42 A man came from Baal Shalishah, bringing the man of God twenty loaves of barley bread baked from the first ripe grain, along with some heads of new grain. “Give it to the people to eat,” Elisha said.
43 “How can I set this before a hundred men?” his servant asked.
But Elisha answered, “Give it to the people to eat. For this is what the Lord says: ‘They will eat and have some left over. ’” 44 Then he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord.
2 Kings 4: 42-44
1"Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Festival was near.
5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages[a] to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”
8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
14 After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
John 6: 1-14
As many of
you know, this past January I traveled to Ghana as part of one of Union’s
travel seminars. I could go on for hours
about all that I saw and learned while I was there, but John and Kathryn would
probably never ask me to preach again.
One major thing that I did witness though was how freely everyone that
we met gave- not just of food and shelter, but of themselves. During our travel around southern Ghana for
those two weeks, we were provided with so much more than food, a bed, and the
occasional welcome or parting gift. We
were welcomed and hosted by the most wonderful people I have ever met. Today I might be able to tell you where every
picture was taken if I thought really hard about it, but it takes no effort to
remember the time spent with Rev. Kissi as he taught us Ghanaian songs while we
were on the bus; or Mama Lucy and Daniel who were both overly excited to show
us the town of Kumasi and share their knowledge of this cultural capital; or
Victor, Jean Paul, and Rev. Agiti who were gracious enough to spend a week
showing us mission sites of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church throughout
Ho. These people changed my life and the
lives of the others in our group by merely opening their lives to God and
allowing God to use them to feed and nurture us not just physically, but
spiritually.
Sammy, our
bus driver, is probably the most memorable person we met while in Ghana. Sammy had an infectious smile and laugh,
loved to pick up some of our sayings as he tried to fit in with the crazy
Americans who had high pitched voices, and always loved to tell us about the
food we were eating, telling us “Eat it! It’s for you!” Sammy always knew exactly which turn to take
as he drove us all over southern Ghana, never using a GPS, and taught us that
the best way to get somewhere is to make sure you stop and ask for directions
if you think you might be lost- but always stop at least two times to make sure
that people agree, and if they don’t, stop again. Sammy was such a gracious and amazing person,
leaving behind his wife and two very young children to spend two weeks with us. Over the two weeks we learned all about Ghana
through Sammy’s eyes, and all about Sammy- the young man who was saving up
money to build a house for his family on the land he already bought, the man
who bought a bus as a means to an end.
Most importantly, Sammy was our best friend and brother, the young man
who completely handed over the reigns to God as he agreed to drive a group of
ten crazy Americans around for two weeks- a job that is probably a whole lot
harder than we could ever imagine.
In today’s
scripture readings, we find two very interesting events taking place. First, we heard of Elisha feeding one hundred
people with only twenty loaves of barley and grain. Then we heard of Jesus and his disciples being
presented with the issue of feeding not just a large crowd, but a crowd of five
thousand people. Both events seem next
to impossible, yet in both cases they were successful to the point of left
overs, very much like our experience in Ghana.
Now, let’s take a minute to figure
out what that would entail for us here at Starmount- if we were to take on the
5,000 that Jesus and his disciples fed, first this upcoming renovation would
have to be large enough that the fellowship hall could hold that many
people. My guess is that it holds about
one hundred people right now, so it would have to be fifty times larger and
with a much larger kitchen where every one of us would have to be working,
along with a few others. Even at $1.00 per person for food costs, the total
cost after everything else is added in, would blow the fellowship budget. In short, this would not be an easy task and
I doubt that the session would be ready to approve it. So when Jesus asks Phillip where the food to
feed this crowd is going to come from, I am sure Phillip looks at him like he
is insane, even after he has seen Jesus perform many miracles already. Phillip is quick to point out just how
ridiculous the idea is- even six months wages would barely cover the cost. Not to mention, my guess is that very few
people even have that kind of money available after paying taxes and other
monthly bills. So here we are with Jesus
testing Phillip, and Phillip looking at the facts but still failing. Even in the reading from Second Kings, we
find a servant questioning Elisha as to how he will use such a small amount of
food to feed such a large crowd.
