Proper 12, Yr B (2024) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield

Proper 12, Yr B (2024)                                                                      The Rev. Karen C. Barfield

John 6:1-21                                                                                   St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church

In the name of the one, holy, and living God:

            in whom we live, and move, and have our being.  Amen.

Today we hear two miracle stories from the gospel of John.

In John’s gospel Jesus knows exactly who he is: the Son of God…

            but the disciples are still trying to figure things out.

Just like, perhaps, we’re still trying to figure things out,

            and by that, I mean that perhaps we are still trying to figure out

       how the power of God shows up in our lives.

The first miracle story in today’s gospel is the feeding of the 5,000.

In it, Jesus takes five barley loaves and two fish and feeds 5,000 people, and…

after all are filled,

       they have 12 baskets full of leftovers.

Now, that’s quite a story!

It’s the kind of story that some might call a tall tale or a local legend.

The task at hand of feeding 5,000 people is so great

that Philip says to Jesus

       that it would take more than someone saving their wages for six months

to feed so many people.

In other words, Jesus,

there’s no way this is gonna happen with 5 loaves and 2 fish!

To make sense of this story,

a number of different interpretations have been offered over the years.

Some people have rationalized this story by saying that Jesus broke the loaves and the fish into such tiny little pieces that everyone was able to be fed. 

I’m not sure how that would work physically unless the two fish were a couple of whales,

            and the barley loaves…

                        well, it just doesn’t seem plausible.

A second way to hear this story is that yes,

there were five loaves and two fish,

      which were broken and shared with the crowd. 

Yet, in addition to the little boy’s loaves and fishes,

 everyone else had also brought with them a little snack,

tucked away in their tunics,

which they pulled out when it was time to eat…

         thus feeding the masses and having food left over after the meal.

It seems that our minds want to figure out what really happened…

            there must be some logical explanation.

A final interpretation, of course,

is that God worked through Jesus and ordinary stuff,

       like bread and fish,

  to perform a miracle!

The second miracle story is that of Jesus walking on water.

The disciples were going across the sea at night

and after rowing a few miles

       they see Jesus walking on the water toward them.

At first they are terrified…

            perhaps they thought he was a ghost!

But when he tells them who he is,

            that he is Jesus (aka God incarnate),

       their fear subsides.

And as they go to take him into the boat,

they find that they are on the shore.

Some folks who try to explain this story of Jesus walking on the water

say that Jesus was really walking on the shore,

        but since it was dark out,

the disciples couldn’t see exactly where they were,

     so it simply appeared that Jesus was walking on the water.

Hence, there is no miracle here, either.

I wonder why we are so reluctant to hear the miracle…

            to see the miracle…

       to expect the miracle?!

Over and over again, we hear gospel stories of crowds of people seeking out Jesus --

            and a miracle…

     or at least healing that they have not found yet through any other avenue in their lives.

God, through Jesus, feeds 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish.

Jesus took five loaves and two fish –

            gave thanks for them –

     and fed everyone who was hungry.

That’s what God does.

We hear it over and over in Scripture.

God takes what seems hopeless

            and turns it into life….

God took Abram and Sarai,

old and barren,

       and created a whole people.

God took Moses,

a man who had murdered someone,

       and used him to lead people from captivity into freedom.

God took a young, unwed woman

            to give birth to the Son of God.

God turned a shameful death on a cross

            into a life of resurrection.

God takes five loaves and two fish

and feeds 5,000.

God uses that which is small and insignificant,

            or even that which is lost and broken,

       to create new life.

God can take the meager offerings of the people of God

            to feed the deep needs of the world,

       if we are willing.

The Good News is that God uses our “little” things

and not just our grand accomplishments

      to feed those who hunger for God. 

God can use even our broken places to bring healing.

So the question for us is this:

Can we take and offer what we have…

        and expect the miraculous?!

Our society teaches us that only those who accomplish BIG things are the “winners….” 

only those with great wealth or intelligence or any particular, spectacular gift.

But God tells us that ALL participate in the building of the kindom…

even using those “little gifts” we have that we don’t even notice…

      like five barley loaves and two fish in the midst of 5,000 hungry people.

Do we expect that God,

in the words of Paul,

      can accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine?

So, when we hear God ask us:

            What do you have to offer?

And our response is:

            “I have nothing but….”

Then God can say,

            “Excellent. 

Bring it here,

            give thanks,

and let’s get to work.”

So, I invite you to check your knapsack…

            and your hearts,

     and offer what you have for God, through you, to feed the Kindom.

And who knows…

there just might be a miracle waiting around the corner.

Amen.