Pastor Edgar Mayer; Living Grace Community Lutheran Church; Message on Mark 6:30-44; Date: 28 October 2007

For more sermons and other writings check out pastor’s homepage: http://www.geocities.com/mayeredgar

There Will Always Be Enough

A hungry crowd is hard to satisfy. Masses of people were pressing in on Jesus so that the Bible says – Mark 6:31 – I read: “ . so many people were coming and going that Jesus and his disciples did not even have a chance to eat. Therefore Jesus said to them: ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’” Sensible idea! Jesus was protective of his disciples and mindful of fatigue. He knew that masses of people can drain you. However, the plan did not work. The Bible continues to record – Mark 6:32-34: “So Jesus and the disciples went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.”

A hungry crowd is hard to satisfy and – according to what we have just read in the Bible – resorts to stupefying behaviour – allowing no breaks for food, running along the shore of the lake so fast that they reach the other side before the boat of Jesus even though it is the boat which is taking the shortcut across the water and the fast running crowd is doing that – as we find out – in the heat of the early afternoon and – as we also find out – in the remoteness of a barren place – and – as we further find out – in their thousands with women and children. What got into these people? Do you understand them? Well – these men, women and children were hungry – not for comfort or food or anything else –these people were hungry for what came out of Jesus’ mouth – hungry for his words which spoke the truth and taught them many things – most of all about the kingdom of God.

When you look at us we look nothing like the crowd before Jesus. We haven’t been running and therefore we are not sweaty and panting. In fact when you look at us – clean and shaven and in our Sunday best – you may wonder how much we fulfill the most basic precondition for receiving anything from God – that is: being hungry. Are you – am I – hungry for God? Are you so desperate for life-giving food from God that you no longer care for your dignity and reputation and even religious constraints – such as: no running in church or running after the preacher for more preaching. The hungry – when the hunger reaches a certain stage – they only care to be fed and they become more and more single-minded about that. Are you – am I – hungry for God?

The other day I heard a testimony from a man who said that his dad grew up as white trash – these are the dad’s own words – and he was desperate to get out of his environment. Therefore the dad disciplined himself, pursued a good job and eventually he reached his dream goal – the house in the suburb with a nice car in the driveway – middle-class and respectable. However, then the dad discovered – to his great surprise – that the dream achievement did not satisfy the hunger. He was still restless. He was looking for more and thus he began to take his family to different churches on Sunday mornings – checking them out – until Jesus met his needs and the needs of his family.

Are you hungry for God? At this point of time you may still be unsure about that because – especially when you are young – you can be so hungry for other things – making a mark, looking cool, money in the bank, career, … However, a hungry person – a hungry crowd – you – are hard to satisfy because nothing but God satisfies your soul. The world on its own – even all of the world – without God – will not be enough for you. After all that you will have achieved and after all that you will have done you will still be left empty – still craving for more – and sometimes it takes years to learn that – chasing after the wind. By then – down the years – from the outside you may look to others like a successful person. You have arrived – in their eyes – and therefore another temptation comes. You are tempted to maintain this flattering illusion.

However, hear the Bible and the question God is asking – Isaiah 55:1-2 – he queries you: “ … Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labour on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, … “ The crowd before Jesus knew that they were desperate and thus they fulfilled the most basic precondition for receiving anything from God – that is: hunger, a hunger for what he can give.

We are going to change tack now. I need three volunteers from the Martin Luther Primary School students. (They come up to the front.) Good morning & welcome. I would like to talk to you about lunch boxes. Do you have one for school? What does your mum or dad pack you for lunch? Do you like what she puts in your lunch box? Are there enough sweets? Do you ever share your food with someone else? Would your mum or dad like it if you gave away lots of your lunch? Why not? (I would be left hungry and I need food to grow up strong and healthy.) What would your parents say if a teacher or the principal of the school took away your lunch box and began handing out your food to the others?

Have a look at the congregation. How many lunch boxes would it take to feed all of these people? Have a guess at how many lunch boxes Jesus used to fill the tummies of 5000 families. One! Do you know that Jesus took the lunch of one boy – the only person among a crowd of thousands that had brought any food – and Jesus took this boy’s lunch – five small barley loaves and two small fish (John 6:9) – and by a miracle of God this food was enough, the bread and fish were not running out, they kept multiplying until everyone was absolutely satisfied – 5000 families – and then there were even 12 baskets full of left-overs.

What do you think about that? What I want you to remember today is that you may be here in church and you may think that the sermon is not terribly interesting and that there is so much adult stuff going. You may feel out of place but you are not. Jesus himself preached to adults but he used a young boy to feed them all. Whatever faith, whatever trust, whatever gift you can bring to Jesus – be it ever so small –, he can take it and do wonders with it. You are important and your trust in Jesus is important – for all of us. You can go back to your seat now.

This goes for all of us. Whatever lunch we have – however insignificant we may feel – out of place in church – Jesus can use the little we bring and make it big. A hungry crowd is hard to satisfy but Jesus did. We hear now from the Bible how the story continues – Mark 6:35-44: “By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to Jesus. ‘This is a remote place,’ they said, ‘and it’s already very late. Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.’ But he answered, ‘You give them something to eat.’ They said to him, ‘That would take eight months of a person’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?’ ‘How many loaves do you have?’ he asked. ‘Go and see.’ When they found out, they [told Jesus about the boy with his lunch-box] and said to him: ‘Five loaves of bread and two fish.’ Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. The number of families [original: men] who had eaten was five thousand.”

