Monday, July 30, 2012

offer what you have

John 6: 1-21
 This story is obviously important to the life and ministry of Jesus and his followers.  Some version of it is told by all four gospel writers.  Although each version is a little different;  Matthew, Mark and Luke all make a point to mention that this happened directly after the death of John the Baptist which John leaves out.  Matthew and Mark both include the attempt by Peter to walk on water too but Luke and John don’t.   In this version Jesus asks Philip how they are going to feed everyone but in the other three versions the disciples themselves pose the question to Jesus.  (NIV, LASB)
Eye witness testimonies are notoriously flawed.  Everyone sees things from their own perspective.  Time may also play a part in the variations between accounts of Jesus’ miracles and the parables he uses to teach.  I doubt that one of the disciples acted as a secretary.  It is a little silly to imagine one of the disciples following Jesus around with a pen and scroll.   Saying “Master, can you repeat what you just said, my pen ran out of ink”
Sometimes it is easy to get so caught up in the details that we ignore the lessons being taught.  Even though these 4 accounts of the same event in Jesus’ life differ they are remarkably consistent on the important parts. 
Jesus and the disciples came to this spot by the Sea of Galilee to find rest.  We are getting close to the end of Jesus ministry and they were exhausted from all the crowds, traveling, and by many accounts from mourning the loss of their friend, John the Baptist.  It had been a long three years.  Rest was not in the cards though. (NIV, LASB; Barclay) The scripture states that it was near time for the Passover so pilgrims from all over the area would be coming that way to go to Jerusalem. (Barclay, 1976)  Just as soon as they sat down here comes this throng of people wanting to see Jesus.  They had heard about all his miracles and teachings and wanted to see him for themselves.  Instead of getting upset at the crowd for not letting him rest he saw this as a wonderful opportunity, a teaching moment and some versions say he had compassion for them.(NIV LASB)  He knew how hungry they were for leadership, knowledge and faith- Just something to believe in, that he was willing to sacrifice his rest for their salvation. Oh if they only knew how much more he was willing to sacrifice for them.  
Jesus knew there wasn’t a town for miles and nowhere to buy food so in jest- Jesus asks Philip- “where can we find food for all these people?”  What does Philip do?  The same thing we would do if we felt God was asking us to do something impossible- Panic!    He starts making excuses about why it couldn’t be done- No stores for miles, it would cost too much- it just couldn’t be done.   Then, here comes Andrew with this child and a picnic lunch for one.  This was barely enough food for one small boy much less 5,000 men and who knows how many Women and children who weren’t counted. 
Jesus takes what is impossible and makes it possible. (NIV, LASB)
How many times are we like Philip?  We know God is asking us to do something but from our perspective it seems impossible.  Maybe our excuses are like Philip’s- there’s not enough money.  Or maybe the excuses are all our own- I’m too old or too young, I can’t get around like I used too, I’m not smart enough, talented enough, I don’t have enough time, what if they make fun of me, It’s too much of a commitment.  We can all come up with a laundry list of excuses not to do what God is calling us to do.
How often are we Andrew in this story?  We realize that something needs to be done and we have an idea of how to address it but we doubt.  We doubt the quality of the solution, we think the problem is too big, although we hear a solution we are pessimistic about its success so we start looking for ways it will fail. (Homiletics)
When God asks us to do something we quickly forget that he already knows our shortcomings.  He is already aware of our “not enoughs”.  God simply wants us to be the child in this story- Bring God what you have and be willing to share it.(NIV LASB)  That’s all.  When we try to see the big picture it is often too overwhelming so we choose to do nothing. 
Let’s take a problem we hear about repeatedly on the TV.  Children starving in some foreign land.  If someone asked us to fix it we would probably do what Philip and Andrew did- make excuses- it’s too big of a problem for us to tackle.  We wouldn’t even know where to start!
How many commercials do we see every day that tug at our heart strings with images of sad starving children with the commentary- For just a dollar a day you too could make a difference in the life of this child.  And you can- most of these agencies are legitimate and good causes and a dollar a day very well may be all the difference to the child you sponsor but my point is this.  We can all spare a dollar a day- one less coffee, soft drink, quarter pounder with cheese- whatever we spend our money on- we can usually spare a dollar.  But it seems so far out of reach when you say for a donation of $365 you can make a difference.  We get so caught up in how big the investment is that we forget how simple it would be to reach.   Maybe your dollar a day isn’t enough to really make a difference but when you combine it with someone else’s it can make a huge difference. 
