The Kingdom Come

The feeding of the 5,000!  Imagine that!  5,000 people invading Jesus’ life at a time when he wanted to be alone.  Jesus had just received the news that John the Baptist was dead.  And he chose to retreat to a quiet place – as was his custom from time to time.  But the people saw where he was headed in the boat, and they went to that place on foot.  When he saw them, Jesus’ heart was filled with pity and he healed their sick.

And then, it grew evening time.  And the people were hungry.  And what were they to do?

This is the grandiose picture of a miracle – the feeding of the 5,000.  A story that is told in all four of the Gospels – in fact, it is the only story told in all four of them.  And, if that’s not enough, if that doesn’t get the point across, then the author of Matthew tells the story twice!

Well, whether you accept what is written here literally, or maintain – as some do – that the act of the one who gave the five loaves and two fish (a little boy it tells us in John’s Gospel) caused others to share what they had hidden under their tunics, the result is the same:  we are involved here in a miracle!  Or, shall we say, we are involved here in the breaking in of the Kingdom!  Remember, that was the message brought by both Jesus and John the Baptist.

And, if we check out what at first seems to be the same story in Matthew 15 (vss. 32-40), we find there are seven fish, 4,000 who are fed, and seven baskets left over.  But scholars suggest that this is the Gentile version of the story.   So, as Luther would say, what does this mean – this seven?  Does it mean enough?  Does the author of the Gospel of Matthew imply anything by suggesting twelve baskets leftover at the Jewish meal and seven leftover from the Gentile version of the story?

I don’t know.  Probably.  But I’m going to leave those questions with you to contemplate.  For today, I repeat, that the point of fact we are dealing with is that we are here involved in a miracle.

We are wrestling with the fact that God is at work in the world – either by multiplying food or by moving hearts to share.

Now, there is a point here that we often tend to overlook.  That is that Jesus used his miraculous powers as a matter of fact.

The miracles we have recorded in scriptures were never meant to be proof that he was the son of God.

For Jesus, then, the feeding of the five thousand was a matter-of-fact miracle.  Not done for any evangelical purpose, but simply to feed the people.  There was no prior announcement that said: “Now the Lord will multiply these fish and loaves of bread so that you will all be able to eat, and have

faith.”  In fact, more than likely, the only ones who knew a miracle was taking place at all were those who were closest to him, his disciples.

In a sense then, because the event is recorded so many times in our Gospels, and because the numbers are so large – 5,000 or 4,000 – it becomes almost incomprehensible for us … it becomes a miracle of grandiose proportions.  When, in fact, it may truly have been a simple expression of the breaking in of God’s Kingdom.  The Kingdom come!

With that in mind then, we can ask ourselves, how many such miracles, recognized and unrecognized, occurred during his life that are unknown to us … and maybe, even more important to us, how many such miracles, recognized and unrecognized, continue to occur today in each of our own lives?

I am convinced that there are many that do not even begin to intrude upon our awareness but never-the-less, they continue to bolster, support, redirect, and even restructure the realities in which we live.

Then again, there are those simple events that we do recognize – and wonder about – and understand to be the breaking in of the Kingdom in our lives, and into our world.  You know, those small events that impact our lives, and the lives of those around us, when we least expect them.

In the Gospel story for today, we are encouraged – and invited – to leave space in our lives and in our understanding for the breaking in of the Kingdom!  You see, when we focus our attention on the question, “Did it really happen?”, I believe that we tend to miss the whole point of what Jesus was doing!

Now, Matthew’s story reminds me of another young man, 13 years old at the time, who read about Dr. Albert Schweitzer’s missionary work in Africa. He wanted to help. He had enough money to buy one bottle of aspirin. He wrote to the Air Force and asked if they could fly over Dr. Schweitzer’s hospital and drop the bottle down to him. A radio station broadcast the story about this young fellow’s concern for helping others. Others responded as well. Eventually, he was flown by the government to Schweitzer’s hospital along with 4 1/2 tons of medical supplies worth $400,000 freely given by thousands of people. This, of course, would be the equivalent of millions of dollars today. When Dr. Schweitzer heard the story, he said, “I never thought one child could do so much.”

Well, our story from scripture for today is about a young man who didn’t have much. But what he did have, he offered to Christ. And thousands of hungry people were fed.* 

We can “feed them” in other ways, too.  Sometimes he breaking in of the Kingdom happens unexpectedly.

I share a couple of examples from my personal experiences.  They are of a much smaller magnitude and they involve two different congregations that I have served.

First one:  I was working at my office early in the evening one time.  I was expecting a call from a member by the name of Kathy.  The office phone didn’t have Caller ID.  But, when the phone rang – I picked it up and said: “Hi, Kathy!”  There was this long silence and then I heard a woman’s voice say, “Well, yes, my name is Kathy but I don’t think we know each other.”  It turned out to be a woman who was calling just to see what time our worship services were on Sunday mornings.  It wasn’t long after that phone conversation that Kathy and her husband joined the church.  To my knowledge, they are still members – and she always said it was because I called her by name the first time she called.  The breaking in of the Kingdom, the Kingdom come.  I believe so!

And next, I was thinking one day about a woman who had recently been widowed.  She was the mother of one of our members.  So, I sat down and wrote a little note.  The next Sunday, her daughter was in church.  Her mom lived in another city.  After worship, her daughter came up to me and said:  Did you send my Mom a note last week?  I said, Yes.  And, she asked, did you know that it was her birthday last Friday?  I said, “No, I didn’t.”  To which she replied: “Your note arrived on her birthday.”

Now, I certainly didn’t have any idea that she would receive that card on any kind of a special day in her life – but she did.  The breaking in of the Kingdom, the Kingdom com. I believe it to be so!

Yes, I believe that God uses each of us for the breaking in of God’s Kingdom.  And it happens when we feed the hungry, provide for the homeless, study scripture, send notes, and provide and care for one another.

And now, my last story for this morning:  Tony Campolo is a professor of sociology and a popular speaker. He was once invited to a women’s conference where he was to give a major address. These women were being challenged to raise several thousand dollars for a mission project. While Tony was waiting for his turn to speak, the chairperson turned to him and asked if he would pray for God’s blessing as they considered their individual responses to the goal. The story goes that Tony stood and–to the utter amazement of everyone present–graciously said “no.” He approached the microphone and said, “You already have all the resources necessary to complete this mission project right here within this room. It would be inappropriate to ask for God’s blessing, when in fact God has already blessed you with the abundance and the means to achieve this goal. The necessary gifts are in your hands. As soon as we take the offering and underwrite this mission project, we will thank God for freeing us to be the generous, responsible, and accountable stewards that we’re called to be as Christian disciples.” And they did.  Well, leave it to Tony to hit the nail right on the thumb!*

In our text for today, Jesus says, “You feed them!” And we can! And we do!  The Kingdom come! Amen.

*King Duncan, “You Feed Them!”