Romans 6:19–23
St. Mark 8:1–9
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
They had been with Jesus for three days, listening to Him preach, following Him out into the wilderness, hanging on His every Word, not even realizing that they had nothing left to eat.
Jesus had compassion on them. That means His heart suffers with them and moves Him to do something for them, something only He can do. Jesus wants to feed them. But the disciples are right. Feeding any number of people in this desolate place is difficult. There are no stores, they are far from home. Not to mention there are over 4000 hungry mouths. The math just doesn’t work.
Jesus says He wants to feed them. He doesn’t say with what. He is the Lord who led a lot more than 4000 through deserts before. He could’ve brought a new batch of manna from heaven. He could’ve made the rocks gush forth with milk and honey. It’s the disciples who mention bread: “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” I’m guessing they have bread on their mind because they’re thinking of their own. Jesus asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” I think it’s safe to assume we’re talking about the disciples’ own lunch. Seven loaves and a few small fish—it’s not a feast when you split it 13 ways, for 12 disciples and Jesus—but they’d get by.
Jesus has other plans. For us who know the Lord’s Supper, we immediately notice something special is going to happen as we see Jesus take bread, give thanks, and break it, handing it back over to the disciples for them to distribute. But were the disciples a bit reluctant at first in sharing it? “There goes our food, and for what? Not enough for everyone anyway.” I wonder, when did they begin to realize it wasn’t diminishing? And then, can you imagine their excitement? The more they gave, the more there was to give! Eventually their reluctant giving is changed completely into joyful, generous giving. And on top of all that, they get to gather back up seven full baskets, in exchange for their original seven loaves.
If the disciples had not listened to Jesus, if they had kept their food for themselves, how much would they have had at the end of the day? Only seven loaves and a few small fish, or nothing at all, after eating it. But because they listened to Jesus and trusted Him, they got what they needed and much more besides. What’s given up for the Kingdom of Heaven is never lost, but multiplied. Whatever we must sacrifice for the sake of Jesus and His Word, Jesus has a way of taking it, blessing it, and causing it to overflow back into our lives, here on earth and forever in heaven. When you listen to Jesus and trust Him, and so give up your idols, God has a way of giving them back to you, but sanctified, and better than ever.
You might sacrifice the idols of selfish lust, and God gives back the far greater blessings of marriage. Or sacrifice the small blessings of a “successful” or comfortable life, and in exchange God multiplies His blessings for you in the multiplication of children. Or you might sacrifice a tenth of your income, and hand it over to God’s church, and you will be blessed with a church that much more faithful, that much better able to meet the needs of her members and her community, and able to do it with joy and gladness, without the worries of running a deficit. And for years to come you and your children will have a church where you can receive more and more of God’s blessings.
And if it’s sports or movies or books that sit in power at the center of your life, then recognizing that these things are not so important as your relationship with God or with those around you can be quite freeing. More often than not, God will give these lesser loves back to you in their proper place, so it’s no longer an idol that controls your life and keeps you away from God. Then you can enjoy your favorite sport with your kids, or find a way to use what you love to serve others. Giving things up for the Kingdom never leaves you poorer, but always richer in the blessings that God has in store for you.
St. Paul says the same thing: For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness—you got to do whatever you wanted. But, he asks, what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? Was the sin really worth it? Were you really happier with your loves all out of order? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. Whatever’s given up for the Kingdom is never lost, but multiplied. You don’t just give stuff up, you bear fruit. You grow in holiness, which overflows in life everlasting.
This is what we prayed for in our Collect today: O God, whose never-failing providence orders all things both in heaven and earth, we humbly implore You to put away from us all hurtful things and give to us those things that are profitable for us; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. That’s all God wants from you, what He wants to do for you: take away the things that hurt us, that keep us away from Him, and give to us all the good things overflowing out of His heart for us.
This is all Jesus’ plan. He gave up His very own life. He gave everything away. He was a grain of wheat, dead and buried in the ground, but after three days, bore much fruit, not only for Himself, but salvation and life for us all. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
You came here today with next to nothing. It’s the same every Sunday. The week of sin and earthly life has taken its toll, exacted its wages. And you don’t have a crumb of righteousness to your name. But you leave this place with a multiplication of blessings. Not just bread or fish. Not even milk, honey, or manna. You get here the most miraculous food of all: the choicest bread and richest wine of heaven, the true body and blood of your Lord.
And so you don’t get just enough forgiveness to cover each sin. The Lord doesn’t set a limit on His forgiveness, life, and salvation so you have to scrape by. You have Jesus living in you. You leave here today with what you need and with a whole basketful of blessings besides. Doing it Jesus’ way, putting what we have in His hands and leaving the multiplication up to Him, even when it doesn’t make sense to our math, our way of thinking, that is always the path to blessing on top of blessing. Our God is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).
In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.
