Feedin 5000

Feeding 5000

Our gospel readings in the next 4 weeks are from St. John chapter 6. They tell of the feeding of the 5000 and the meaning of that miracle. The feeding is reported in all 4 gospels. All say the day was ending, all have 5 loaves and two fish, all have the people sit down on the grass to be fed, all were satisfied, and 12 baskets of broken pieces were collected.  St. John adds that it was near the Passover, but the grass indicates it was spring time. I’ve been in that area in the summer, and things are dry and brown.

St. Mark 8 and St. Matthew 12 also tell of another later feeding of 4000 with 7 loaves. Jesus’ feeding large crowds with limited resources was an important part of the church’s memory of Jesus’ ministry. That memory, and Jesus’ explicit command to feed the hungry and heal the sick has inspired many soup kitchens and hospitals, including our own weekly food collection for hungry people of Avery County.

Martin Luther’s sermon on this text includes a medieval allegory. The grass is the Jewish people, from Isaiah 40, “all flesh is grass.” From the Jewish people the Word of God came forth, for salvation is of the Jews. The five loaves signify the Word of God as we receive it by the five senses. The loaves are in the basket as the word of God is contained in the Holy scriptures. That as Jesus took them in his hands to bless and increase them signifies that by Christ’s word and deeds, not by our own deeds or reason, are the Scriptures explained, rightly understood and preached. The two fish are the example and witness of the patriarchs and prophets shared with the people of God. The 12 baskets of fragments are the writings of the 12 apostles, the fulfilment of the writings of the Old Testament.

Allegorical interpretation has fallen out of favor. We prefer a more naturalistic interpretation. A popular comment on the feeding is that when Jesus called the people to sit down in groups he formed immediate communities in which those who had come prepared with some food shared with those who had not. So Jesus teaches us to share, to help people in need. That is true, and we see examples of it frequently. I remember the pictures of the Houston flood and people being rescued by volunteers in fishing boats. We contribute to needs, and as I do so I hope others will be there for me in my time of need.

But there is more to the story of the feeding than simply human sharing. Another account of feeding many with limited resources is in today’s reading from the Elisha miracle stories in 2Kings. Baal-shalishah means Lord of the three, and is identified as an Arab village in the West Bank where three dry valleys come together. On the surrounding hills are new Jewish settlements. God continues to provide – in this case five-fold – 20 loaves for 100 people. 

St. John’s report of the feeding of the 5000 makes the connection to Passover. Passover was God’s powerful action to set the people free from slavery in Egypt,  followed by God’s continuing to feed the liberated people of Israel with manna in the desert.

 God fed the people physically with manna and God continues to feed us spiritually in Holy Communion. “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us; therefore let us keep the feast.”

At the Last Supper the disciples surely remembered the miraculous feeding. We’re not told what words Jesus used to ask God’s blessing on the 5 loaves, but at the Last Supper we are told that he said, “This is my body which is broken for you,” and “This is my blood of the new covenant.” Jesus added, “Do this in remembrance of me.” And we have been doing this – taking bread and wine, asking God’s blessing on them, breaking the bread and sharing the cup – ever since.

The 5000 sat down on the grass.  We come together in churches. They were mentally and spiritually fed by Jesus’ words and physically and spiritually fed by the bread he had blessed. We are mentally and spiritually fed by Jesus’s words, and we are physically and spiritually fed by the bread on which we ask his blessing.  

Martin Luther ended his sermon on the feeding of the 5000 with words that continue to be as true today as they were 500 years ago. “We feed on Christ, for “he alone makes satisfaction, delivers from sin and death, gives peace and fullness of joy, and does it all of his own free will, that we may know that the Gospel is devised and bestowed, not through our own merit, but out of pure grace.”  Amen.