Sometimes I find it helpful, when working with a passage
of scripture, to spend some time putting myself in the shoes of all the
characters presented in the story.
Let’s do that this morning.
First
let’s connect with the crowd. We’re
thirsty for something other than Rome and its oppressive spirit (the Roman
agenda was divide and conquer) and empty religious practices. If we’re a wealthy Roman we own a villa
outside the city—away from the despair and the smell. We adorn our lovely home with statues of the
gods. We observe religious rituals so
that the gods will grant us prosperity—in other words, religion is about
spirits and gods existing to promote my welfare, my family’s welfare, and my
nation’s welfare. Religion binds me to
my family, to the emperor, and to my country—even if the emperor is blood
thirsty and greedy.
If we are poor, we live in town—in the middle of the
despair and stench. We may eat and we
definitely work hard. If we’re male we
are head of our household, like the wealthy Romans. If we’re female, we own nothing, and often
leave our newborn babies in the streets to be adopted by wealthier families as
slaves—because we cannot afford to feed our households. We wonder, “Is this all that there is to
life? Is this as good as it gets? “
If
we are Jewish, we understand that there is one God but the
God we meet in the synagogue is heavy on ritual and purity and light on
compassion—God will abandon you if you don’t perform every aspect of the law. We
hear that there is a man—God’s man—who is empowered to heal, to forgive sins,
to raise the dead, to love, and to unite.
He is so different from the emperor and the local priests. He’s not afraid, or worried, or selfish, or
violent, or judgmental. We want to know more.
Second,
let’s connect with the disciples. Unlike
the crowd that’s just catching on to this breath of fresh air called Jesus of
Nazareth, we’re on the journey with him.
We’ve seen miracles and heard stories that wake us up to a new
reality: God is with us, and God is
deeply concerned about our well-being and the well-being of our neighbors. He’s an instrument of God’s goodness and
invites us to discover this life for ourselves. We are waking up to this new reality Jesus
calls the Kingdom of God, “God with us.”
Will we take the risk and listen to God—instead of the emperor, and the
priests? Today we’re resistant. All we can see is a lot of hungry people and
our limited resources. We don’t factor
God into the situation and want to dismiss the crowd.
Third,
let’s connect with Jesus. Before
this WHOLE story takes place, Matthew records “When Jesus got the news (about the death of his cousin
John the Baptist), he slipped away by boat to an out-of-the-way place by
himself.” In the NRSV we heard, “He slipped away to a deserted place.” This is
not the first time one of the gospel writers notes that Jesus spends time in solitude.
“Solitude,”
writes Lionel Fisher, “is a means to an end, not an end in itself. It brings us things nobody else can
give.” UCC Pastor and Spiritual Director Jane
Vennard observes, “Every summer for
almost twenty years I have gone to a small house, high in the Rocky Mountains,
for my annual five-day solitary retreat. I make this annual retreat to immerse
myself in creation, learning what nature can teach me about stillness. I enjoy talking to the animals---greeting the
birds, telling the deer how beautiful they are. Sometimes a dream re-emerges
with an important message. Sometimes an
old relationship that ended in grief needs to be revisited. Solitude allows me to listen and see with the
ears and the eyes of the heart. I yield
to another agenda in the world.”
Vennard’s
last sentence describes the life of Jesus very well, don’t you think? Jesus yielded to another agenda in the
world—to another voice—to another spirit, the Holy Spirit of God. Whereas a citizen of Rome might yield to the
emperor, or a Jewish citizen might yield to religious law or rules, Jesus
yielded to God’s very self.
As Richard Rohr writes in his book Falling Upward, “There is a deeper voice of God, which (you) must
learn to hear and obey.” Jesus says it
this way, “The Spirit of God is upon me.”
What Jesus, and Rohr, are talking
about is relationship—developing a relationship between God and yourself
through prayer. Prayer, as Jesus models
it, is not just conversation, it also consists of solitude. Jesus would empty himself of the day’s demands
so that he could connect with the Spirit of God, with the energy of God which
is life-giving and loving. This
relationship affected Jesus deeply; this relationship affects everyone
deeply—when we pay attention to it.
How does the Spirit of God affect us? The Apostle Paul is quick to offer his list
of the “fruits”, or visible signs of the life of a Spirit at work in a person
in the fifth chapter of Galatians: 22-23 But what
happens when we live God’s way? God brings gifts into our lives, much the same
way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others,
exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things,
a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness
permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments,
not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies
wisely.
What Paul invites the church at Galatia
to understand is this…where we’d prefer life to be void of crisis so that we
might be safe and comfortable…God prefers to equip us with the gifts we need to
respond to the crisis so we aren’t overcome by change and challenge. “Pay attention to the Spirit,” Paul often
coached churches, “It will reveal God’s hopes and plans for you. It will make you well.”
So
often WE are focused on the day’s events, like the disciples in today’s story,
afraid of what the events will cost us, convinced that what we see with our
eyes is all that’s there.
Unaware that God is somehow with us, and that THAT awareness changes everything—including
how we will respond to a crisis. In today’s story Jesus, attuned to God’s
deeper voice and infused with the Spirit’s gifts: charity, patience, generosity, responds differently
to the hungry crowd. Jesus is
charitable. What is charity? Charity is
self-giving love instead of self-seeking love.
Jesus is patient. What is patience? It’s long-suffering; Jesus can wait with
hope. Jesus is generous. What
is generosity? It’s the daily
offering to God of our meeting the concrete needs of others without wanting
anything in return. These qualities
aren’t something we see operating in a person very often, and when we do, we
marvel at it.
We are still talking about Jesus…and
Mother Teresa, and, well, who do you remember for being charitable, patient,
and generous? Who does the difficult
work of loving? This week the Billings
Gazette told the story of the humble Roundup, Montana farmer who left
$38,000,000.00 to our two hospitals. How
many people will benefit from his gift?
To demonstrate that the Kingdom of
God ISN’T far and away but accessible TODAY, Jesus desires to meet the needs of
the crowd instead of dismiss them. Isn’t
he amazing?
How does this little story affect us
today? Hunger is everywhere. It is a
real crisis. “Don’t dismiss the
hungry, “Jesus says to us, “and forget about them. Feed them.”
Do we have the joy, the meekness,
the patience—the charity of Spirit? Are
we attentive to the Kingdom of God in our midst? What place does solitude play in the life of
our congregation—and in your life?
Let
us pray: Encourage us, Loving God, to create space for
your Holy Spirit to infuse our lives with your precious energies: charity, joy, peace, kindness, generosity,
gentleness, faithfulness and self-control.
Your vitality in us saves our life, the life of our family, and our
world. Your vitality in us makes us
amazing, like Jesus. Amen.
(This sermon was preached by Reverend Dana Keener at Central Christian Church, Billings, on August 3, 2014.)
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