“Keep Your Eyes on the Rocks” (Matthew 14:22-33)

Well, the local Baptist church had been without a minister for some time when they finally called a pastor to serve the congregation.  One day the newly acquired pastor was in his office unpacking his boxes when there was a knock on the door.  He opened it up and there stood two men.  The two men introduced themselves as two of the local clergy . . . one was the town priest at the Catholic Church and the other was the Lutheran pastor.  As they were talking it was discovered that they all loved fishing.  So the two men invited the Baptist pastor to go fishing with them the following Saturday.

Saturday arrived and the two swung by the Baptist preacher’s house and picked him up.  After driving for a while, they arrived at a beautiful lake with a nice cove to fish in.  The two hosts got out and grabbed their tackle and headed over to the boat, telling the Baptist preacher to come along.  Once they got all of their gear on the boat they pushed off and went a little ways into the cove.  They began fishing.

 

Pretty soon the priest stood up and said he forgot his thermos of coffee back in the car.  He told them he was going to go back and get it.  Then he stepped over the side of the boat and began walking across the water.  The Baptist minister was amazed at what he was witnessing . . . a person actually walking on water!  He was in awe.  The priest meanwhile stepped out of the lake, got his coffee, and walked back to the boat.  The Baptist couldn’t believe it and just sat there staring.

 

Another hour went by and suddenly the Lutheran pastor stood up and announced that he was feeling a little chilly and he was going to go back to the car and get a coat.  He stepped over the side of the boat and began walking across the lake towards the shore and the car.  Again, the Baptist minister couldn’t believe what he was seeing.  He was awestruck.  Amazed.  And the Lutheran got his coat and skedaddled back to the boat.  The Baptist preacher just couldn’t believe his eyes.

 

For the next hour he sat there contemplating what he had seen.  Surely these two had faith, they could walk on water.  Well, if they could do it surely he could do it . . . after all, Baptists have faith.  Shoot they have more faith than anyone else.  If those two guys could do it surely, he could too!  He decided he was going to show them all that he could do it too.  If a Catholic and a Lutheran could do it . . . a Baptist could easily do it.  Baptists have faith!

 

The Baptist pastor stood up and announced that he had forgotten his lunch and that he was going to go back to the car and get it.  He stepped to the edge of the boat . . . lifted one leg over the side, then the other . . . and like a rock he sunk to the bottom of the lake.  Soon he was splashing and climbing back in the boat.  The other two ministers just watched.

 

Of course, the Baptist was going to let the Catholics and Lutherans show him up.  So, he did it again.  Again, he sunk to the bottom of the lake.  The other two just watched.  Repeatedly the Baptist pastor attempted to walk on the water to the point he was nearly drowning.  He was determined that anything the other two could do, he could do.

 

Finally, the Catholic priest looked over at the Lutheran pastor and said, “You think that we might want to tell him where the rocks are?”

 

Long ago when I was a child learning how to shoot a gun, my father and others would always remind me to “keep my eyes on the target”.  In the case of this Baptist minister, it is a matter of keeping your eyes on the rocks.  Isn’t that the lesson we are being told this morning with Peter’s attempt at walking on the water like Jesus.  Peter took his eyes off the target.  Peter quit looking at the rocks.  Everything was fine and dandy until he took his eyes off of his objective—which was Jesus.  As soon as he got a little confident and cocky, he took his eyes off that which he was heading towards—Jesus.  The result is that he sunk.  Isn’t that a lesson that we all need to learn?

 

Jesus asks us to “stay the course” on our journeys of faith . . . to follow him . . . to be like him . . . to keep our eyes on the target, on the rocks, on the final objective.  The final objective is to build and realize God’s kingdom built up loving God and one another.  If we can do that, we can do anything . . . even walk on water.  It sounds so easy, yet we live in times in which we are easily distracted . . . easily pull in other directions . . . easily led down bunny trails that pull us away from our journey of faith.  We allow other things to get in the way of our faith, our journeys, and building the Kingdom of God.  It is the “human” way.

