• "God Cares About Our Needs, Both Physical and Spiritual"
• Sermon for the Seventh Sunday after Trinity
• July 10, 2005
• The Reverend Stephen C. Scarlett

The Feeding of the Four Thousand in today's gospel (Mark 8:1ff) is Jesus' second feeding miracle. Jesus fed five thousand in a previous miracle. Unlike most of the other New Testament miracles, it is unprovoked by complaint or request. The initiative was with Jesus, who said, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat."

This crowd had gathered around Jesus in a desert setting for what amounted to a three-day teaching mission. The implication is that the crowd was so attentive to Jesus and his words that they had not paid attention to their supplies. The Bible teaches us that this is a commendable negligence.

Two other passages come to mind: first, the story of Mary and Martha. Martha was busy fixing dinner. Her sister Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus, devoting herself to Jesus and to his words. Martha complained that Mary was not helping with dinner. Jesus responded by saying, "Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her" (Luke 10:42, NKJV).

The second passage comes from the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus said, "Do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat? or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:31-33, NKJV).

The pattern of fallen human nature is to seek first the material things of life and then add a little religion on top for good measure. The pattern of the feeding miracle shows us that we have it all backwards. This is the essential reason we need to repent.

To repent means to have a change of mind. When we think about repentance, the tendency is to look for isolated acts of wrongdoing-Did I lie, cheat or steal? However, the real issue with repentance is our underlying motive and aim in life. Is our life centered on worship, prayer and seeking the will of God? Individual acts of sin are the fruit of a wrongly ordered life, just as righteous acts are the fruit of life lived "in Christ."

Four thousand people followed Jesus for three days to hear the word of God, not worried about food and drink, and Jesus fed them. If we focus on following Jesus and doing the things he wants us to do, not worrying about food, shelter and clothing, God will take care of our needs. This is the message of the feeding miracle.

This miracle also reveals who Jesus is. This is a nature miracle that falls into the same category as the calming of the waves on the Sea of Galilee. In that miracle Jesus said to the waves, "Be still" and they were still. Here, with a word of blessing, Jesus turned bread and fish into more bread and fish. If Jesus can alter the processes of nature by his spoken word, then he is the Lord of nature... "By whom all things were made."

We can trust Jesus precisely because he is the Lord of heaven and earth. He has authority over nature, over angels, over demons, over sickness and, even, death. As Lord and God, Jesus has the power to make sure things turn out right. Therefore, we can concentrate on hearing and obeying God's word and trust him to take care of the provisions and problems of life.

In this feeding miracle there is also a eucharistic allusion. Here, as at the Last Supper, Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke bread and distributed it. The Eucharist replicates the feeding miracle. A relatively small amount of bread and wine are offered to God in thanksgiving. It becomes a sufficient supply of the body and blood of Jesus to feed all of the faithful-with some left over.

There is a danger of over-spiritualizing the miracles of Jesus. We might too quickly rush past Jesus' compassion for hungry people to make the point that Jesus provides spiritual food. This can give the erroneous impression that Jesus doesn't care about physical needs, only spiritual health.

In fact, the eucharistic point builds upon Jesus' compassion for the hungry multitudes by teaching us that we need more than food, shelter and clothing. Even when people have everything, they are discontented. They still need something, and that something is Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life. The pains we suffer for our various unsatisfied wants may endure for the balance of this life. But the pains of spiritual want endure for eternity. We need bread, but we need the bread of life more.

Thus, when we pray, "Give us this day our daily bread," we ask for more than the physical necessities of life. Daily bread includes that daily supply of God's presence and grace we need to truly live; for, if we have the physical necessities of life, but do not have Jesus Christ, we will never be satisfied. But if we lack something that we need or want, but have Jesus Christ, we can learn to be filled. As St. Paul said, "I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:12-13).

Because Jesus, the Bread of Life, is always with us to sustain and strengthen us, we can "give thanks in all circumstances" even when it seems like we only have five loaves and two fishes for four thousand mouths. In Christ, we always have enough of what we really need. Thus, our job is to devote ourselves to worship and prayer, to hearing and obeying the word of God. Jesus is the Lord of Nature and the Bread of Life. He will multiply our meager provisions and make them sufficient to meet our needs.