Preached by Michael Cheuk
July 26, 2009, Ninth Sunday After Pentecost, Year B
John 6:1-21
Early in the morning of Tuesday, May 5, 2009, a producer for the Oprah Winfrey show posted this announcement on the oprah.com blog: “FREE, FREE, FREE! It’s the Biggest Giveaway in HARPO HISTORY — and EVERYONE in the U.S. gets one! This is the most FUN I’ve had working on a show in YEARS! Why? Because there’s NOTHING I love more than . . . Surprising people with something BEYOND their wildest dreams . . . and GIVING AWAY FREE STUFF! And [today’s Oprah] show is CHOCK FULL OF SURPRISES AND FREE STUFF! Including something for EVERYONE in AMERICA!”[1]
On that day’s show, Oprah announced that KFC was giving away free two-piece Kentucky Grilled Chicken meals including two sides and a biscuit. Viewers had twenty-four hours to download a coupon from Oprah’s website and redeem it within two weeks’ time at any KFC restaurant in America. Sounds simple and straightforward enough. Unfortunately, Oprah and KFC underestimated America’s desire for a free lunch. The response to the giveaway was overwhelming, and the next day, hundreds of people were standing in line around the country for their free chicken, and eventually, they were turned away because KFC ran out. Two disgruntled viewers who were turned away filed a class action lawsuit against KFC that is still pending.[2] What seemed to be a fabulous idea turned out to be a “fowl” fiasco for KFC.
In today’s Gospel Lesson, John tells the story of Jesus giving away a free meal to a great crowd of people. Jesus had been attracting throngs of people as a result of his healing ministry. In order to get away from the crowds and to catch his breath, Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee and went up the side of a mountain to spend some time with his disciples. But the crowds, like swarms of ants homing in on a summer picnic, continued to chase after Jesus – either by finding boats to cross the sea or by walking around the sea. About five thousand men, but also women and children, advanced toward Jesus, a rising tide of desperate humanity, flooding in with incalculable needs and widespread suffering. Some were sick, some aged; many were poor and hungry. All were desperate for more wondrous signs from this miracle worker.
It’s hard to blame the crowds for chasing after Jesus, almost stalking him. After all, most of us know of the efforts that some of our friends and family have gone through in seeking treatment for a dreaded disease. Recently, we heard about the passing of Farrah Fawcett, and how she sought treatment from doctors all over the world in her fight against cancer. But it’s not just about our health. In this present economic crisis, all of us have experienced anxiety about our future, and we are looking for ways to save money and find deals. Who would refuse a free lunch from KFC in these economic times?
At the sight of the teeming masses, Jesus asked Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” It was a ludicrous question, for the disciples had little money and even if they had money, there were probably no grocery stores on the mountainside. John says that Jesus’ question was a test, for Jesus already knew what he was going to do. I’ve often wondered what exactly Jesus was testing his disciples that day. Was it their ability to feed the masses? If so, the disciples failed as Philip did some quick math and replied: “Eight months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” Philip was a realist who saw the magnitude of the challenge and decided there’s nothing they could do. Was Jesus testing their ability to solve problems with realistic solutions? Only Andrew came up with a “solution,” but it certainly was not realistic: “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” I can easily imagine the disciples being dismissive or being embarrassed by Andrew’s suggestion. But Jesus was neither dismissive nor embarrassed by that boy’s meager offering. He had the crowds sit down, and he gave thanks for the loaves and the fish. And before you can say “finger lickin’ good,” the teeming masses had all that they could eat, and what’s more, there were twelve baskets of food left over.
In this familiar story, we tend to focus on the miraculous feeding. How can food literally multiply like that? Can we believe that it actually happened? I believe that Jesus really did perform that miracle that day. But I also believe that another miracle took place before Jesus began feeding all those people. To me, it was a miracle that a boy would offer his sack lunch to Jesus without knowing what would happen next. From the boy’s perspective, giving his lunch to Jesus was tantamount to kissing his lunch goodbye. It was all he had, and he didn’t know where, when or how he was going to get his next meal. Furthermore, I find it hard to believe that in a crowd of five thousand men, not a single one of them had the foresight to bring along food! Wait, let me take that back, because after all, we are talking about men here! Sorry! But surely, there were women and children in that crowd – it’s just that in those days, they didn’t count women and children. It’s incredible to believe that in a crowd of ten thousand or more, the only one that the disciples could find with some food was one little boy! It’s much more likely that people had food, but they were not willing to give it to Jesus! To me, the offering of that little boy was the miracle of the afternoon. And the test that Jesus gave was perhaps less to his disciples, and more to the crowd, a test to see who had enough faith in him to offer up a lunch.