 

Jesus tells us that the kingdom can come if we focus on kingdom building . . . focus on loving God and one another.  In W.P. Kinsella’s novella, Shoeless Joe, that became the movie The Field of Dreams, the main character keeps hearing a voice telling him, “If you build it, they will come.”  What is it that the character is supposed to build?  A baseball field in the middle of his corn fields out in the middle of nowhere in Iowa.  For the main character he does not lose sight of his objective and doggedly go about plowing under his cornfields to make the baseball field much to the dismay of his family and friends.  They attempt to talk sense to him . . . that is money in the bank he’s losing.  It makes you look crazy to the community.  Over and over, they argue in hope that he will come to his senses and do what they think is the right thing.

 

Well, if you have seen the movie, you know how it ends.  The people come . . . they come from all over to see this field in a corn field in the middle of nowhere Iowa.  This guy keeps his eyes on the rocks . . . his eye on his target and objective no matter what.

 

That is not easy to do.

 

Distractions come from all directions in our lives when it comes to our faith.  Lots of things make us take our eyes off Jesus.  It can be the pull of the culture or society that we live in when the mores of that community become more important than the witness and teachings of Jesus to love God and one another.  It can be groups and organizations we belong to where we find affirmation, acceptance, and place where we belong knowing that the loyalty is not with Jesus but the group or organization.  It can be the causes that we embrace . . . the politics we follow . . . and even our own families and friends.  Did Jesus not warn his followers of this?

 

They all have the potential to pull us away from Jesus and his vision of the Kingdom’s reality.  And they do.  They distract us making us take our eyes off the target, off of the rocks, off of our objective which is Jesus, his witness, his teachings, and his Kingdom.

 

Jesus would tell us to keep our eyes on the target . . . to keep our eyes on the rocks . . . to focus upon him.  After all, he is the way.  Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6, NIV)    In the early “church” there was no church, there was the “way” . . . and, Jesus was the “way”.  Jesus . . . the way that he lived his life in love, respect, grace seeking peace and justice showed us the “way”.  The words that he spoke and taught showed us the “way”.  The miracles he showed, showed us the “way”.  That is the target he calls us—his followers—to keep our eyes upon.  That is the objective . . . to keep our eyes on the rocks.  To keep our eyes on the rocks until we can proclaim the Kingdom come.

 

That is the “way” . . . keep your eyes on the rocks.  The Kingdom will come.  Amen.

 

"Five Loaves, Two Fish, and Stone Soup " (Matthew 14:13-21)

I believe that we can create miracles.

A simple definition or understanding of “miracle” is any act that reveals the presence of God.  Our scripture reading this morning is definitely a “miracle” story . . . Jesus feeds a crowd of five thousand according to the writer of the Gospel of Matthew.  And he does it with five loaves of bread and two fish!  Pretty impressive stuff!  It is a miracle and God is revealed in the great feast that is provided.

 

I’m impressed.  Shoot I am impressed whenever our whole family gets together and all fourteen of us get stuffed on a meal that is prepared by Nana . . . and Jesus did it for five thousand.  Ask Dana about the moaning and groaning when I must fix the meal for the two of us.  What Jesus did is impressive.  And it is called a miracle because it reveals the “holy” . . . reveals God . . . to those who witness it.  My cooking is not miraculous . . . being here to tell you about it might be, but my cooking is not.

 

We know this is a “miracle” story—and a pretty important one at that—because it shows up in two of the gospels.  We heard Matthew’s version of the story this morning, and then there is the Gospel of John’s version.  The Gospel of John is a little different.  In Matthew’s version it is the disciples who produce the five loaves and two fish which enables Jesus to feed the five thousand.  In John’s version it is a young boy who offers to share his five loaves and two fish allowing Jesus to pull off the miracle.  But in both stories the people are fed, and God is revealed.  Only in the Gospel of John is the act acknowledged as a miracle or revelation of the “holy”.  The writer tells us:  After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

 

Because of this story, I believe that we can create miracles.

 

Many years ago, when I was a child, I heard the story of Stone Soup.  Stone Soup is a European folk story.  In the version I heard it was about three soldiers making their way home from a war.  As they are traveling all they have is what is on their backs—nothing else.  Their travels towards home had made them hungry because they had not eaten for many days.  Coming upon a village they knocked upon a door and inquired if the residents had any food they could spare for some hungry soldiers on their way home.  They were denied.  Over and over, they knock on doors and at each they are turned away empty handed and hungry.

