Imagine all the people present in the crowd as Jesus took five loaves and two fish and fed the multitude. Each of them had their own stories, their own histories and motivations, their own expectations and beliefs—and yet Jesus fed them. All of them. As Christ’s body, we proclaim “All are welcome” because that’s what Jesus did. We get to participate in the work of building God’s kingdom, and we too are welcomed in. There’s a place for you at Christ’s table.
This week’s sermon focuses on Matthew’s account of the feeding of the multitude, found in Matthew 14:13-21, and touches on Isaiah 55:1-5. The inspiration for this sermon comes from this wonderful reflection by the late Rachel Held Evans and I also found helpful Allyne Holz’s GodPause devotion for August 2, 2023.
Here’s the podcast sermon audio and the service livestream.
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Grace and peace to you from the One who was, who is, and who is to come, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
For the last few weeks as we’ve made our way through Matthew’s Gospel, we’ve heard Jesus describing the kingdom of heaven using parables, sort of object lessons of what God’s reign looks like. The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, or a treasure in a field, or a net of fish.
Today’s story is a little different, because instead of making up a story to use as an object lesson, Jesus enacts a parable, a real-life glimpse of God’s kingdom breaking into this world.
The first verse of our reading, verse 13, begins with “Now when Jesus heard this,” so just a quick moment of background before we get to the feeding of the 5,000.
Remember Jesus’ cousin John the Baptist? The abrasive wilderness prophet who baptized people, ate locusts and honey, and irritating the authorities?
Right before this story, John had picked a fight with King Herod, criticizing him for marrying his brother’s ex-wife, and Herod had arrested him. And then—maybe you remember the story—Herod’s stepdaughter asks for John’s head on a platter, and Herod gives it to her.
So, when Jesus heard his cousin, the one who baptized him, has been executed, he takes a break from his preaching tour and withdraws in a boat to a deserted place by himself. He needs some time to process, to grieve for his cousin, maybe to consider that he himself is likely to meet a similar fate.
But Jesus doesn’t get much time to himself, because when he gets out of his boat and goes ashore, he finds a huge crowd of people waiting for him.
I want you to think about this crowd. Picture the scene. There are about five thousand men there, Matthew says, besides women and children. That’s a lot of people.
All together, that’s more than the entire population of Port Washington.
They’ve come out to this deserted place on foot, following him from the towns. Think about all their different stories, the variety of people present that day.
Some of them we know are sick—Jesus has compassion on them and cures them. But many of them had other motivations for being there. Some of them have heard Jesus speak before, and they are eager to hear more.
Some of them have been invited by friends, “Hey, come listen to this rabbi, and the stories he’s telling about the kingdom of God. He says God’s kingdom is near; it’s among us!”
Others, though, were probably skeptics, maybe in the crowd looking for an argument, perhaps spying for the religious authorities. Maybe there were some Romans, there either because they themselves are curious, or there to keep tabs on a popular rabble-rouser, a potential trouble-maker who’s offering an alternative way of life to a subjugated population.
Some of the people there probably had little idea who they were going to see, but there was a crowd so they went along to see what’s happening. Others, as we saw, were looking for hope or healing, and perhaps Jesus was their last resort.
Rachel Held Evans writes, “Within this legendary story hides more than 5,000 others—the story of the skinny orphan, the skeptical tax collector, the despised Samaritan, the curious fisherman, the struggling widow, the disdained prostitute, the wealthy mother, the angry zealot, the ostracized Canaanite, the banished leper, the suffering slave, the repentant sinner….and ultimately, the story of you and me.”
What is it that brought you here today? Where are you in the crowd?
What are you seeking as you come to worship, as you come to sing and hear God’s word, pray and share in our Lord’s Supper?
She continues, this “is the story of a crowd of people who had little in common except that they were hungry—for food, for healing, for truth, for Jesus. And it is the story of a crowd of people who were fed.
No questions asked. No prerequisites demanded. No standards of holiness to meet first.”
Jesus doesn’t ask if they’re members of the right synagogue, church congregation, or denomination. He doesn’t ask if they volunteer for the right groups, or vote for the right party; he doesn’t ask who they love, or if they have money to pay; he simply sees they are hungry and feeds them.
This is our model as a church when we say “all are welcome” in our community. This is why we welcome everyone to our Lord’s table for communion.
It’s a living parable: The kingdom of heaven is like a meal where thousands are fed, where all eat and are filled and there are abundant leftovers.
This is Isaiah’s vision enacted: Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. No money? Come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Everyone!
This is a controversial vision. Over and over in the gospels, the upstanding religious leaders shake their heads at who Jesus chooses to eat with. They ask his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
One time when Jesus is at a banquet, he has the audacity to tell the host who’d invited him, “Next time when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.”
Why? Because in the kingdom of God, all are welcome. There is a place for everyone at God’s table.
Of course, that sounds great…until we actually try putting it into practice. Welcoming people—especially welcoming people who seem different—is not easy! Often, we are the ones who want to set boundaries, who want to decide who’s in and who’s out, who deserves to eat, who’s done enough to deserve a spot at the table, but that’s not how Jesus thinks.
Rachel Held Evans points out that the English word “companion” comes from the Latin com, meaning “with” and panis, meaning “bread.” A “companion” is literally “someone with whom you share your bread.”
As Jesus eats with and feeds the poor, the sick, the outcasts, the sinners, he says, “These are my companions. These are my friends.”
She writes, “All who feast on the Bread of Life are family. All who dare to feed the hungry, fellowship with the suffering, and befriend sinners are companions of Christ.”
Again, beautiful, yet challenging to live out. They let you join this church? How do you fit in? Is there room for me too?
Part of the sorrow Paul wrote about in our first reading was that his community had such trouble with this expansive, inclusive understanding of God’s kingdom. When you’re part of the faithful “in group” it’s difficult to imagine God’s kingdom including the outsiders, the gentiles, foreigners, those who haven’t put in the work, those who are not like us.
But in God’s kingdom, there is abundance. This is not an either/or thing. There is room for all—even room for us.
The only qualification to be fed is to be hungry. We are all companions on this journey of faith. Who do you know who needs to hear an invitation, needs to hear the good news that they too are welcome here?
When Jesus saw the hungry crowd, he fed them.
Or rather—and this is important—he told his disciples, “You give them something to eat.”
Jesus did the miracle of multiplying the loaves and fishes, but it was someone in the crowd who provided the five loaves and two fish. It was the disciples who distributed the food.
Not only do we get to be in the crowd and share in Jesus’ meal; we get to participate in this kingdom work of feeding, this kingdom work of offering hope, purpose, meaning, sharing the good news of God’s love revealed in Jesus Christ, sharing through both word and deed, using our talents for God’s kingdom.
In this meal, Jesus teaches about the kingdom, meeting the people’s spiritual needs, and he also provides literal food, tangible love for people in need.
This is God’s kingdom in action. And in God’s kingdom, all are welcome, and all are fed. “So whoever you are in this ongoing story…if you are hungry, come and eat.” You are welcome here. Thanks be to God. Amen