Finally, Andrew Simon chimes in and
points out that a young boy nearby has food- maybe Andrew Simon is going to
pass the test! But alas, he too
questions Jesus as to what good this small quantity of food will do. I can only imagine the disappointment and
annoyance that Jesus is feeling at this point.
It is probably similar to that of the teacher who has showed the
student, told the student, and even spelled it out that 2+2=4, yet when asked,
the student either doesn’t know or says the answer is five. I am sure Rev. Kissi felt this way as he did
his best to teach us correct pronunciations in the Twi language, and we failed
miserably.
Jesus takes a deep breath and
instructs the disciples to have everyone take a seat. He then takes the loaves from the boy, gives
thanks, and distributes them and does the same with the fish. Being someone who loves math, I would like to
point out that this means 1,000 servings came from each loaf and 2,500 from
each fish. What’s more is that there
were left overs!
These aren’t just two coincidentally
similar Bible stories that tell of some miraculous events- there is a point to
be gleaned here. God can do a whole lot
with only a little. Just like my hosts
in Ghana who simply gave us their time and made that trip an experience that I
will never forget, and one that has forever influenced my ministry- we need
only provide the little we have for something incredible to happen. I am sure that before we arrived, and even
while we were there, they doubted that they had enough of anything for us-
food, water, housing, knowledge to answer our many questions- however because
they handed the situation over to God, everything fell into place. There is an attitude of this in everything
they do- always committing everything into the hands of God. At first I was caught off guard when all
plans were “God willing”, since I am used to hearing that more when someone is
frustrated and giving up. However there
was such joy when Rev. Kissi would tell us the plans for the next day, “God
willing”. Of all things that I hold
close from those two weeks, this attitude is one that has a special place in my
life. The attitude of “God willing” is
one that fully recognizes God’s actions in one’s life. It doesn’t matter if you make sure that you
have everything you need so that it can be perfect on your end- if we do the
best we can with what we have and recognize God’s action in our life and hand
control over to God, God will take care of the rest.
In today’s scripture readings,
neither the servant nor the young boy had a clue what could be done with the
small amount of food that he they had with them, yet they listened and gave the
food anyway. This wasn’t just any old
food either- my guess is that the young boy was on his way home to take the
food for his family to eat for dinner, making it a big deal that he gave it
away under such vague circumstances. However
by giving away this small amount of food thousands were fed and my guess is he
was probably even allowed to take home at least some of the leftovers. Both the servant and the boy had a “God
willing” attitude.
As I think about this “God willing”
attitude, I think of the many ministries that we visited while visiting with
the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Ho.
One ministry that our seminar group decided to raise money for upon our
return was the Dzemi Health Clinic. This
is a clinic run by one woman, Rosa, and her two assistants. They have very little space- a building the
size of the narthex just outside of this sanctuary, and very little
medicine. The roof leaked every time it
rained and you could see the water stains all over the walls. If I remember correctly, there were only
three beds for the incredibly sick patients that came by, in addition to the
two birthing beds. When we visited, the
front waiting hall was packed as people stood shoulder to shoulder, waiting for
any assistance they could get. Some
would receive that assistance at the clinic, others would be sent to the
hospital. Some of them would add to the
almost 500 babies that were delivered last year alone. The Dzemi clinic is another representation of
God taking something so incredibly small and seemingly insignificant, and
reaching thousands of people. As we stood
there and talked to Rosa, she recognized this incredible gift from God, continually
expressing that everything they had and needed was purely “God willing”. I could not help but cry tears of joy when we
returned to Richmond and after sharing the story of this incredible place with
students, faculty, and friends of Union, raised the $1500 needed to fix the
roof. We have sent the check and now,
Rosa will have a much safer place to help every person that walks through her
doors. While we were there, we asked
Rosa how she stayed open and she told as that it was a blessing from God. Yes, everything about Rosa and the Dzemi
clinic truly reflects God’s blessing as Rosa, just like the young boy and the
servant in today’s scriptures, gave the little bit that she had- herself- and
let God do what was needed.
