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A sermon is a manner of oral communication and therefore words and sentence structure/order would be added, altered, or deleted at the moment of delivery. + In Nomine Jesu + The Rev. Evan Gaertner Our Gospel readings for the past three weeks had been a telling of Jesus and his parables which showed what the Jesus had identified himself with the mission of John the Baptist saying, "Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist…and if you are willing to accept it, he Elijah who is to come." (Matthew 11:11;14). But now more recently Herod has beheaded John the Baptist. The connection between Jesus and John the Baptist was not lost on Herod. When Herod heard reports of Jesus ministry he said, "This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him." (Mt 14:1-2). When Jesus heard the news of John the Baptist being beheaded by Herod, he withdrew in a boat to a desolate place. The crowds heard about Jesus' movements and followed him. When Jesus saw the great crowds he had compassion upon them and healed their sick. In the midst of that desolate, empty place, Jesus saw the people and their need. The challenge to this unexpected fellowship in the wilderness occurs when the real world concerns enter back onto the scene. The disciples come up to Jesus and tell him, "This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves." The disciples maybe considered that they had gone to the desolate place to avoid the powers of Herod. They are in a self-preservation mode. There in a desolate place they couldn't conceive of trying to help the hungry crowds, they needed to take care of themselves. So they forget any consideration of fellowship. The wilderness was a place not for ministry or self-giving to the crowds. This kind of helplessness on the part of the disciples is ironic considering that Jesus had spent the whole day having compassion upon the crowds and healing the sick. But as evening approached they did not consider the power of Jesus up to the possibility of making a difference. They were helpless so they were going to send the crowds back to the villages to fend for themselves. This kind of helpless overtakes us when the responsibilities of this world overwhelm us. Have you known this feeling of emptiness. You don't need to have been to the desert to know the feeling of being in a desolate place. I know people can be in the middle of a large crowd and feel remote from everyone around them. A new father under the burden of trying to get his own life in order and at the same time being responsible for the new life that God has given to him can feel suddenly he is helpless in a desolate place. The disciples were going to send the crowds away to fend for themselves. A man stuck in a destructive lifestyle will struggle to see the responsibilities around and give up on everybody else. A high school student that struggles in the midst of getting bumped around in the hallways will be blind to those that can help and offer him fellowship. He will feel alone even when surrounded by people trying to help him. Those disciples in the desolate place could not see the possibility of the compassion of Jesus to bring fellowship, community, to those crowds. Although the disciples had physically withdrawn from the power centers of Herod, spiritually their hearts were still connected to Herod. They were withdrawn from relying upon Jesus and felt helpless. Their hearts were turned in on themselves and so they asserted that the crowds should buy food for themselves. The idea being that when in the wilderness, fellowship is secondary to helping oneself. In times of crisis how ready are we to seek ways to bring fellowship, gathering, community, or instead self-preservation, looking out for own backs. We hope that in times struggle we will stick together and reach out and help one another. But how big is that circle of aid? When Jesus entered that desolate place he saw the crowds and had compassion upon them. When the disciples saw evening approaching they did not see the see the crowds and have compassion. Instead they tightened the circle of comfort around themselves and pushed the crowds out to the villages to buy food for themselves. How big are you ready to make the circle of comfort at a time of crisis? Are you able to reach out and include the crowds? Are you able to reach out and see the stranger, the enemy, the outcast and include them? The real threat to the disciples and to all of us is not from withdrawing from the powers of this world. The disciples were rather successful in physically withdrawing from Herod. When it finally did become time to arrest Jesus the In our own lives at moments of crisis were do we turn towards? In the Lord's Prayer we ask our Father in heaven to give us this day our daily bread. He is the true provider of all things to just and unjust alike, but in this prayer we seek that we may faithfully trust in our Lord to be our provider. It is a first commandment issue in today's Gospel lesson. Are the disciples able to trust in the one true God above all things or helpless will they turn to the power of Herod to satisfy the hungry heart? Although Jesus' disciples in no way deserved it, Jesus shows compassion upon them and their helplessness. Jesus invites them to bring whatever they have to him. There in the desolate place where the disciples had given up Jesus takes whatever they could muster and blesses it. There in that blessing as he looked up to heaven and gave thanks he made the disciples meager offering his own offering. Think of how Jesus hung upon that cross and took our sins upon himself and looked up to heaven and offered them as his own. Jesus takes our emptiness and helpless hearts and makes them his own. In bonding himself to us Jesus makes holy what we have debased. What is unjust, our sinful flesh, our empty hearts, our cold eyes, our withheld hands of comfort, Jesus takes and uses them to work justice, righteousness, compassion, mercy, salvation. Jesus sat the crowds down and had the disciples feed them. Jesus not only satisfied their evening meal, he provided them with the fellowship in the wilderness that the disciples had withheld. Even more than conquering their hunger with food, Jesus conquered the disciples' unbelief with his compassion, his faithfulness, with his cross and resurrection. In the Lord's Supper Christ draws us to himself. He takes the meager offering of bread and wine, they no one would expect to satisfy a hungry heart, and through his word turns them into his very body and blood. He provides the fellowship in our wilderness that we desperately need. He provides forgiveness of sins, salvation and life. He brings us into his circle of comfort. Where we are used to drawing lines between rich and poor, black and white, enemy and friend, stranger and neighbor, Jesus draws us all to himself to satisfy the hungry heart. When Jesus encouraged the disciples to give them something to eat he was not turning them into themselves to discover resources. He was directing them to be his disciples, to be his followers and so to bring the crowds to him instead of sending them away. Jesus on the outskirts of Jesus came to you in your emptiness and brought his compassion. Through the blessing of Jesus bring to those moments of wilderness, emptiness, alone that others may know the compassion of Jesus. As Jesus has fed you, go and give them something to eat, give them to the good news of salvation. Soli Deo Gloria -->> Home |