Can we follow the story so far and understand what was happening? The crowd did not come to Jesus for loaves of bread and fish. They came to him – running along the shore of the lake – tracking his boat – because they were so hungry for the deeper answers about life and purpose and God that in the process they had forgotten all about lunch and afternoon tea and had also made no provision for dinner. (Any mothers at home would not have been impressed.) Yet, Jesus not only satisfied their souls with his words and truth but he also cared about their empty stomachs. Like the one verse said – Mark 6:34: “Jesus saw the [original: a] large crowd and he had compassion on them.” Jesus loved them.

He said to his disciples – Mark 6:37: “You give them something to eat.” “You give them something to eat.” And then he did make use of one boy’s lunch-box. This is significant but before we bring together all the different threads of this Bible story and sermon, we will watch a clip from a DVD which tells the story of Heidi and Rolland Baker – missionaries in Mozambique, Africa.

Video clip from the DVD: Mama Heidi. The Inspiring Story Of Heidi & Rolland Baker, From 25:25 minutes – 29:30 minutes.

Let’s try to wrap up the various thoughts and angles of this message so far. A hungry crowd is hard to satisfy especially when you are a worn-out missionary from Mozambique – drugged – with pneumonia – in need of respite – … At that time Heidi Baker was in charge of 320 homeless children who all called her Mama and who were all hungry for her love and God’s love and food. After ten years on the mission-field Heidi was exhausted. It had all become too hard and she sought refuge in Canada.

But then she learned what Jesus can do. When Jesus saw the large crowd in the Bible story, he had compassion on them and everything went from there. This same Jesus now appeared to Heidi in a vision while she was in a Toronto church – overcome with the presence of God. At first Heidi saw a large crowd coming towards her – just what Jesus experienced – hundreds and thousands and then tens of thousands of children coming to her – seeking care. Heidi was overwhelmed and so she cried out in desperation: “No. No, Jesus. There are too many. I’m tired. I cannot do this any more.” Yet, Jesus – the one with compassion – in that vision he said to Heidi: “Look into my eyes.”

Heidi says: “When you do, you are wrecked. They are so full of love. Jesus’ face is so beautiful.” Jesus repeated the request: “Now look into my eyes.” And they were shining with so much love – liquid love. Then Jesus spoke words to her – key words for all of us. He said: “I died that there would always be enough.” “I died that there would always be enough.” Since that day – so Heidi – she has never said “no” to a single child. She believes for all of them and – what’s more – together with her husband they have founded about 6000 churches in only five years. Quite something that Jesus did with her lunch.

Jesus explained: “I died that there would always be enough.” Do we understand this? This means that we can come to him with all of our hunger and be satisfied – be it spiritual or physical. Jesus has compassion on us for both. First of all his death means our friendship and peace with God. I read from the Bible – Romans 5:1-11: “ … we have peace with God because of … Jesus Christ our Lord … By faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we … look forward to sharing God’s glory … we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ … we . rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.“ You and I – feast on these words. This is the food you need. Jesus died – shed his blood on a cross for you and me – and if you come to him and hear that and put your faith in his sacrifice of love, then you will receive more than enough from Jesus to quench any hunger you may have had.

You will go from loneliness, desperation, lack of purpose, hopelessness, sin and condemnation … to peace with God, a wonderful new relationship with God where you are his friend. And this is available right now. Then – once that hunger is satisfied – we can be assured that Jesus will take care of all the other needs as well. At one time he said to his disciples – Luke 12:31: “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need [– enough food, enough clothes, enough of everything. Do not worry.]” When Jesus had fed the 5000 families of our Bible story, there were even leftovers – twelve baskets full with loaves and fishes – which were a sign of Jesus’ overflowing and abundant compassion – also for you. We can trust him with everything.

I close with coming back to one more observation. Jesus asked the disciples to feed the crowd – and he was not shy in using a boy’s lunch-box for these purposes – and Jesus asked Heidi to take care of the homeless children in Mozambique – and in like manner he also asks you and me never to say “no” to anyone and any crowd that is hungry and thirsty among us. When we think about the implications of this request, we may feel the same resistance coming up against Jesus which the disciples and Heidi experienced previously – Mark 6:37 – the disciples protested: “Jesus, what you ask us to do would cost eight months of a person’s wages. Are we to spend that much on just one meal for all of these people?” In a sense I am with the disciples. Can you imagine being a church that never says “no” to the desperate? Can Living Grace feed all of the hungry of Toowoomba? No! As much as we raise the budget every year and as much as we are generous on all occasions – and this is a generous congregation – we do not seem to have unlimited supplies.

However, Jesus said: “I died that there will always be enough.” “I died that there will always be enough.” What happened on the cross changed the world. You and I – believe and learn from the Bible story and from Heidi Baker how it’s done. The miracle happens as we keep feeding the one person in front of us. Let’s not look at the thousands – that’s too daunting and abstract – no, let’s not look at the thousands but the one person in front of me and the one person in front of you and the one person in front of every Christian – focus on one – you can help one – and then hand out what you have – your small lunch-box – and see how Jesus will multiply what we give him. There will always be enough. Amen.