The Miracle of Sharing

Sorry I've been so lax on posting sermons and other things lately. It's been a busy month or so with Lent, Holy Week, Easter, and the 30 Hour Famine with the youth group. Hopefully, things will start slowing down this week.

Sermon for Sunday, April 19
Scriptures: Mark 6:30-44, Acts 4:32-35

As many of you know, the youth group of this church and of downtown Madison church participated in the 30 Hour Famine this weekend. We had a blast raising money for World Vision in an effort to reduce world hunger. We learned a lot of interesting facts about world hunger, such as:

1. More than half of the children under 5 who die each day die from hunger-related causes
2. That’s more than 14,000 children per day – about one child every 7 seconds
3. 840 million people in the world – one in 7 people – don’t get enough to eat
4. 143 million children under the age of 5 in developing countries are underweight because of poor nutrition
5. There are just over 1 billion undernourished people in the world right now
6. There are just over 1 billion overweight people right now.
7. By the time you eat dinner tonight, 21,000 people will have died from hunger-related causes today alone
8. That puts the number to over 3.1 million hunger-related deaths already in 2009.
9. Americans alone will spend over 3 times as much money on food purchased and thrown away today than it would cost to feed all the hungry people in the world today.

Those are some sobering statistics, aren’t they? Well, we had a great weekend together, and in a few minutes you’ll hear more from our youth and from Bill about the experience, but I do have to tell you that it is very difficult to not eat for 30 hours. I know personally it’s hard not to eat for just a few hours.

You see, I’ve always been someone who doesn’t like feeling hungry. Of course, with feeling hungry comes the feeling of weariness. And, when someone is tired AND hungry, that usually does not make for a very pleasant mood. By mid-afternoon yesterday, I think you could say it was hard for any of us to not be a little grumpy. Do you know anyone that’s fun to be around when they’re both tired and hungry?

What’s often lost in the details of the feeding of the 5000 is that the disciples were tired and hungry. Jesus sent them out in pairs to be in ministry around the region, and they’ve been out working hard. Now, they’ve re-gathered because of the death of a friend, John the Baptist. John the Baptist has just been beheaded, and Jesus and the disciples need some time to mourn. They need some time to rest from their active ministry.

So Jesus and his disciples seek retreat to a deserted place for some much-needed R &R. Mark says they’re so busy they haven’t even had the chance to eat. A camping trip into the wilderness is just what they need to “get away from it all.”

But the paparazzi-like crowd refuses to let them have their retreat. They’re so eager to be around these holy men, and this healer named Jesus, that they run around the banks of the lake to meet the boat on the other side. Jesus sees this, and has compassion on his groupies, so he postpones the retreat and teaches the masses all afternoon and into the evening.

After this goes on for some time, the disciples start complaining. They’re tired, and now they’re hungry as well. So you can imagine how grumpy they became. But you don’t have to imagine, because Mark tells us how grumpy they are. They plead with Jesus for the retreat they so desperately need. “Alright, it’s getting late here, Boss,” they tell Jesus. “Let’s get outta here and grab some grub. And you know, all these people in the crowd probably want to go get themselves some dinner, so you should probably dismiss them and call it a day.” At this point, the disciples have every right to be thinking about themselves. Really, who would blame these guys for thinking like they are? They’ve been on the road for awhile, their friend’s head was just served on a silver platter, and they haven’t eaten in awhile. The disciples were just being practical: “We need a dinner break here, Jesus, and let’s face it – these crowds are probably hungry too.”

But Jesus refuses to let the disciples be so practical. He doesn’t want disciples that are like everyone else. He wants disciples willing to be more compassionate than the ordinary person would be. “Well,” Jesus says, “if these people are so hungry, why don’t you give them some dinner?”

“Are you crazy? We’d have to spend 8 month’s wages to feed all of them!” On first glance, this is a good argument. But when we crunch the numbers, 8 month’s wages divided among the 12 disciples is actually just 5.5% of their yearly income – which is still less than the 10% tithe popularized by scripture. So yes, it’s a lot, but it’s certainly affordable for the disciples.

Well, Jesus instead asks for the disciples’ current inventory, which as we know turns out to be merely 5 loaves and 2 fish – not much more food than an appetizer at our favorite restaurant. I mean, we’re talking one loaf of bread for every 1000 people, and one fish for every 2500 people. It’s surely not enough food. But lo and behold, all 5000 people are fed and are filled. The NIV translation says all were “satisfied.”

The miracle here is that 5000 people are satisfied with a few morsels each. Nothing here says that Jesus multiplied the amount of food. We like to think that he did, but even if that did happen, Mark doesn’t report it. The miracle that takes place here is that 5000 people are so selfless that they are willing to share. Greed is nowhere to be found on this day. And because of this selfless attitude, there are 12 baskets of leftovers – one for each disciple.

We tend to overlook the part about the leftovers in this story. The feeding of the 5,000, the only miracle story found in all 4 Gospels, is a bit vague about how the food was distributed. However, it appears that the disciples distributed ALL of the food, and then collected the leftovers for themselves. Jesus instructs them to give everything away, and when they do, they find that he still provides for them as well.

