2 August 2026 10th Sunday after Pentecost

Genesis 32.22-31   Psalm 17.1-7; 17.16   Romans 9.1-8   Matthew 14.13-21

There are bits of this story which, I am sure I have read lots of times before, but never really given much thought or notice to them.  The first is the opening verse – when he heard this he ….  So what was it that Jesus had just heard which prompted him to go across the lake for some ‘time alone’.

He has just learned of the death of John the Baptist, he needs time to process this information, he needs ‘time alone’ with his Father, with his memories, with his grief, but when he reaches the shore, he is greeted by crowds who have beat him there.  The next ‘not noticed’ part of this story is ‘he had compassion for them and cured their sick’.  Jesus sees their needs, he heals their sick, he spends time with them, he cares for them.  He feeds their longing, he feeds their questioning, he feeds their need for healing, and finally he feeds them physically.  He provides them with food.  ‘Time alone’, his plans, his desires, were put on hold to care for those in need.

The ‘feeding of the five thousand’ is the only miracle that is recorded in all four of the gospels.  I once likened this story to the well known story of the Magic Pudding.  In that story, no matter how much pudding was taken, the bowl remains full.  In this story Jesus shares 5 loaves and 2 fish with a crowd of 5000 men (and unnumbered women and children), and those 5 loaves and 2 fish fed the crowd well.  But unlike the magic pudding which always remains the same amount, when everyone was finished eating and the ‘scraps’ were gathered, they filled 12 baskets.  5 loaves and 2 fish ended up with 12 baskets of leftovers.  Now we could spend the rest of the day debating how this happened, did everyone there also share the ‘little bit’ they had in their bags; did the women step forward and add to what was being passed around; no one was left hungry so they all ‘ate well’, and I will decline to suggest it all happened the way I once saw it depicted on a TV show which centered around stories of the bible which showed that after Jesus blessed the loaves these 5 loaves suddenly ‘multiplied’ and found themselves siting in multiple baskets around Jesus feet.  The ‘how’ of how this occurred is not the important ‘take away’ message, Jesus met the crowd’s need, and they were cared for and fed spiritually, emotionally, healthwise, and physically.

When we look at this passage, it is easy to simply focus on the ‘multiplication’ of the loaves and fish.  But there are two important messages in this passage which are not focused on the feeding.  When Jesus arrives at the shore, with the intention of going up for some quiet time with God, he is greeted by masses of people.  People in need, so he ‘has compassion’ for them, he heals them, he spends time with them, he listens to their needs, he hears their stories.  And when, approaching nightfall, the disciples suggest he ‘send them away’ so they can get food for themselves, he rejects the suggestion.  For starters, the suggestion they all go and ‘buy’ food for themselves is a laughable suggestion.  At the time of Jesus ‘food scarcity’ was not just ‘known’, it was an overwhelming reality.  There is no way this crowd could find somewhere to ‘buy’ some food, presuming of course they actually had money to buy it, which most of them likely did not.  So Jesus throws it back on the disciples, ‘sort it yourselves’.  ‘You feed them’.  And that brings us to the second message in this passage.  When confronted by Jesus with ‘feeding’ this crowd, the disciples admit their insufficiency, ‘we only have 5 loaves and some fish’.  And Jesus turns this ‘only loaves and fish’ into ‘thank you God for these loaves and fish’.  And the disciples are caught up in the words of abundance and gratitude and share what they have, and in the process they discover ‘all ate and were filled’.

And the thing is, God is still ‘having compassion’ on us.  God is still ‘feeding’ us.  Every time a parent ‘puts on hold’ their desire to study or work or even relax so that they can ‘care for’ their family or loved ones, God is working there.  Every time a teenager forgoes that ‘high paying’ job in order to work with disadvantaged kids, God is working there.  Every time a church ensures the disadvantaged or those in need do not go away ‘unfed’, God is working there.  We are all called to join in with God in caring for the disadvantaged, the immigrant, the poor, the lonely, the sick.  As we share the ‘peace’ with each other, we share God’s miracles in caring; as we share in the Eucharist together, we share in God’s miracles of feeding; and as we are ‘sent’ we go to share God’s love with all we meet and especially those in need.  Remember, to be provided for and to have needs met are miraculous moments, for the receiver and the giver.

Jesus challenged the disciples – you do it, and he challenges us too.  Every day there is the challenge – you do it, we are called to be God’s hands and feet in this world.  We are called to provide, to care, to have compassion, to meet the needs of those around us and those far from us.  God cares for us, so we need to care for others and ourselves.  Remember, you are as important to you as other people, if you cannot have care for yourself, you will not be able to have care for others.

So what is it about this miracle that makes it significant enough for all the gospel writers to include it?  What does it say about God, what does it say about Jesus and what does it say about who we are called to be in the world?  Jesus tells the disciples – you have enough.  Five loaves and some fish for 5000+ people – it is enough.  So how do you understand ‘enough’.  How willing are you to accept God telling you – you have enough.  Use it, it is enough.  The disciples witnessed the miracle of ‘enough’ when they collected the ‘scraps’.  They witness the miracle of sharing, of believing, of having ‘enough’ when all they could see was ‘scarcity’.

This story speaks loudly about who God is.  It speaks about Jesus and it also speaks about who we are called to be in the world.  Go and do.  Jesus tells the disciples, don’t just sit and watch me do things, join in, you do it; and that is his challenge for us too.  You do it.  You have enough.