Each year there are over 200 million cases of Malaria and it kills over 600,000 people mostly under the age of 5. (nothing but nets)  The primary method of preventing contact with the mosquitoes carrying the disease is a $10 net that covers the sleeping area of a child or family.  (nothingbutnets)  Just since 2006 the year a program called nothing but nets began, deaths from Malaria have decreased 25% (World Health Organization World Malaria Report 2011).   This is a big problem but because people give what they can and combine that with donations from others it is making a difference- Imagine No Malaria is an extension of the nothing but nets program.  It is an effort by the United Methodist Church to take it a step further.  The children at VBS this year will be raising money and combining their small offering with others from around the country to continue to provide bed nets but also education and access to medical treatment.  Watch and see what God can do when we offer what we have- saving lives $10 at a time.  
Not once has God ever asked us to do something on our own (NIV LASB).  We may feel that way sometimes but that is our own problem of perception.  God wants to help.  He puts people in our lives who want to help all we have to do is ask.  But that also requires sacrificing our pride that we can’t control everything, humility acknowledging that we can’t do it all, courage to share a radical idea and sometimes the willingness to take that leap of faith.    What can you offer to God today?  Let him decide how much is enough.
 if we are simply able to bring what we have to the table and offer our meager amounts of talent, time, or resources God can make it into something wonderful. (NIV LASB)
Maybe trying to conquer malaria or the world hunger problem is too big to comprehend but there is much that needs to be done in our own communities.
Maybe you don’t have a lot of talent but you can read to someone who has lost their vision or send cards of encouragement to missionaries or wounded military.  Maybe you can’t see well enough to write but you can call someone who is sick.  Maybe you don’t get around well but you can knit scarves or hats for the homeless.  Maybe you used to teach but your retired- most schools would love volunteers to simply spend an hour a week letting a child read to them or even an hour a month having lunch with a child whose parents work and can’t come visit. 
Maybe you can clip soup labels or box tops for education or collect lose change for a mission project.  And maybe you don’t feel like what you have is enough- it’s enough to touch the life of one person and who knows maybe God is encouraging others to share what you’re passionate about, they are just waiting to hear your idea. 
God doesn’t ask us to give more than we have- He just wants us to be willing to share what we do have.  When Jesus “gave thanks” and broke the bread it doesn’t say he asked God for more- He simply gave thanks for what they did have- and it was enough.
The other part of this miracle is the bread and fish themselves.  Each time I read this story I imagined 5 loaves of bread like you would see at the grocery store the size of a football and 2 fish at least big enough to keep if you were the one fishing.  Not that that isn’t miracle enough but when I read this week that the five loaves were each the size of a dinner roll and 2 fishes probably the size of sardines it made this event even more amazing (Barclay, 1976).  And, it wasn’t that the child’s lunch was just enough- it was more than enough- the scripture doesn’t say that everyone got a bite- it says they all had enough to eat.  And even then, there were 12 baskets of leftovers.  They didn’t even have 12 baskets worth of food to begin with.    Talk about making lemons into lemon-aid- Jesus took a poor boys lunch and made it into a feast!
And if one miracle in one day wasn’t enough- the story continues.   Once again Jesus and the disciples seek rest- Jesus heads into the mountains to be alone and the disciples get in a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee.  Again, there is no rest for the weary.  We see them rowing just as hard as they can against the wind, waves and current.  They are almost to shore, beat up and exhausted only a ½ mile or so to go and out of nowhere Jesus appears to them. (Barclay)  I imagine they thought they were seeing things, delusional from being so tired but here comes Jesus walking on the water out to the boat- terrifying his poor friends.  (NIV LASB)
This time, Jesus doesn’t calm the sea, like he did at other times, he is simply present with them.  Offered them words of comfort and before they realized it they arrived right where they wanted to be.  How often are our lives like this.  We are trying desperately to solve life’s problems on our own.  We take full responsibility for something failing or succeeding, we don’t want to burden others with our problems or don’t know how to ask for help.  This scripture encourages us to know that when it feels like we just can’t work any harder, we are too exhausted to go on or the waves get too rough- Jesus is there.  He will show up. Even when we least expect it. 
God doesn’t promise to make things easy.  He doesn’t expect us to give more than we have.  He doesn’t expect us to do it on our own.  He simply wants us to offer what we have, be willing to share it with others and God promises to show up- even at the most unexpected moments- He is there, watching, loving, comforting, supporting and he promises that if we are following his call- he will get you there.
NIV LASB- New International Version- Life Application Study Bible  Zondervan 1991
Barclay, William- Gospel of John Vol. 1
Homiletics Magazine “The monster under Megan’s bed” 7/27/1997
Nothingbutnet.org
Imagainenomilaria.org

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