How Does Jesus Feed You? (Mark 6:35-44)
30 The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. 31He said to them, ‘Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. 33Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. 34As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. 35When it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a deserted place, and the hour is now very late; 36send them away so that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy something for themselves to eat.’ 37But he answered them, ‘You give them something to eat.’ They said to him, ‘Are we to go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give it to them to eat?’ 38And he said to them, ‘How many loaves have you? Go and see.’ When they had found out, they said, ‘Five, and two fish.’ 39Then he ordered them to get all the people to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40So they sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. 41Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all. 42And all ate and were filled; 43and they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44Those who had eaten the loaves numbered five thousand men.
Feeding the Soul of Those You Love
Illustration: Raising Your Children The Right Way
Keen to set my children on the right path. Important to feed their souls, as well as letting them become their best selves. So when I thought they were old enough we sat down together in front of the TV and watched in no particular order:
Casablanca: lessons in love, honour and sacrifice
The Maltese Falcon: lessons in betrayal and trust
Citizen Kane: Rosebud – lessons in what is important in life
Of course feeding the soul of you progeny with what you think is the right stuff can be a hit and miss affair. It worked well enough in that they all got through to the end of the film but in truth the results were mixed measured against the profundity scale.
Then there was things like Get Smart (missed it by this much) and MASH really hard to find it funny if you are not bathed in the anxiety of Cold War argy bargy or feel you are about to be drafted into the Vietnam war to be fair to them they at least they kids gave it a go – then I took it too far we sat and watched the Three Stooges – I loved the Three Stooges as a boy my progeny lasted barely minutes – they did not find it funny at all – all I achieved was assaulting their soul
I fast tracked what every good parent wants to postpone generating in their progeny for as long as possible the realisation in your progeny that they need to be protected from their parent’s mindset and character like all good Australians after any effort to lift your progeny’s sights and feed their soul I had to rely on the break glass in emergencies option.
I doubled down on encouraging them to stay true as supporters of our footy teams – Carlton, South Melbourne Hellas and AEK (Greek) it is a spiritual meal we still share today – it is a success of a sorts but not exactly high on the profundity scale.
How Does Jesus Feed You?
Jesus feeding the 5000 is a really important episode – it is one of the few that all four Gospel writers include in their narratives.
It is hard to escape how strange this incident is in Jesus’ life.Whether you think Jesus did something out of this world, or it’s a metaphor for getting everyone to share or Jesus just set a world record in baking bread
To the readers of the Gospels the key message is clear let Jesus feed you. Because Jesus feeds us when we need it most.
Would you prefer to rely on a powerful empire to feed you?
Battling Kaos and Control to get enough of the right feeding (sic) – get it Kaos and Control – well you are no better than my progeny?
As followers today we sort of accept that Jesus spiritually feeds us – how do we access this chosen one, this Christ who feeds.
The telling of miracles was one way of sharing the message that Jesus feeds us – in our time we have another miracles moving pictures.
If you are creative or director – how would you depict Jesus for today?
Film: Hail Caesar (a. God & Christ)
Last week I asked what replenishes your spiritual reserves and a range of things were offered – how does Jesus feed you today?
Vox Pop: How Does Jesus Feed You?
Of course your first reaction maybe scandalous is Can Jesus really feed you?
Film: Hail Caesar (b. God & Christ)
Is the notion Jesus that feeds us like the 5000 little more than watching the Three Stooges?
To the readers of the Gospels the key challenge is to let Jesus feed you. The feeding of the 5000 invites us to be replenished as followers of Jesus. When it gets a little too much how does Jesus feed you to keep your nostrils above the poo?
How Does Jesus Feed You?
Well there is always Wesley quadrilateral: Scriptures, Tradition, Experience and Reason. If you cannot accept that Jesus feeds us then the feeding of the 5000 is at best anachronistic.
Read a fabulous book recently describing a woman who facing grief and life crisis who without any real conviction attends a retreat run by nuns.It is clear she is short of belief in Jesus – let alone that he can feed you. Yet she finds much of the retreat begs questions of meaning, ritual and purpose that she would love to be able to feed on.
Quote: Stone Yard Devotion (Charlotte Wood)
What I could not tolerate was the ‘falling in love with Jesus’ talk that I knew would come next and it did. I find it nauseating; surely this life should be composed of something more sober than that. Something austere, and momentous, and powerful. Close attention, hard thinking. A wrestling, to subdue . . . what? Ego. The self. Hatred. Pride. But no, instead we have… simpering that they are here because I fell in love with Jesus and want to live with him in heaven. As if they’re talking about some teen idol crush. I have learned not to roll my eyes but there are times it is nearly impossible.
Conclusion
We are about to trust in faith that Jesus feeds us we take and eat the bread and drink the cup – that we are invited into the life of God. The God of Jesus who is a community of one.
When the poo is up to our nose and the waves are coming for us.
Be still and know I am God
And so in faith we join the 5000 that Jesus will feed us when we need it the most