 

Despondent, one of the soldiers gets an idea.  Instead of asking for food they should ask for a cauldron at the next house.  When asked why they needed a cauldron the soldier says, “Tell the people it is to make some wonderfully delicious stone soup.”  Having succeeded in getting the cauldron, the soldier proceeds to start the stone soup . . . first comes the water and then the stones.

 

Of course, the actions of the soldiers catch the curiosity of the villagers who begin to gather and ask questions.  Each question is answered with “wonderfully delicious stone soup.”  Then one of the villagers says that the stone soup would be even better if they threw in some carrots and that he would donate the carrots if he could have some when it was ready.  Then someone offered potatoes . . . another cabbage . . . another meat.  Soon the cauldron was filling up with all sorts of delicious ingredients for soup.

 

When the village had emptied out all the ingredients for the soup into the cauldron and the soup had cooked, the soldiers doled it out and shared it with everyone.  At the same time the soldiers filled their own tummies with a wonderfully delicious stone soup made possible from all the ingredients shared by the villagers.  Everyone was satisfied.

 

Of course, the moral of the story is that the wonderful meal and the feeding of everyone is made possible because of sharing.  I’d say it was a miracle.

 

Through my years of ministry, I have witnessed countless miracles revolving around food thanks to potlucks.  As you know a potluck is a gathering of folks who bring food to share with everyone.  Well, if you have ever been involved in a potluck then you have seen a miracle.  I cannot count the many times that I looked out at the spread of food across the tables at a church potluck and then looked at the number of people who had to be fed, and thought to myself, “No way!”  There is not enough food to feed all these people.

 

And guess what!  There has always been enough food to feed everyone.  In fact, there has always been enough to feed everyone and plus a whole bunch left over.  I have never seen anyone leave a potluck hungry.  And what do we say?  God will provide.  Sure enough God does and it is a revelation of the “holy”.

 

If you have studied this story before you probably know that there are two explanations about how the miracle occurs and five thousand are fed.  One explanation, based on the Gospel of John, is that those gathered were moved by the boy’s willingness to share what he had.  Seeing his compassion to share, everyone else then becomes willing to share from what they have.  It is a sort of “stone soup” occurrence.

 

Author Tom Mullen, in his devotional book, When Two or Three are Gathered . . . Someone Spills the Milk, writes a series of devotions based upon how difficult it is to get any group to agree on something and work together.  So, think about it . . . five thousand people working together for everyone to eat.  That is miraculous!

 

That is one explanation of the story, and it works for both Matthew and John.  The other explanation is more magical.  Both writers tell us that Jesus received the bread and fish, prayed over them, and then . . . POOF!  Sending his disciples out to distribute the food there is more than enough to feed everyone with a whole bunch of leftovers to spare.  I think we would all say that it a miracle.

 

God makes it happen.  God is revealed.  It is a miracle plain and simple.  There is no denying that.  And, again, because of this story, I believe we can make miracles happen.

 

Anthropologist Margaret Mead said: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”  People working together can make a difference.  We see it in the feeding of the five thousand.  It is a miracle.

 

I want to invite all of us to become miracle makers . . . to get into the business of making miracles . . . of revealing God.  I want us to believe that if we work together, we can make a difference . . . that we can change the world . . . that we can make miracles happen.  I want us to do this together.

 

In the scriptures we are told that whenever two or three are gather in the name of Jesus that he is there with them.  And if Jesus is for us who can be against us?  If it is God’s will . . . so be it.  Coming together.  Working together.  Doing it for one another.  Having love for one another.  Showering grace upon each other.  Revealing the “holy” . . . revealing and acknowledging God.  That is the key to it all.

 

Who would have thought that five loaves of bread, two fish, and stone soup would reveal God . . . would expose the “holy” . . . would be called a miracle.  I don’t know.  Maybe we should ask those who were there . . . the five thousand.  Or maybe we should ask any survivor of a church potluck.  If they could do it, so can we.  We are the followers of Jesus, God is with us, and we only have to believe.  Jesus tells us: “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20, NIV). 

 

We can do it . . . we can make miracles happen.  Amen.