This sermon,
based on Matthew 24:13-21, was given by Pastor Jim Kniseley on
July 31, 2011, the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost.
Dear Friends in Christ,
Today’s story about Jesus
miraculously feeding the 5,000 prompts a question: How big is your God?
Do you believe that “out of nothing” Jesus created food enough for that
vast multitude, or, do you believe that there is another explanation about how
all those people were fed?
I ask because your answer may reveal how
much space you allow in your life and thinking for God to work. This miracle story is recorded in all four of
the gospels (Mathew, Mark, Luke and John).
Matthew, Mark and Luke tell us that Jesus took fish and bread, after
praying, multiplied the amount so that all were fed. It is the gospel writer John, writing later
than the other three gospel writers who adds the
details about a young boy with a lunch that he shared, that was the basis for
the multiplying of the food by sharing.
Preachers in the last
century picked up on the idea of sharing and made it the key explanation for the miracle. It
wasn’t that Jesus multiplied out of nothing, but that the young boy either
shamed or encouraged the people who also had food hidden away to share with
others. I’ve preached that sermon. You’ve heard it from me. But today I want to have us consider the
original explanation. The explanation
that says that Jesus, the divine Son of God, actually did create out of nothing
food that fed 5,000 men plus the women and children.
To understand that
Jesus did it that way would say that Jesus was more than a man. It would say that Jesus is God. It would say that God who created the heaven
and the earth out of nothing more than just his word, was present that day in
Jesus. Does your faith today allow
for this understanding of Jesus?
I want to push a
little more about our faith today. Lots
of folks believe that Jesus could do miracles back then, but think that
miracles are quite limited today, if they happen at all. That creates a problem, for it diminishes God in
our lives and thinking. To reduce God
and the powers that God possesses to a size that we can understand and explain
is a most human temptation. Some have
called this temptation “putting God in a box”.
In order to justify ourselves and to keep control, we make God fit our
concept of who God should be and how we want to
understand God.
That,
dear friends, is a serious mistake. A long time ago the
angel Gabriel said to young Mary, “With God all things are possible.” It was Martin Luther who observed that it was
also a miracle that Mary believed that she would become the mother of the Son
of God…In the book of Genesis, in the story of Creation we are told, God said “Let there be light, and
there was light”… In Matthew 7 we hear
the story of Jesus healing a man with leprosy: Jesus said, “be
clean” and immediately he was cured.
Have you ever trusted
in God to do a miracle? Were you ever at
a place in your life where you were completely dependent on God and not
yourself? The call process for pastors
in the church is often such a time. I
remember 11 years ago when Pastor Carol and I were serving in Southern
California and we sensed that it was time to move on. The most natural thing would have been to
seek a call somewhere in California and we did look at a congregation in Santa
Barbara and another
just north of San Francisco. But each
wanted one pastor and could not afford two.
We widened our search and looked at Reno, Nevada. Again, they were looking for one pastor. Then we prayed that God would reveal to us
where He wanted us to be. We sent our
paperwork to synods near Knoxville where Carol’s family is located. The bishop in that area wanted us to
interview at a congregation in Knoxville, but we sensed that was not a good
idea. Then the bishop here contacted us
and asked us to consider 3 congregations in this synod. You who were on the call committee will
remember that St. Stephen in Williamsburg and Resurrection were willing to
share the cost of flying us here for interviews. We purchased our airline tickets and were all
set to fly. Then we heard from St.
Stephen that the Council was worried that they could not afford two pastors. But the call committee here, who had never
considered having two pastors, were willing to explore
the idea, especially since we were used to working ¾ time each. I will
always marvel at the trust this congregation had that God would provide the resources
to call two pastors. And as I think
back, I am amazed that Pastor Carol and I were able to place our trust in God
that all this would work out and that God would take care of us in a new place
and in the midst of people we did not know.
We adopted some
Guiding Principles last year as a congregation.
These principles might seem to be a new direction for some folks, but I
think that this congregation has been living under these principles from the
very beginning, only it wasn’t formalized in words. These principles were shared by the folks who
were sitting in the crowd that day with Jesus.
These principles were shared by the charter members of this congregation
when this congregation was started 22 years ago. These principles were shared by people and
pastors when the call was issued almost 11 years ago to Pastor Carol and
me. These principles have been shared by
this congregation over the past 18 months when we have been confronted with
change and reduction in membership and offerings.
We have 7 Guiding
Principles that we adopted
in January. Here are the
ones that seem so apropos
for today as we ask “How big is your God?”
I
Jesus is Lord and Savior – In all that we say and do we serve Jesus, for
by His grace we are
saved through faith.
II Trust in the Lord – through God
all things are possible.
V Share God’s blessings generously as
we are generously blessed
Could Jesus have
worked that day through inspiring generosity in the hearts of the people? Could people have decided to share what they
had with others? Of course Jesus can
and does work that way. Could Jesus
have simply spoken the words and multiplied the fish and bread to create enough
to feed thousands of people. The again
is of course Jesus can and does work that way.
Here’s the challenge
for you and me now as people of faith. When God does do a miracle, when God does provide, name it and
proclaim it. Be a witness! Further, when someone is talking scarcity,
when someone be it a family member or a member of the
church community talks and acts like there just isn’t enough resources, gently
guide them to understand that God doesn’t think that way. With
God, all things are possible!
Thanks be to
God. Amen!