Even they will never have enough.

There is a thought-provoking little book written by Monika Hellwig called “The Eucharist and the Hunger of the World.” And in this book, she connects the spiritual hunger that we all have with the physical hunger that many others have. She writes:

“The deep, deep need that each of us has to be called forth into the fullness of being by creative love, often makes itself felt in a hunger to be worthwhile, to be valued or appreciated, to have a purpose or goal in life. It has been observed in the contemporary world that those who most insistently complain as adults of finding that hunger unfulfilled, are also those who individually or collectively are amassing and hoarding and wasting so much of the material resources of the world, that others are kept on the verge of starvation in greater numbers.”

As long as we look at the world through the lens of scarcity, we will never have enough.

And as long as we seek to feed our spiritual hunger with the things of this world, we will never find that hunger fulfilled. Today’s gospel reading, is intended to teach us both of these fundamental truths.

That with Jesus, there is always enough.

And without Jesus, there is never enough.

By the way, did you notice that in today’s gospel reading, the first thing that Jesus does with the five loaves of bread is to give thanks? He is not worried about what he doesn’t have. He is thankful for what he does. And after giving thanks, he gives out the bread and fish to the five thousand and they had as much as they wanted. They all ate their fill. And then, later he began to teach them what it all means.

For now, it is perhaps enough to simply remember that with Jesus, there is always enough. We may not feel as though we have enough. Enough wealth. Or enough time. Or even enough faith. Or enough hope. Sometimes, it may seem like all we have is a couple of loaves of bread, a few fish, and thousands to feed. What can we accomplish with that?

But this gospel miracle is there to remind us that what we have is much more than five loaves and two fish. What we have is Jesus. And Jesus is always enough. Jesus is always willing to take whatever little gifts we are willing to share, and bless them, and us, as we share them with the world.

And Jesus makes sure that it is always enough.

Closing

I suppose you could call this “gospel economics.” With Jesus, there is always enough. Without Jesus, there is never enough. With Jesus, five loaves of bread and two fish is more than enough to feed five thousand.

And, in fact, just to emphasize his point, Jesus made sure that there was more than enough. Twelve baskets of leftovers. We clearly worship a God of abundance, not scarcity. This is the miracle of the gospel. This is the joy at the heart of our faith. We need to hold onto the fact that with Jesus there is always enough. Enough love. Enough hope. Enough grace. Enough faith. And enough time, talent, and treasure. Enough of all that matters, and all that our world hungers for.

So come to Jesus, wherever you are today, and be fed with the living bread from heaven, which alone can feed your hungry souls. And then go, in the name of Jesus, to feed the hungry of our world with the bread of life. Share what you have – your faith, hope, and love, and your time, talent, and treasure. And never doubt that with Jesus, what we have, and what we give, will always be more than enough. Thanks be to God. Amen