Lent 4
– March 30th and 31st, 2019 – John
6:1-15
In the Name of Christ the Crucified +
In the Name of Christ the Crucified +
The
fourth week of Lent is known sometimes known as “Refreshment
Sunday”. It’s a week where we ease up a bit on the intensity of
our self-examination and penance in Lent – where we take a slight
breather. If we wanted to be really prim and proper, and if we
actually had them – we’d have the pink, the rose colored altar
cloths on the altar, just like the 3rd
week of Advent. It is the final rest stop, the final breather before
Lent takes us through its intense push towards Golgotha, towards Good
Friday. This is a relaxing, refreshing day. And so, our Gospel text
is the feeding of the 5000. It’s a familiar text, a great text, a
refreshing text. So, let us look at the text, and see what we learn
about how God refreshes us.
After
this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which
is the Sea of Tiberius. And a large crowd was following Him,
because they saw the signs that He was doing on the sick. Jesus went
up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples.
So that is the setting. People following
Christ, people wishing to hear His Word, listening to Him, all
gathered. They’ve been there all day. They are tired. They are
worn out. They are hungry. Imagine yourself there. If I go over 15
minutes on the sermon, how many of your eyelids get heavy? Now
imagine a sermon that lasted all day. By the end of our hour here,
how many of you are sore from sitting in the pew? Now imagine 12
hours walking after Jesus, or at best sitting on the ground looking
up hill. We can imagine how sore and tired those people must have
been.
But we
also see and understand how tired we ourselves are. It is hard to be
a Christian, isn’t it? It is tiring work. All around us we see
people taking the easy way, the wide path that leads to hell. We see
people backbite and stab each other – but we strive to show respect
as instructed in the 4th
Commandment. We see everyone else simply look out for themselves,
but we strive to support our neighbor in his bodily needs, as
instructed in the 5th
Commandment. We see people jump from person to person in pursuit of
pleasure, but we strive to be faithful, to show love to our spouses
even when that can be quite difficult, as instructed in the 6th
Commandment. We see people get ahead by hook or by crook – but we
strive to do things honestly, as instructed in the 7th
Commandment. We see people attack and speak cruelly of others, but
we strive to defend them, speak well of them, put the best
construction on everything, as instructed in the 8th
Commandment. And all this we do – while trying not to covet, while
trying not to look over the fence and see what our neighbor has and
think, “Boy, they’ve got it so good.” Dear friends, I would
suggest that our lives as Christians are more wearying than simply
sitting, more painful than the hunger after a day without food. The
Christian life is hard – God sets a high standard for us and we
strive to do His Will – we strive – it is hard work, hard and
tiring work.
Lifting
up His eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward
Him, Jesus said to Phillip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that
these people may eat?” He said this to test him, for He Himself
knew what He would do. Phillip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii
would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” One
of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him,
“There is a boy here who has five barely loaves and two fish, but
what are they for so many?” We strive
to do God’s will – and it’s hard, and oftentimes we stumble.
Look at poor Phillip. Jesus lays out the Commandments to him – ah
– how are we to care for these people’s bodies and lives,
Phillip? And Phillip draws a complete blank. Um, I don’t know
Jesus, I hadn’t really thought about it. Phillip falls flat on his
face. And Andrew, well, he’s a little bit better. Uh, here’s
what we have Jesus – but it won’t do any good. Do you hear the
despair, the resignation in Andrew’s voice? Well, it can’t get
done. The life of a disciple was hard, and Phillip and Andrew, with
this task before them, fail.
Sounds
familiar, doesn’t it? How often at the end of the day, when
thinking back on something from the day, do you look at it and think,
“I messed that up royally. I completely blew it”? One of the
most amusing things in the catechism is what Luther writes after the
evening prayer – “Then go to sleep at once and in good cheer.”