We can’t forget those disciples
from our New Testament reading though.
When I was learning how to exegete scripture in my New Testament class
last year, one of the questions we were told to ask was, “Who do you relate to
in the text?” As much as I hate to admit it, when I asked that question as I
studied these two texts, my answer was a mix of both the servant and the
disciples. As much as I try to keep that
“God willing” attitude, I doubt and question God more than I like. I doubted before seminary started, and still
do on occasion, that I could even do this ministry thing- especially the
preaching part. I doubted that I would
actually be able to go to Ghana and I continually wonder how God can use me to
make a difference- just as the disciples wondered how such a small amount of food
could make a difference. The number of
times I have asked God “are you sure about this?” is probably equal to the
number of people that were fed that day on the hill.
Starmount is a church that I
continually look towards for examples of this “God willing” attitude. There are so many ministries going on here,
making an incredible use of all that the church has- ranging from the prayer
shawl ministry to sending members and friends of the congregation all over the
world to serve God in a multitude of ways and working with refugee resettlement
here in Greensboro. Starmount has even
opened its doors to young seminarians to come learn from John and Kathryn as
interns just as Noe did, supporting them throughout the time at school, and
inviting them to guest preach even if they have never taken a single preaching
class in their seminary career. This
church has truly given everything over to God so that God might use it in the
way that is best. We must not forget
this attitude when we go into our own personal lives, though. What do you have to offer to God? For some of
us, maybe we can offer supplies, money, or facilities while others of us may
have nothing more than ourselves. The
only thing that we need to remember is that we only need to recognize God’s
hand in our life and commit all that we have to God for God’s use and God will
make sure that things are done the way they should be.
Through all of this, we must
understand that while we try to achieve this “God willing” attitude every day, God
understands when we doubt. Jesus never
scolded or left the disciples behind when they doubted- he probably simply
chuckled to himself and once again, showed them yet another way that God worked
through him. Yes, he became quite
annoyed at times, just as any teacher would when they feel as if they have done
everything they can and the student still doesn’t get it. However, his love and leadership never failed
and the disciples always caught a glimpse of understanding, if only for a
second.
In one of the lectionary readings
for today which was not officially included in today’s service, Paul writes a
prayer for the Ephesians and closes this prayer by recognizing God “who
by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than
all we can ask or imagine (Eph. 3: 20)”. I can not think of a better recognition of
God than this, especially when thinking of all that God does in fact do that is
so far beyond our imagination, just like in today’s readings.
By drawing on the will and actions of
God, we are able to reach out to God’s people in a whole different way- a way
in which God’s people have acted since the times of Elisha and was widely
recognized by Paul. When we let go and
let God use us for God’s work, our lives are enriched in unexpected ways as
well as those who we are helping.
Today, I thank God for all that has
been accomplished in Ghana using people like Rev. Kissi, Sammy, and Rosa. I thank God for what has been accomplished
through the Starmount family. I thank
God for what has been accomplished using me- someone who could only give
herself and questioned everything along the way. If God can feed five thousand people using
only five loaves of bread and two fish, God can certainly use any and all of
us. All we must do is say “I’m here God-
use me” and then hold on, because anyone who gives control to God is in for a
wild ride.
So, later on today when you hear
that knocking on the back of your mind, open up and wait to see what God needs
to tell you. Don’t be upset if there is
doubt, and don’t shut God out. Take on a
“God willing” attitude just as the young boy did when he gave Jesus his food,
and just as Starmount continues to do.
Don’t back away thinking that what you have isn’t enough, because as
long as you have yourself, you have all that God needs to do wondrous
things.
All thanks be to God, who truly
does work within each and every one of us to accomplish abundantly far more
than all we can ask or imagine. Amen.
