You Give it to Them

Text: Mark 6:30-44

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

          We’re a people of limited patience. A line three deep at the grocery store sends us into a panic about how long we’ll have to wait to check out. We consider driving up the shoulder when the traffic is backed up. We’re even willing to pay extra to get the streaming television package that allows us to skip all the advertisements in our favorite shows. We don’t have that, but there are times when the kids will be watching a show through YouTube. If you’ve done this, you know that especially in longer videos, they’ll throw some ads in here and there. Generally, you have to watch the first few seconds and then a box will appear allowing you to click to ‘Skip Ad.’ Even though Charlie can’t read, he’s realized that when that box pops up there’s an opportunity to get back to his show without having to endure the boredom of minutes of commercials. So, he’ll say to whoever has the remote control “Skip the Ad.” If it happens to be me, just to be funny, I’ll look at him and say, “You Skip the Ad.” It’s become our little joke and sometimes we’ll go back and forth for a while, “You Skip the Ad.” “No, You Skip the Ad.”

It’s not all that different than the conversation the disciples have with Jesus on this day when they’re in “a desolate place, and the hour is now late.” Jesus had been teaching and seems to have gone on longer than was expected. He probably made a 92-minute speech at a convention look short in comparison. So, the disciples come to Him and say, “Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” It’s the opening volley of this back-and-forth interaction. The disciples are saying, “Hey, here’s a problem, do something about it. It’s getting late, no one has eaten. WE haven’t eaten.” It’s like Charlie identifying the issue of advertisements he doesn’t want to see. He knows he doesn’t have the remote control, and even if he did, he wouldn’t know how to make it do what he wants done. So, he looks for help from the one who can solve his problem. But Jesus doesn’t immediately offer the help the disciples are looking for. You see, if they were to tell the crowd to disperse, they’d probably be ignored. But…if Jesus told them, they’d listen to Him.

Instead of doing what they ask, Jesus puts the ball back in the disciple’s court.

“YOU GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO EAT.”

Which to the disciples makes no sense. They don’t have anything to give. So, they throw the question back to Jesus, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” Of course not. Even if they could find a place that had bread to sell, how could they possibly get enough to feed all these people?

In my back and forth with Charlie, there’s always a point where I’ll have to end the exchange by saying, “OK, I’ll do it.” Which is essentially what Jesus does when He asks the disciples, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” He knows exactly how many they’ll find. And even though He’s going to provide the meal, He’s going to do it by working with what they’ve got on hand. Five loaves and two fish. And a group of willing disciples.

“And taking the five loaves and the two fish He looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And He divided the two fish among them all.” While Jesus “commanded them all to sit down in groups of on the green grass,” He doesn’t miraculously place the multiplied fish and bread in front of each of those groups of people. He gives them to the disciples to set before the people.

Aside from the resurrection, this miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 is the only one recorded in all four Gospels. We get to hear it in all three years of our lectionary cycle. It’s tempting to focus only on the miracle Jesus performs here. Taking the small amount of bread and fish and feeding 5,000 men, plus the women and children. And while that’s absolutely incredible, there are other aspects of this account that we should not neglect. Such as the fact that Jesus uses what’s on hand to provide for the people who are in need. A few loaves and a couple of fish for one. But also, the disciples to whom He says, “You give them something to eat.” His followers who distribute the goods. Jesus certainly could have just plopped a plate of food in front of each of those men and women gathered there that day. Right out of the sky if he had wanted to. But He chooses to use the people He called to be the means by which His gifts were distributed.

And even today, our God chooses to use the people He has called to distribute His gifts. His called and ordained servants of the Word speak His words of absolution over the repentant congregation. His rightly prepared and called pastors place the very body and blood of Jesus into the mouths of hungry sinners. And lest you think the responsibility of delivering His gifts falls solely on the minister, He also says to each of you, “You give them something to eat.”

You parents who have children still in your direct care and under your primary authority, God says, “You give them something to eat.” Well, of course He does. And for those who have been to the grocery store lately, you know what a struggle that can sometimes be. Keeping the cupboards full and the refrigerator stocked. But when God says to you, parents, “You give them something to eat,” He’s much more concerned about their spiritual food than the food you grow in the garden or pick up at the store. The Bread of Life comes in many forms. It’s provided when you carry your infant to the font to receive Holy Baptism. It’s given when you read God’s Word to your toddler. It’s conveyed when you model Godly living in times when you’d rather not. They’re watching you all the time. The Bread of Life is delivered when you help them create habits of living that value worship, prayer, and walking upright before the Lord. When you do these things, you too are following God’s command to “give them something to eat.”

And even if those children are now out of your home and walking on their own, you still model for them the right reception of the gifts God gives to His people. Your hunger to receive all that God has to offer can still have a great effect on them. Your words of encouragement to be open to the Gospel message may just be Jesus working through you to “give them something to eat.”

Husbands and wives, God says to you of your spouse, “You give them something to eat.” Perhaps the model you provide will be the thing that draws them back. And if you’re both strong in your faith, the provision God provides to each of you will continue to strengthen you both, even as tough times are sure to come.

Older men and women and single people, God has given you unique opportunities to interact with those younger or newer to the faith and to “give them something to eat.” Your example of a life well lived in the faith can be encouragement to those who are closer to the beginning of their journey. Paul speaks very clearly in his letter to Titus about the value of older men and women to the church and its people. With age comes wisdom and experience that God wants to use to lift up those who have not yet lived the years to develop it yet.

Children, you’re not off the hook. Even as you’re learning and growing, God says the same thing to you. “Give them something to eat.” Who? The boy or girl sitting next to you in class that’s never heard about Jesus. Your brother or sister who’s thinking about doing something you know God wouldn’t be very happy about. You can deliver God’s spiritual food just as well as anyone else.

Everyone who has received the gifts God has given them can find a way to heed God’s call by looking around and figuring out to whom they can then pass that gift along to. To whom is God saying to you, “Give them something to eat.” Maybe it’s a member of your own family, a classmate, a neighbor, a younger Christian, a homebound friend. “Give them something to eat” by sharing the message that we have a God who provides for everyone. Our God could take five loaves and two fish and feed a multitude of people. He certainly can provide for all our needs of body and soul.

I realize how easy it would be to end up in a situation like Charlie and I do in our little playful back and forth. When God calls on us to be the one to distribute His gifts, we could very easily turn it back on Him and say, “You give it to them.” Or as we often do in the church, “Let someone else serve in that way. I’ve done my time.” There’s always bread to distribute, and most of the time God doesn’t set it on a plate and drop it from the sky into our laps. He uses His people to deliver His gifts. And there are now more people than ever who need to receive them. Allow God to use you, as He did His disciples, to ensure that many more will eat and be satisfied. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.