God Feeds All, People Are Not Expendable. (John 6.1-21)
God Feeds All, People Are Not Expendable
The comedian Jimmy Carr was talking about the feeding of the
five thousand on QI, he said ‘the feeding of the five thousand? ‘There’s five
thousand people, and they went, there’s some bread and fish, I reckon that was
about four and a half thousand people saying, what we got? Bread and fish? Nah
I’m alright thanks.’
David Mitchell then responded “Out of five thousand people
only two of them thought to bring any food… The other side of it is there are
4,998 idiots… And Jesus doesn’t make them learn a lesson from that!”
I think they’re missing the point slightly. This isn’t about
teaching anyone a lesson, this isn’t about God begrudgingly doing something. God
is generous, and in unexpected places, with unexpected people.
What do you think about this story, do you reckon it happened?
It was clearly a story that was really precious to the early church. This
miracle is the only one in all four gospels, so I think it probably did. Four
different accounts corroborate the same thing. There was a shortage of food,
and Jesus produces abundant food for them to eat.
It might seem surprising to us, but this narrative is all
about how Jesus is actually God, so the fact that strange and miraculous things
are happening, is not really that out of the ordinary. This story has so much
to say about the character of God it almost drips, oozes out of the words from
the page.
For a start there’s the location, which is massively
important. Jesus liked folks like you
and me. ‘Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee’ the exact
location of the miracle is quite vague, so we’re not sure exactly where it was,
but from the description we know that they had passed somewhere near Decapolis
or Bethsaida. Both of which are Pagan areas. Gentiles. No self-respecting Jew
would be mingling with people in this area. It was the wrong side of the tracks
for a good Jew, but Jesus is there on the dodgy ground. It was like a Norwich City supporter,
descending into the depths, the very heart of Ipswich. In the eyes of others it
made him unclean.
But Jesus as God doesn’t care one bit. Not only was Jesus
mingling with them, but he was touching them, and healing them too! Perhaps he
even had a beer with them!
Unexpected people followed him in their droves. He had become
a massive celebrity because of all the wonderful things he was doing. Because
people saw those signs, they believed in him.
God brings the unexpected in, and makes them flourish. God
cares about people. People are not expendable.
God’s grace goes beyond their understanding, God’s love is so
deep that He doesn’t abandon the people to their own devices. Even though they
are gentiles, even though in the eyes of others they’re not in the right club. God
cares for the people present, and not only does He give them enough, but more
than enough. Ample. Abundance. People are
not expendable.
This is the character of God, a God who doesn’t abandon the
people, but satisfies them, and gives abundantly and unexpectedly. In the face
of that abundance, and that love how could you possible say, nah I’m alright
thanks.
It’s hard not to see the similarities with the Eucharist in
what Jesus says over the bread. This is like a pre cursor to when He institutes
communion at the last supper.
The bread that becomes abundant, and God gives abundantly.
God wants us to be satisfied. This section of John is all about how Jesus is
the bread of life. We share this bread of life every Sunday! We share in the
life giving abundance that God gives to us freely, and we re enact that grace
filled bread of life moment with everyone who has shared it in the past, and
will share it in the future.
God wants to strengthen us, to nourish us, she does so
through the bread of life.
But there is a line. This is shown by the way the people
react to the loaves and fishes. They try and take Jesus, and make him King by
force.
This is what ‘William Temple’ (see a proper theologian, I do
read sometimes) This is what William Temple calls ‘natural religion.’ We are
compelled by our natural impulses to try and make God fit into our own
purposes. Just like Judas who will stand apart in disloyalty, trying to bend
Jesus to His will.
We do this when we batter at God’s door[1],
making demands of Her saying if you don’t do this I’ll be really angry with
you. If I don’t get my way that’s it, how could you do this to me?
Haven’t we all done such things? I know I have.
Here’s the main beef I have with God alright? When I want to have a spiritual experience,
God doesn’t turn up, but when I am not expecting it at all, God turns up. It’s
infuriating.
Perhaps it’s because God can work with me better that way. Perhaps
I need to trust in God more, and allow the bread of life, the abundance of God
into my life. Jesus sees my need, our need, and knows what he’s about to do.
Perhaps when I try to bend God to my will, It’s not the right thing, It’s
subversive to God’s purposes. Perhaps if we open our hearts in unexpected
wonder, like the crowd initially did, we would receive something unexpected. Perhaps
if occasionally we relinquish control we receive the bread of Life, Jesus.
This story teaches that there is a balance that has to be
struck between our will and God’s, and that there is no one God doesn’t care
about.
Yesterday I had the privilege of being with the Christians at
Pride stall outside our church. It was a day of great encounters with many
different types of people, but it was good to do another thing, to make a
statement that no one is beyond the loving care of God. Just as Jesus fed a
crowd of gentiles with bread and fish, so we too tried to feed a world, a group
of people who believe that they do not need the love of God, or that they’re
not loved by God.
It’s a huge personal shame for me as a Christian to know that
people are told that they are not loved by God because of who they love. I
wonder is it within God’s purposes to make people feel this way? To shout hurtful
messages? To make people feel as if they are already living in hell?
My answer to that is, did Jesus shout ‘go away’ at the
gentile crowd? People are not expendable.
Regardless of what we might believe about homosexuality,
whether it is a sin or not, Jesus didn’t just feed Jewish people, but fed
everyone. God is in relationship with all people whether they are sinners or
not. God cares about the people who society mistreats, who others condemn and
judge, just as much as morally and righteous people. We are all sinners, and
God feeds us too with the bread of life, though we are many, we are one body,
because we share in one cup.
We met the God of abundance outside this church, on the dodgy
ground and in the people we met, in the unexpected encounters. We saw the marks
of Jesus on them.
God wants us to live full, happy and satisfied lives, to love
others, and to make Her love known to everyone. He encourages us to know that
he’s still there in the unexpected people and place of the world. We must
approach His abundance with openness of heart. To treat others as we would want
to be treated.
That’s how we live the bread of life, and are nourished by
God, and I say, to hell with hatred.
[1] William
Temple, Readings in St John’s Gospel
First Series Chapters I-XII (Macmillan: London, 1940) p.76
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