July
18th and 19th - 8th Sunday after Pentecost - Mark 6:30-44
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +
I
think sometimes we don't really understand how insidious sin is. So
often we think of sin just in terms of things that are big and bad -
naughty actions, bad deeds. That's not the full picture. Sin is
pervasive, it infests us. It taints and corrupts what we do, like an
illness that is still there even if you don't have symptoms boiling
over. Luther described sin very elegantly as being "incurvatus
se" - being curved in on yourself rather than focused on your
neighbor. And in today's Gospel lesson is the feeding of the 5000,
but Mark does something very neat with it - he gives a lesson not
just of Jesus doing a miracle, but Jesus dealing with that subtle,
pervasive sin. Let's go dive into the account.
"The
apostles returned to Jesus and told Him all that they had done and
taught."
It's a very subtle thing. Did you note who did the stuff, who ran
the verbs? The apostles tell Jesus all that *they* had done and
taught. Oh listen Jesus, I cast out a demon here, and then I got one
over there, oh, and I preached an awesome sermon in that place - I,
I, I. Me, me, me. It wasn't "Your Word is powerful, Jesus!
Your Word cast out demons, how great Thou Art" - it's how great
I am. Boy, Jesus, you could build a really good church upon me,
because I'm awesome, listen to everything I did. And so Jesus will
teach the Apostles a lesson. He says to them, "'Come
away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.' For many
were coming and going, and they had no leisure to even eat."
Oh yes, you, you, you. You must tired. Let's give you a break.
And off they go - but just like our lives so often, you try to take a
break but work and problems just keep following after you.
"And
they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. Now
many saw that they were going and recognized them, and they ran there
on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them."
And here's where the rub is going to kick in. The disciples we
going to get a reward break. It's just so hard being so wonderful
all the time, we need a break. And even as they go off - oh, look,
there's a crowd. 5000 men. Lots of folks. And you can almost
imagine the crestfallen sigh of the disciples. Ugh. More stuff to
do. Sigh. But here we get a great truth. That's not Jesus's
response: "When He went ashore He saw a
great crowd, and He had compassion upon them, for they were like
sheep without a shepherd. And He began to teach them many things."
Jesus is not curved in upon Himself, His primary concern is not how
things will impact Him - but rather His focus is simply and
completely upon the neighbor. When He sees the crowd, He doesn't
think, "Oh drat, break time is over". He doesn't grumble.
He doesn't complain. He teaches. He loves and serves the neighbor
They need the teaching, they need to be instructed - they are like
sheep, they need a shepherd, I better get to work shepherding.
But
alas, the disciples are not quite as chipper. In fact, they are kind
of grumbly. "And when it grew late, His
disciples came to Him and said, 'This is a desolate place, and the
hour is now late. Send them away to go into the surrounding
countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat."
Alright Jesus, let's call it off. You're talking on and on too long
-- well, I was going to say service can't go longer than an hour, but
for them it was it can't go past dinner time. Let's wrap it up,
they've gotten enough - we want our rest time that we have earned.
And
this is where Jesus sets the hook. "But He
answered them, 'You give them something to eat.'"
Oh, yes, that's right. It's all about what you disciples do, how
you did such great things and did such awesome teaching - in fact,
you want to cut off My teaching and get on to your own stuff.
Alright - so since you guys are so awesome - you feed them. If it's
about you and what you've done - you fix things, you take care of
them. So there's the problem, the challenge tossed out to the
disciples. Here's the situation - how will you fix it. And the
disciples fail, miserably. "And they said
to Him, 'Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and
give it to them to eat?'"
What - are we supposed to blow our savings on a giant Casey's run?
Is that what you are wanting Jesus? Two hundred denarii is basically
$20,000 - should we go and see what sort of meal we can cater for
four bucks a plate? What do you want *us* to do?
And
they miss the point. The point isn't about you and what you
yourselves can do, oh disciples - the point is Jesus. And
He said to them, 'How many loaves do you have? Go and see.'
Go scrounge something. And they don't get much - 5 loaves -- don't
think a full loaf of bread, think five dinner rolls. Don't think of
2 big trout, think 2 cans of tuna fish. Not much - but don't worry,
we still won't need the Denarii, we won't need a Casey's run. "Then
He commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. So
they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. And taking up
the five loaves and the two fish He looked up to heaven and said a
blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set
before the people. And He divided the two fish among them all. And
they all ate and were satisfied."
