“Thank You, Father!”
11th Sunday after Pentecost August 28, 2011 Pastor Thomas Kock
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing! Amen. The Word of God for our consideration is found in the book of Matthew, chapter 14. (Read text) In the name of Jesus, our humble, glorious Savior, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
King Herod had thrown a huge party for himself and his guests. As part of it, he “invited” his step-daughter to dance for them. She danced so well that Herod made a rash – and very public – oath: “I’ll give you anything you ask for, up to half of my kingdom!” Salome went and talked to her mom; for what should she ask? Her mom said, “I want the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” Herod was upset by this request, but he’d made the promise, and made it publicly, and so he ordered that it be done.
And so died one of THE heroes of Christianity. He died not on the battlefield. He died not in the midst of making courageous confession of faith in Jesus. Rather he died as the result of the rash oath of a drunk made at a raucous party.
John the Baptist and Jesus were relatives. In addition, John was the one who had the awesome privilege of being the forerunner for Jesus, the one who prepared the way for Him. There was a deep, personal connection between these two.
So, word gets to Jesus as to what’s happened. His response is natural: He wants to get away for a bit. He wants some time, perhaps to pray, to think, to mourn, to cry. Yes, Jesus is truly God, but He’s also truly human, and as a real human being, He had the same emotions which you and I have. So, off Jesus went, in a boat, traveling across the Sea of Galilee to the East, to an area which wasn’t heavily inhabited. What emotions are going through Him? What thoughts are in His head? What an ache must have been in His heart! How He must have longed for a bit of peace, a bit of break-time.
But! The crowds find out about and they travel around the lake (apparently by land) and they get to the place where Jesus lands. Put yourself into Jesus’ shoes. He’s just had a loved one die, in a horrible manner. He wants some down-time, some space. If you and I were Jesus and saw the crowd, how would you and I have reacted? Can you imagine us saying, “Come on, guys! Give me some space! I need a break!” Or maybe we would have pasted a smile on our face and said through gritted teeth, “Great to see you,” while inwardly we were seething.
How did Jesus react? He was filled with compassion for them. While HE was the one who could have used some compassion and encouragement, His heart was filled with compassion … for them! And so He put His own needs aside, and spent the day healing their sick, as well as teaching them. (The other accounts help us to understand that.)
So the day lingers on; the disciples recognize a problem – the people have no food. So they come to Jesus and ask Him to send the crowds away so they can travel to the nearby towns and buy food for themselves.
But Jesus has a different plan: “They don’t need to go. You give them something to eat.” Now, the disciples have spent the day listening to Jesus teach, and watching Him do miracle after miracle. He was proving to them over and over again that He was the true God, who could do anything. The reasonable response to Jesus’ statement, “You give them something to eat”, would be for the disciples to say, “Lord, we know that we’re helpless in this situation, but we also know that You can do anything. Please help.” In other words, the proper response of faith would have been to simply look to Jesus.
Instead, the disciples spend some time at this. (Matthew’s account doesn’t give us that impression; the other accounts make it clear that the disciples spent some time thinking about this and trying to figure out how to handle this on their own.) They DON’T look to Jesus for help; at least, not at first.
And so again put yourself in Jesus’ shoes; He’s in mourning, but He has no time to mourn, for the crowds are upon Him. Those who SHOULD be “getting it” the most – Jesus’ disciples – aren’t getting it. If you were Jesus might you be getting a bit frazzled? A bit bummed out?
And then comes the last straw. The food that the disciples end up bringing to Jesus are five loaves and two fish. John’s Gospel tells us that they were barley-loaves. Now, perhaps that doesn’t strike us as a big deal, but when we read in Jewish literature from that day, we find out that barley loaves were the food for the poorest of the poor. In studying for the sermon I found this quote in the Mishnah, which are a series of writings explaining the Old Testament regulations. If a woman were caught in adultery, she was to bring an offering of barley. The rabbi who explained it said, “as her deed is that of animals, so her offering is also of the food of animals.” (Quoted in Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah.”)
And, the explanation for the kind of fish eaten here is similar. If I understood it correctly, it was a kind of fish which wasn’t cooked. Rather, it was treated in a brine solution, and became known as a “savory.” It was apparently a small fish, kind of like our sardines or something like that. There were millions of them in the Sea of Galilee; again, it was the meal of the very poor.
And so here is Jesus. He’s in mourning because his relative has been killed in this horrid way, yet He can’t get a day to Himself. He’s surrounded by disciples who seem pretty thick. And as this day draws to a close He – THE ALMIGHTY RULER OF THE UNIVERSE!!!!! – is going to be treated to a meal which is the most basic of the basics.
And He responds … how? “He took the five loaves and two fish, and looking up to heaven he gave thanks and broke the loaves.” Jesus responds … how? With thanks! He responds with thanksgiving! He looks to His heavenly Father and says, “Thank you.” The typical Jewish prayer went like this: “‘Blessed art Thou, Jehovah our God, King of the world, Who causes to come forth bread from the earth.”
And even more. We’re told in Jewish tradition that when a prayer is said before the meal, it was only to be said by the head of the family. We hear, “the Head of the House was only to speak the blessing if he himself shared in the meal, yet if they who sat down to it were not merely guests, but his children, or his household, then might he speak it, even if he himself did not partake of the bread which he had broken.” (Quoted in Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah.”) The fact that Jesus spoke this blessing, this thanksgiving-prayer, could seem to indicate that Jesus was claiming all these people as part of His family, as one of His children.
Can you imagine? Jesus, the all-powerful ruler of all things, yet also a real human being with real human emotions. He’s had such a day! He’s in emotional pain, His followers are struggling to “get it,” and He’s going to be treated to the most basic of meals, and He responds by saying “Thank You, Father!”
And the Son of God did all this for whom? Why, for you and for me! He endured the pain of loss, the frustration of working alongside humans who didn’t get it, paltry meals – all as part of His work of saving you and saving me! He did all this because He loves you and loves me! And can you believe it? In the midst of this day of days, He lifts His head and says, “Thank you.”
And I suppose it’s reasonable for us to hang our heads in shame. After all, we look at ourselves, and most of us have shelves loaded with food, with clothes, etc. We have playstations and x-boxes and touch phones and ipods and computers. We have cars and trucks and minivans. In short, we have so much!
Do we regularly look upward and say, “Thank you, Father!”?
Perhaps even more to the point of this text, when our day is going poorly, when there are challenges and difficulties, when we’d like to have time for ourselves but others are pulling at us, when those around us aren’t “getting it,” when the cupboard is bare, do we lift our eyes upward and say, “Thank you, Father!”? Or are we more likely to fret, to worry, to complain? How right God would be to condemn us, for we are self-focused, we fail to get it, we’re slow to say thanks, quick to complain!
And yet Jesus claims us. He counts us as His. Yes, the Son of God was willing to set aside His own interests (even as a human!), was willing to put up with the “privilege” of working with us humans, was willing to eat the lowest of fare. All so that what could happen? All so that WE could be saved, so that WE could end up eating at THE heavenly banquet feast! What amazing love!
And, as if that weren’t enough, God continues to bless us day-by-day, providing clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, family, body and life. In short, all that we NEED, we have. And God promises to walk us through this life, promises to guide and direct us until that day when He will take us to be with Him in heaven.
All of which leads us to lift our eyes to the skies and say, “Thank You, Father!” “Thank you for providing for my day-to-day needs. Thank you for blessing me with what I need for life on this earth. Thank you for providing for me even when I’m ungrateful, unappreciative. And most of all, thank you for providing for me what I really need; life which is eternal. Thank You, Father!” Amen.