Just before the part we heard
read today, Jesus visited Nazareth, his home town, and the locals were
unimpressed. He leaves, then hears about the death of John the Baptist.
Jesus takes the disciples
somewhere quiet, to pray and grieve and regroup.
In Matthew’s gospel there is
a contrast between the Empire of Rome and the Kingdom of God. At this point, it
looks like the Empire is winning. Jesus is not accepted in his home town, and
John is dead.
Then we have these two
‘miracles’
With both we could look at
what happened and how it happened, for example, did everyone have a muesli bar
in their pocket and decided to share when they realised everyone else had
bought a snack as well? Was there some extra food stashed behind some rocks? Did
Jesus pray and the small amount of food just kept feeding people? We have seen form other feeding miracles, Manna
and quail in the wilderness, the widow of Zarephath whose flour and oil didn’t
run out [1 Kings 17]. For the people of Israel, this story was not about can
God feed people, they already believed God did feed people.
The same with the calming of
the storm, the people hearing this for the first time would have had no doubts about
God’s ability to control nature.
These are stories that help
the disciples see Jesus as God, as the Messiah.
In the second story, some of the disciples are
fisherman, they will have been in a boat in a storm before. They are terrified
because they think Jesus is a ghost, he says “I am Jesus”, remember the name of
God: “I am,” when
speaking with Moses? God is here in the
storm.[i]
Sometimes reading the bible seems more like a spider’s web or a weaving
rather than a straight-line connection from Bible verse to understanding. There
are so many connections in this passage.
Both stories remind us of the connection between Moses and Jesus
– feeding people in the wilderness, being able to walk on, or through, water. Jesus
isn’t some new-fangled preacher, he is teaching, and living out the tradition of
the God of Moses.
Power – John the Baptist was
killed, and his head placed on a platter, at a feast given by Herod. Herod had
the power to take life, on a whim, if he wanted to. Herod didn’t like that John
had said he should not marry his brother’s wife.
Jesus uses his power, to feed people. These people would be unlikely to have
money with them to buy food. This was a time when a few people were very rich,
and most people lived day to day.
Jesus also had power to calm the storm.
Is power used, in the church and our community, to bring food the hungry;
to bring the resources of life and dignity to all people; or to kill those who
speak against evil and corruption.
Scarcity or generosity – the disciples are seeing things through the eyes of Empire, that is we don’t have enough, send the
crowd away to fend for themselves.
“Sending the crowds home means sending them back into the oppressive and alienating economic realities of Galilee. Scarcity, hunger, alienation, and fear are symptoms of unjust political, social, and economic arrangements. That’s why the crowds have followed Jesus into the wilderness, but the disciples have dragged that world with them. Our presuppositions of scarcity and the need to secure our own economic well-being locate us with the disciples in this story.”[ii]
“Sending the crowds home means sending them back into the oppressive and alienating economic realities of Galilee. Scarcity, hunger, alienation, and fear are symptoms of unjust political, social, and economic arrangements. That’s why the crowds have followed Jesus into the wilderness, but the disciples have dragged that world with them. Our presuppositions of scarcity and the need to secure our own economic well-being locate us with the disciples in this story.”[ii]
Jesus says, there is enough. The Empire relied on
some people not having enough so that others could be rich. Unfortunately, this
is still the situation for many people.
How do we use the resources we have, our time,
our energy, our money?
Grief and Compassion –Jesus feels grief at the death of John, he is human, he understands grief
and other emotions. And in the middle of his grief, possibly wondering what to
do next, people seek him out for healing, and food. And Jesus is compassionate,
he feels for them, he knows their pain, their hope, and he heals and feeds
them.
Do we feel compassion for those we meet, or are we so absorbed with our
own concerns?
Responding to crisis
The disciples in the boat go
from managing to keep the boat afloat in the storm, to terrified when they see
Jesus coming, I think I would be terrified too if someone came walking on
water.
Then Peter, impetuous Peter, decided
if it really is Jesus, he too could walk on water. Peter trusts that Jesus can
indeed control the wind and the waves.
I can remember being part of
a Bible study group years ago, and the question for this reading was where about
in this story are you, it was multiple choice and the options were something like
- in the boat, walking on water, drowning, none of the above. My answer was d,
what makes you think I am anywhere near the boat, I am the one on dry land. I know
now sometimes stepping into, and out of, the boat is were God calls us, and
Jesus is there to encourage us and support and guide us.
Can
knowing that Jesus encourages and supports us allow for the risk-taking ventures
that demand stepping over the side of the boat in faith today? What about fresh
expressions of church, or different ways to build communities of faith? We need
a faithful focus on Jesus as we take steps in faith, as we try new forms of
church community.[iii]
Jesus offers abundance where the Empire trades in scarcity.
Jesus acts in compassion where the Empire acts in power.
Jesus brings calm where the Empire thrives in chaos.[iv]
Jesus acts in compassion where the Empire acts in power.
Jesus brings calm where the Empire thrives in chaos.[iv]
What mindset do we live in?
One where power means getting
our own way, belittling any who disagree with us?
Do we use the power we have
to bring life, to heal, to feed; or do we use the power we have to kill in
mind, spirit and body?
Are we like the
disciples, wanting to believe the best about Jesus, yet the scarcity thinking of
Empire is so ingrained they struggle to see any alternative?
Do we expect Jesus to
act in us and in the world around us, or do we become terrified when things don’t
go as expected?
Maybe, like Peter, we could step out on faith.
Maybe we could call forth abundance in a world fixated on scarcity.
Maybe we could demonstrate compassion in a world addicted to power. Maybe we could bring healing in a world oriented toward pain.
Maybe we could evoke life in a world enshrouded by death.
Maybe we could escape the given-ness of the Empire to imagine the world otherwise.
Maybe we, too, could walk on water.[v]
Maybe we could call forth abundance in a world fixated on scarcity.
Maybe we could demonstrate compassion in a world addicted to power. Maybe we could bring healing in a world oriented toward pain.
Maybe we could evoke life in a world enshrouded by death.
Maybe we could escape the given-ness of the Empire to imagine the world otherwise.
Maybe we, too, could walk on water.[v]
God’s power is loose in the world but is utterly unlike the power of
human empires. Faith involves changing our minds -- our imagination of reality
-- and entails crossing boundaries. This is still the heart of Christian
practice in times of violence, scarcity, and alienation.[vi]
Where do you need encouragement from Jesus to take a risk?
Where is God challenging you this morning?
[i]
https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3865
[ii]
https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3865
[iii]
Spill the Beans