Do you see what Jesus is doing? He is teaching the disciples the
way things really work. It's not about what you did, disciples. You
were simply distributing the blessings I provided. And did you note
that Jesus looks up to heaven - this is a heavenly thing, a spiritual
thing, a holy thing. It's not about what you do disciples, the
focus, the center must always remain upon what God does, how God
shows love to people, even if that love is shown or handed out
through you. Always focused upon God and what God does.
Do
you see now the background undercurrent of sin in this text? Think
on the first commandment - You shall have no other gods. We should
fear, love, and trust in God above all things. At the beginning of
the text, who were the disciples fearing - that is, who did they they
had all the power and oomph. They thought they themselves had it.
We cast out demons! Who were they loving? Themselves. We were great
teachers! Who were they trusting? Themselves - look at what we did.
And to all the world, what they did was great - they cast out demons,
they preached. And yet - they were full of sin. Why? Because their
focus was upon themselves. This is what Jesus was talking about when
in the sermon on the Mount He says, "On that
day many will say to Me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your
name and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in
your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you;
depart from Me you, you workers of lawlessness.'" Did
you hear it again? We. Over and over. We, we, we - all the way
home, to where they are standing before God and they point to their
own works. And Jesus will call them workers of lawlessness - If you
brag about what you've done, then you don't understand the Law of
God. The Law shows that you are sinful, that you are corrupt, and
yet you are still going to point to your own actions before God
almighty come the judgment? You can go we, we, we all the way to
your home in hell. That's what your works will get you.
It's
not about what you do. And this isn't me telling you to just kick
back and relax - no, go love and serve your neighbor - focus on them
and not yourself. But it's not about you and what you do. If there
is to be any hope, any real lasting hope for sinners like you and I,
sinners who can twist and turn everything back onto ourselves - it
must be about what Christ does. In our Gospel lesson - it's Jesus
who truly teaches, it's Jesus who truly cares for the folks in the
wilderness, it's Jesus who gives them food to sustain their lives.
All on Jesus. And our Epistle is great for this as well - we passed
over the famous Ephesians 2 verse on this - "For
by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own
doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one
may boast."
No boasting, there's no place for that. Rather, everything depends,
is built upon, has as its foundation as we just sang, Jesus Christ
our Lord. Listen: "But now in Christ Jesus
you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of
Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and
has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility."
Now, immediately in the text, Paul is speaking about the big,
glaring divide of his day - Jew versus gentile - as nasty a feud as
you could find.
But
we can apply it here, today, now. Do you, o Christian, struggle with
sin and pushy away God? Are you, O Christian, struggling with your
neighbor? Hmmm... if only there was a place where we would be
brought before God in the Blood of Jesus Christ, maybe a rail where
He would call us so that we receive the Blood that brings us safely
before the throne of God. If only there was a place where could be
gathered together around Jesus's Body that breaks down the sin and
hostility that destroys us, and instead of being focused on our own
selfish and hurtful desires, we could be united in a common-union in
Christ's Body and Blood. And it would be especially neat if when we
approached this place, we walked by something that shows that God
indeed knows us, that He has called us by name, so we approach with
confidence not in ourselves but in God and His love for us and at His
bidding. Are you seeing the ties to the Lord's Supper, the ties to
Baptism? And the Lord's Supper isn't about us and what we have done
- who receives
this sacrament worthily? Fasting and bodily preparation are
certainly fine outward training. But that person is truly worthy and
well prepared who has faith in these words: "Given and shed for
you for the forgiveness of sin."
It's not about what you do - you personal piety, your preparation -
that's good, but that's not the center, the focus. It is that Christ
has given His body for you, it is that Christ has shed His blood for
you upon the Cross, and thus in Him your sin is forgiven, defeated,
and destroyed. Everything centers on Christ.
And know what your sinful flesh will do. It will try
to shift the focus back onto yourself, back onto what you have done.
And your sinful flesh will love to try to focus on the best and
kindest things you do. It's a trap, a trap to lure you away from
Christ. Rather, let us confess with Isaiah that all our righteous
deeds are but like filthy rags, and look to Christ Jesus who has
washed us in His blood, and though our sins were as scarlet, we are
white as snow in Him. To God alone be the glory for the great love
and mercy He has show to us with His death and resurrection, even now
and forever and ever. Amen.