In this, we see what true selflessness looks like. We see what true compassion looks like. Here we have 12 people with food – not much food, but food nonetheless. And then we have 5000 people with no food. So the 12 people with food give it ALL to the 5000 without food, trusting that Jesus will still provide for them somehow. And he does, as the 12 receive leftovers from the 5000. The common reaction of the 12 would be to give what they could spare, to give what they could afford once their own needs were taken care of. And that would be a very charitable thing to do. But it would be the 12 taking what they need, and giving the leftovers to the 5000. Instead, they take nothing for themselves and give everything to the 5000. And in an act of gratitude and selflessness, the 5000 offer leftovers to the 12.

It’s commonly thought to be a good thing to take only what we need, then give all that we have left to those in need. But Jesus calls us to go beyond conventional charity. Christian charity is supposed to be even more selfless than other kinds of charity. Jesus calls us to give more than our leftovers. He calls us to give all that we have – to make a real sacrifice – and then live off the leftovers.

Those who have give it all away, and end up with the leftovers of the have-nots. Usually, the compassionate few take what they need to live, and the needy multitudes get the leftovers. But here, it is the needy multitudes who take what they need to live, and the compassionate few that live off the leftovers. It is a strange reversal of roles and a subversion of the typical power structures of giving and receiving in the world. And it is a lesson in selflessness.

Mark says that Jesus had “compassion” on the crowds. And he shows the disciples how to live out compassion. Compassion means giving all that you have, and trusting that God will provide you with leftovers to RECEIVE. We tend to think of it as the other way around – we’ve earned first dibs – after all, it’s our food. Then if there’s any left over, we’ll give it out. But Jesus will have none of this. He will have none of our charity that keeps us privileged and gives only leftovers to the hungry multitudes. Why are we worthy of something better than leftovers? And why are the hungry multitudes worthy of only leftovers?

Compassion is giving all that we have and trusting that there will be enough left over for ourselves. Compassion is feeding the hungry multitudes when we’d rather be camping alone, getting some R & R. Compassion is putting others’ needs before our own. A life of compassion is a life of selflessness. A life of compassion is a life marked with miracles of sharing – miracles of 5000 people agreeing that one or two small bites is enough to satisfy everyone’s hunger.
Such a life of compassion and selflessness was a prominent feature of the e arly church. The book of Acts, which chronicles the life of the early Christian church, talks about generous levels of sharing in chapter 4:

Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and a great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. – Acts 4:32-35

The early church, on the heels of the resurrection of a selfless, compassionate savior, were moved by the Holy Spirit to share their possessions to the point that there were no needy people among them. Here we have yet another miracle of sharing – a miracle of neediness being eliminated because everyone was willing to share everything that they had. Sacrificial, selfless, compassionate sharing was a mark of the early church.

Sacrificial, selfless, compassionate sharing is a mark of the Christian church today. The United Methodist Committee on Relief and Catholic Charities USA are two of the best relief agencies in this country. Habitat for Humanity is a faith-based organization that has made dreams come true for thousands of people. Food pantries, homeless shelters, and utility assistance are often responsibilities taken on by Christian churches. Nothing But Nets has been tremendously aided by its connection to the United Methodist Church. And World Vision, who we have raised money for with our 30 Hour Famine, is a Christian organization trying to eradicate world hunger.

The miracle of sharing is the mark of the Holy Spirit working in our lives. George Bryan Wirth says of the early church chronicled in Acts: “How could this have happened, had it not been for the power of the Holy Spirit at work among them, encouraging and helping those early believers to share with and care for their sisters and brothers in the body of Christ?”

Wirth, of course, is drawing attention to the fact that this selflessness in chapter 4 comes on the heels of the coming of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the church in chapter 2. And how could such miracles of sharing happen, were it not for the power of the Holy Spirit at work within us? How could such selfless giving and receiving be possible without the Holy Spirit compelling us to put others before ourselves?

The early church in Acts shared their possessions to the point that there was not a needy person among them. How then can we model the early Christian church, sharing our possessions to the point that there is not a needy person among us? What miracles of sharing can take place by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us? What can we do?

For starters, we can follow the lead of Jesus and the disciples on the shore that day when they fed the hungry multitudes. We can give all that we have, inspiring more and more selfless giving, rather than just giving out our leftovers. Anyone can give leftovers; it takes complete selflessness to give all that we have to others.

This weekend, our youth did not just give the leftovers from their meals. No, they gave all of their meals for a 30 hour stretch, plus any snacks they could have had. They gave up everything for those 30 hours so that the hungry multitudes around the world could be filled. They shared all that they had with others, in hopes that one day there will not be a needy person among us in the world. We can follow their lead. We can give all that we have, not just the leftovers, to the hungry multitudes. We can give generously to World Vision in recognition and support of our youths’ efforts. And in doing so, as a little church in this little town, we can make miracles happen. Our youth have taken the lead. Are we ready to follow? Can we respond with our own miracle of sharing this morning? Can we feed the hungry multitudes, so there is not a needy person among us in the world? I believe that we can, by the power of the Holy Spirit. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.