This is a ConCafe from July 24, 2000 based on this coming Sunday's Gospel text:
John 6:1-21:
Good morning from hot and dry San Antonio. A church member said it's
been so hot and dry recently that their doorbell rang the other day
and it was two catfish asking for a glass of water! Over at the
parsonage the lizards asked if we had any sandals we weren't using
since the pavement and ground is so hot!
It rained about ten drops yesterday afternoon. My next-door neighbor
didn't know what could possibly be coming out of the sky! We need
rain folks! But if we pray for it as hard as we did a couple of
years ago we'll have major floods!
A word of praise: Saraí is home after her time at Renssalaer's
summer program. The airline which holds my travel miles has a wonderful
practice of either not finding her reservation or saying that
"someone did not confirm" her reservation so she cannot travel. It usually
turns out that this airline has overbooked the flight and this is one
way to get an additional seat, find the youngest female traveling on
dad's frequent flier miles and she's off! The CEO of the airline the
last time this happened put a very capable assistant on the case and
the miles we spent on that flight were returned to us and Saraí
got a nice gift certificate with which she bought some clothes. Well, it
happened again. At 4:30 a.m. our phone rings, Nellie picks it up and
Saraí says, "Let me speak to Daddy." I knew immediately what it
was all about. "No one confirmed my flight, Dad, and they're telling me
there is nothing they can do." They had given her an 800 number they
claimed would not open until three hours later. I prayed and asked
God, "Lord, the way Jesus depended on you as his Father, Saraí is
depending on me and I'm depending on you, please let there be someone
there as I call." Well, it was picked up on the first ring and a
very nice gentleman began telling the same thing, admitting that they had
oversold the flight and that it would be Wednesday of this week
before Saraí could travel. I told him that this 19 year old girl had no
where to stay in Albany until Wednesday and that I was not too happy
with the thought of her having to wait around until then. I'm sorry
sir, there's nothing we can do. "Let me speak to your supervisor,
please." Ah, the magic words! I was placed on hold and to make a
long story short, Saraí was placed on an direct flight from Albany
to San Antonio and she arrived home several hours before she would had
she traveled on the original flight! Thanks be to God.
The Scripture for this coming week is from John 6:-21:
After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also
called the Sea of Tibe'rias. 2 A large crowd kept following him,
because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. 3 Jesus
went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. 4 Now
the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. 5 When he looked
up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip,
"Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?" 6 He said this
to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. 7 Philip
answered him, "Six months' wages would not buy enough bread for each
of them to get a little." 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon
Peter's brother, said to him, 9 "There is a boy here who has five
barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?"
10 Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was a great
deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all.
11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he
distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much
as they wanted. 12 When they were satisfied, he told his disciples,
"Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost." 13
So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley
loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. 14
When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say,
"This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world." 15 When
Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to
make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself. 16
When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into boat,
and started across the sea to Caper'naum. It was now dark, and Jesus
had not yet come to them. 18 The sea became rough because a strong
wind was blowing. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles,
they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they
were terrified. 20 But he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid."
21 Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the
boat reached the land toward which they were going.
This is a United Methodist story. We have a grand tradition of
showing up when food is served! There is truth to the UM inspired
verse to the children's song, "Down in My Heart", "I've got that
chicken-eatin' Methodism down in my heart..." Maybe it's a Texas
thang and you ain't heared it yet? But perhaps the story could be
told in a universal church way: Jesus and his disciples had been
invited to speak at a mission saturation event. A large crowd had
gathered in the fellowship hall/activities building/family life
center/gym for what was billed as a covered dish. Only thing was,
Church's Chicken was closed, the grocery store was all out of
Hamburger Helper, and the markets had no salad makings at all. The
only person in the place with food was the young man who had just
gotten off work from Long John Silver's. He had in his backpack,
along with his Walkman and Oakley's, a small meal of leftovers. His
boss was cool, any left over food could be taken by the employees.
He took the five biscuits and two fish. He figured that would do later
on while he did his homework. But after Jesus had spoken the crowd
made a loud collective sound, it was a low growl at first, then it
accelerated into a roar, they were hungry and the stomachs were in
unison about this needful condition. The disciples and the missions
coordinator and her committee decided on a wonderful plan: Send the
people home or to go and buy their supper. Jesus saw that the eating
establishments were closed, where could these people go?
Where do you go when you're in need? For us in this day and age
we've become a people, at least in most of this country, to think of hunger
as something that can be temporarily cured by eating a light snack or
a candy bar, and in a few hours time that hunger is fully satiated
with a full meal. A comedian once said, "This country has so much
food that we've got things other countries have never heard of, such
as being lactose intolerant!" Our hunger is quickly taken away by
going home. Most homes will have something to eat and if they don't
a quick drive to the supermarket, isn't that a wonderful word,
SUPERmarket, will help us get what we need. No hunting involved
other than down the aisles. No cleaning or shucking, that's been done.
Everything we need to eat has been neatly and nicely packaged. For
the people in Jesus' audience that day, their need was immediate and
Jesus wanted to demonstrate the coming to God with our needs. He
performs what for some is incredible: Multiplies the loaves and
fishes and everyone eats. Some have said the first miracle was the
willingness on the part of the boy to share. If you've heard my
recent sermons on stewardship, I've used examples of children how
once you've bought them something to eat and you ask them for some are so
easy to say, "These are mine! Get your own!" Yet, I've seen little
children who share so easily. The point of the story is that God
provides. It may be a miracle or it may be the usual way, but
nonetheless, God provides.
The deeper question: Do we share with others and with God, what God
has shared with us?
Prayer: Gracious God who provides for our needs. Let us trust you
more today than we did yesterday. May our trust be such that we
share with you and with others. We pray in the Name of Jesus. Amen.
