July 27, 2024 – Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

“So they gathered [up the fragments left over], and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets” (Jn 6:13).

Today’s Gospel story from John 6 is the same story that can find in Mark 6 or Matthew 14 or Luke 9 – all four gospel writers tell this story. The multiplication of loaves and fishes is the only miracle story that appears in all four gospels, and in three of the four gospel accounts, this story is followed immediately by some version of Jesus walking on water. (Luke doesn’t include that story at all.)

Miracle stories in the Bible often follow a traditional four-part pattern: the setting, the problem, the miracle itself, and the aftermath, or response of those who witness the miracle.

Both of these stories follow that pattern. Other than that, feeding a crowd and walking on water don’t seem to have much to do with each other, and it would make sense to consider just one story or the other, instead of lumping them together in one reading. So why do the gospel writers present them as a unit? Their settings are different, the problems are different, and the miracles themselves are unrelated to each other. The aftermath of one has no apparent connection to the aftermath of the other. What is the common denominator in these two stories?

Let’s look at the settings. (1) Jesus is on a hillside above the lake. Jesus is alone with his disciples, and it is Passover time. This is the second of three Passovers mentioned in the gospel story, so we can assume these events happen somewhere in the middle of Jesus’ ministry. The crowd is on its way, but it is still in the distance.

(2) The setting for the second miracle story puts the disciples in a boat, at evening, headed back to Capernaum. Jesus is up in the hills somewhere, out of sight. At the beginning of their time together, the disciples would have gone looking for him. Apparently, they’ve gotten used to having Jesus slip away alone from time to time, so they don’t bother to go get him. Besides, they really aren’t very far from Capernaum, and they probably figure Jesus can find his own way home.

Let’s take a look at the problems. (1) In the first miracle story, the problem is pretty simple: there are five thousand people headed their way, and they have enough food for one person. Phillip sees the overwhelming need. Six months’ wages wouldn’t put a dent in the cost of feeding such a huge crowd. Andrew sees the underwhelming resources they have available: five barley loaves and two dried fish. “But what are these among so many people?” he whines.

Jesus has set up the situation with a rhetorical question – where shall we buy enough bread to feed all these people? The obvious answer is nowhere. But the disciples can’t see yet that Jesus has no intention of buying bread.

(2) The problem in the second miracle is much more common than 5,000 unexpected dinner guests. The disciples were already familiar with sudden windstorms on the Sea of Galilee, so when the wind began to whip up the waves, their first response was probably more like “Oh no, not again!” instead of “What shall we do now?” Rough seas were familiar, but they were also dangerous. And this time, Jesus wasn’t sleeping in the back of the boat. They had no idea where Jesus was. This time, the disciples had reason to be afraid.

So, what problem do you face right now, that only a miracle could solve? Are you looking at your limited resources against the backdrop of overwhelming need? Are you paying more attention to the huge demands that are being made on your time, your money, and your energy? Or do you keep looking at the small reserves of grace and material goods at your disposal, thinking, “What good can this little bit do?” Are you afraid?

It’s really easy to look at the numbers and wonder if our available resources can meet the needs of ministry. It’s easy to get stuck in a mindset of scarcity instead of abundance. It’s easy to focus on what we DON’T have and wish for a miracle.

Let’s talk about those miracles, or “signs,” as John likes to call them. (1) Jesus has the disciples “make the people sit down” on the grassy hillside, reminding us that he is the Good Shepherd and we are his sheep. Then he TAKES the bread and fish, and GIVES THANKS for it. In the other gospels (Matt 14:19; Mark 6:41; Luke 9:16) he BREAKS these gifts, multiplying by dividing, and has the disciples distribute the food, but here he GIVES the food to the people himself.

The parallels to the Last Supper are obvious. We follow these same actions each time we participate in Holy Communion. But here, the miracle is not that people are fed. The miracle is in the multiplication of limited resources into abundance.

This is the same miracle we experience whenever we place our trust in Christ. He takes our little faith and multiplies it, transforming that faith into an abundant supply. It is the same miracle Jesus performs as we grow deeper in love with God and neighbor – the more we give, the more we have <possess> to give, and the closer we draw to God.

(2) In the second miracle, Jesus just shows up. One minute he’s not there, the next minute, he is. Walking on the water to get to the boat might not be the easiest way to calm the fears of his disciples, but Jesus knows that his presence is what they need most. The New Revised Standard Version doesn’t do justice to John’s Greek here. Jesus doesn’t say, “Hey, stop worrying, it’s just me!” He says something that the disciples recognize immediately as more than assurance they aren’t seeing a ghost. “I AM,” Jesus says, and with these two words, he unmistakably identifies himself with God, the Great “I AM.” If they weren’t afraid before, these words might be cause enough for alarm. But Jesus follows them with the command to stop being afraid.

This brings us to the final section of the miracle story: the response. (1) First, Jesus has the disciples gather 12 baskets of leftovers “that nothing may be lost.” The crowds have missed the point of this sign that Jesus has just given them. They think it’s about getting fed, and the people want to make Jesus into the kind of king who will always provide for their material needs. Jesus does what any truly great leader would do under such circumstances. He leaves.

(2) But notice what happens in the second story. As soon as Jesus tells the disciples to stop being afraid, their deepest desire is for him to get into the boat. And immediately, they arrive at their destination. It’s about six miles from Tabgha (the generally accepted location of the loaves and fishes miracle) to Capernaum, sailing directly across the lake. John tells us they were a little more than halfway across when Jesus walked up. Yet, immediately, they’re home, before Jesus can even get into the boat with them.

This is what ties these two miracles together. It isn’t the setting or the problem or even the signs themselves. It’s the way people respond to Jesus that teaches us something about being his followers. To put it very simply, when we limit our interaction with the living God by our concern for material things, we miss out on the deeper loving relationship with God that is available to us through Jesus Christ. When we desire to have Jesus get into our boat, he gets us where we need to go.

Jesus values every crumb and each of us, that we might not be lost, but how do we respond to that kind of love? Do we try to make him reign over just our basic needs, OR do we desire to have him come into our boat?

Jesus isn’t out to “prove” to you that he is the Son of God; Jesus desires that you invite him into your boat, into your life. While he’s more than able to provide for all your material needs, what he really wants is to draw you into the love he shares with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

You can chase after him relentlessly with requests for bread, and claim to be a follower of Jesus, but this isn’t the kind of following he has in mind for you. Jesus wants to change your life. Will you invite him into your boat? Will you desire him more than anything else that pulls at your life? Will you let him multiply your faith so that you can draw nearer to God than you have ever dreamed possible?