I find that hard to do quite often. The folly, the wickedness I have
done this day gnaws at me, and the burdens of the morrow hang in
front of me. It’s hard, seeing your sin. It’s hard when you've
got to do something and afterwards you realize you handled it
completely poorly. Often times we don’t handle the challenges in
our life the right way. We stay silent when we should speak up and
defend our neighbor – or we speak up and gossip when we should stay
silent. We work and work when we should be paying attention to the
Word – or we see our neighbor, the stranger in need, and we sit
back and lift nary a finger. We look with disdain upon the blessings
we have and look with lust at what our neighbor has. And then we
kick ourselves. I knew better than that! We see our lives for what
they so often are – chances to do good where we do wickedness
instead – chances to show the love of God where we simply show our
own hate and indifference. Sometimes, we even despair, like Andrew
here. Oh well, what good it is – no matter what I do I will mess
up. We are beaten and broken down quite often.
Jesus
said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in
the place. So the men sat down, about 5000 in number. Jesus then
took the loaves, and when He had given thanks, He distributed them to
those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted.
And when they had eaten their fill, He told His disciples, “Gather
up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” So they
gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the
five barely loaves, left by those who had eaten. It’s
not a problem for Jesus. Phillip – he doesn’t know what to do.
Andrew – eh, what good are these few loaves, these two fish? It’s
not a problem for Jesus. He takes care of things. He sees that
people need to be fed – and so He feeds them. He sees that Phillip
and Andrew cannot, so He does it for them and through them. It’s
not a problem for Jesus.
This
is what we are to remember in our lives as well. It’s not a
problem for Jesus. Do you see your own sin – does it weigh heavily
upon you? It’s not a problem for Jesus. He stretches His arms out
upon the Cross and says, “Let me take that for you.” Your sin
isn’t your own any more – Christ Jesus has taken it from you.
The burden of it – He has taken it. Yes, your sin is great. It’s
horrible and wicked. There are probably things you are still kicking
yourself for from long ago. Christ died for that sin, and He has
taken it from you. It’s not a problem for Jesus. And when Satan
and your flesh stir up guilt, flee to Jesus for refuge, confess your
sin, for your Lord is faithful and just, and will cleanse you from
all, all your unrighteousness – even the big, dark, scary skeleton
in the closet ones. That is why He calls you to His house, week
after week – to give you forgiveness – so that you know that the
flaws and follies of the past week are done away with – put to
death upon the Cross. So that you receive His forgiveness and the
confidence in His love that comes from forgiveness.
It’s
not a problem for Jesus. This is what we are to remember when we
think about the things that will come – the challenges that we will
face, the seemingly insurmountable difficulties that will come. It’s
not a problem for Jesus. He has claimed you in the waters of
Baptism, He has joined Himself to you, you are His now. Do you see
and understand what this means? You’ve sung it since you were
little. Little ones to Him belong, they are weak but He is strong.
It is not I who live, but Christ who lives
in me. The Holy Spirit has made you His
dwelling place – do you see what that means? Likewise
the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray
for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with
groanings too deep for words. It’s not
a problem for God. He knows our lack, better than we do, in fact –
and He is the one who provides us strength. Consider what God gives
to us in the Supper. This meal isn’t just symbolic play time –
it’s not just us sitting back wistfully and thinking about good old
Jesus. Christ supports and sustains us in this life – He
strengthens our weak, tired bodies with His own Holy Body and
precious Blood. In this sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and
salvation are given. We are forgiven. We are given life – life
for today, life for tomorrow – Christ’s own strength to thrive.
All these things in our life that cause us consternation – they
aren’t problems for Jesus.
Jesus
looked upon the 5000 with compassion and fed them. Likewise, Christ
looks upon you with compassion, and He takes up your burden and
gives you His forgiveness. “Hence all fear and sadness! For the
Lord of gladness, Jesus enters in. . . . Thou art still my purest
pleasure, Jesus, priceless treasure.” In the Name of Christ the
Crucified + Amen
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