If I were the boy, I would have come up with a whole host of excuses not to offer up my lunch to Jesus. I would have said, “I’m just a small boy, please choose someone bigger.” “It’s just a small lunch, there are so many others with much better lunches.” “I’m not old enough to hold a job. If I give up my lunch, I have no way to earn money to buy another.” In the eyes of the world, what difference can one little boy with five loaves and two fish make in a sea of hunger and need? Not much. But that’s the point. The boy’s ability to make a difference was not based on what he had, but on who Jesus is. When Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks and distributed them to the crowd, he not only met the physical needs of the five thousand men on that mountainside, Jesus also anticipated a time at a last supper when He would offer not only bread but His body for the spiritual needs of a lost and dying world. It was not the meager provision of that boy that made a difference, it was the miraculous presence of Jesus that made the difference. And of all the people in the crowd, that boy drew close into the presence of Jesus. That boy trusted his future to Jesus and gave up trying to control how his lunch was going to be used. That boy risked offering what he had in his hand by putting it in Jesus’ hand, so that Jesus could do a miraculous work in meeting people’s needs. As a result, thousands of people were blessed, and so was he.
In many ways, Farmville Baptist is like that boy in today’s Gospel story. We’re certainly not the biggest church out there; there are many, many churches with bigger budgets, attendance, programs and staff. We certainly don’t feel like we have the resources to meet all of our community’s needs. In fact, halfway through our fiscal year, we are spending about $6,000 more than we are taking in right now. And really, what difference can prayer cards and prayer triplets make in our community? They are such small things.
Well, last Sunday morning in our worship service, I experienced first-hand what difference prayer cards and prayer triplets can make in people’s lives. I was so moved by Bob Pino’s testimony about how those prayer cards ministered to him while he was fighting cancer. I loved seeing members of our prayer triplets being so at ease with each other and sharing about all the things they are learning from God. I heard the excitement in their voices as common themes came to the fore – themes like the blessing they are receiving from a closer relationship with God and with members of their triplets. I heard how we need to trust God to lead us into our future and be less anxious to control and manage what might come. I heard how God may be calling us to risk more in focusing our energy and resources to people and causes outside the walls of our church. Those are exactly the qualities that Jesus is looking for in order to do another miracle!
Our ability to make a difference is not based on our power and resources, but upon God’s abundant presence and resources. But we are asked to offer up what we have to Jesus. It might be our ability to love and teach children and youth. It might be our love for visiting senior adults. It might be our gift in being a handy man or a seamstress. It could be our time and financial resources. Yes, those things may seem meager. But when we offer them to Jesus and put them in His control, Jesus is able to multiply our offering to minister and bless others in amazing and abundant ways. All God asks of us is to step out in faith and look beyond our anxieties and fears in order to respond to Jesus’ call to meet the needs of others. And when the storms of life come and rock our boat, the abundant presence of God promises to come to us like Jesus who calmed his disciples and the storm by proclaiming, “It is I! Don’t be afraid!”
This morning, Jesus wants to offer His abundant presence to us. There’s nothing God loves more than surprising people with something beyond their wildest dreams and giving away free stuff! But what God gives is not a free lunch as part of a marketing campaign to boost sales or membership. What God gives is abundant life and eternal salvation for all the people of the world who would accept His offer. This offer will never run out and it is free. Thank goodness it is free because we do not have the resources to purchase it. The Good News is that Jesus has already purchased it for us when He offered all that He had – his body and blood on a cross – for the forgiveness of our sins. So now, for those of us who call ourselves followers of Jesus, we are called to come into the presence of Jesus and offer all that we have so that Jesus can use us to be a blessing to the world.
A story is told of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, who began her orphanage by telling her superiors, “I have three pennies and a dream from God to build an orphanage.” A dream and three pennies represented resources as small as a lunch in the hands of a little boy. “Mother Teresa,” her superiors chided gently, “you cannot build an orphanage with three pennies . . . with three pennies you can’t do anything.” “I know,” she said, smiling, “but with God and three pennies I can do anything.”
May God give us the faith and the courage to dream, to risk and to do anything for Jesus.
Amen.
[1] http://www.oprah.com/community/blogs/producergs/2009/05/05/free-free-free-its-the-biggest-giveaway-in-harpo-history-and-everyone-in-the-us-gets-one-yes-that-means-you
[2] http://www.examiner.com/x-10201-Oprah-Examiner~y2009m6d23-Lawsuit-filed-against-KFC-for-Oprah-giveaway-gone-astray
