Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church

True Abundance​​

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In our gospel reading, Jesus hears about John the Baptizer's death and wants to be alone, to withdraw "to a deserted place".  But the crowds follow him, the disciples follow him, and it seems everyone wants something from him.  Jesus' response is compassionate, and he meets their needs, healing those who were sick.  Then evening falls, and the disciples come to him with a request: "You've healed everyone.  Now send them home.  They can buy food in the villages for themselves."

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Some compassion is needed here for the discples too.  With the twelve of them plus Jesus, there are at least thirteen people to feed with what they have --- just five loaves and two fish.  That's not enough even for them

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So Jesus does this miracle -- he takes what he is given and multiplies it so everyone has something to eat, and there are twelve baskets left over.  (Twelve baskets means one for each disciple to carry and then realize that true abudnance comes from Jesus!)

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The miracle fed the people, but it also taught the disciples that, with Jesus, there is always compassion and always enough to share.  After feeding the thousands, each disciple now had a basket of food.  By sharing what they had, through Jesus they receive back more than they had to begin with.

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This is the true message of Matthew's text today; God gives us what we need, we share what we have with others, and in the end, we are given more than we could ever imagine.  This is loving the neighbor.  This is being God's grace in the world.  At no time is sending people away God's answer.  Jesus taught his disciples this important lesson, and we continue to learn and struggle with it today.