Scarcity or Abundance?
A sermon by Brent J. Eelman
July 30, 2006
Abington Presbyterian Church

John 6: 1-21
    After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.”
    When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
    When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, and they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But he said to them, “It is I, do not be afraid.” Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.*

There are a number of things that just do not appear in the Bible. For example: Jesus never spoke to God saying: “Look, if I am going to save the world, I need a larger staff. Twelve disciples won’t cut it.” Likewise, when Jesus went off into the wilderness for forty days, he does not take a back pack filled with supplies. When the disciples returned with empty nets, Jesus did not say: “If you had the right equipment, this wouldn’t happen.” And then there is the story that was read from the Gospel of John. Faced with 5,000 hungry people, Jesus did not turn to Andrew and say: “Who invited all these people?” None of these expressions appear in the gospels, and yet they are common in our daily lives. The business person, faced with a large task, will take inventory of personnel and then report back to the board of directors: “I need more staff to do this.” If we go out camping for just a day or two, most of us will take more than we can carry. I know, as a fisherman, that one of the first excuses that I will give for not catching fish, or for “losing the big one”, is that “I don’t have the right equipment.” Do you get the picture? We often feel that we need more; that what we have is not enough. The question is: scarcity or abundance?

The account of the feeding of the five thousand has a central place in all four gospels. It is a miracle story that functions as a sign pointing to Jesus is the promised Messiah. But in the gospel of John it is paired with another story that is also a sign: Jesus walking on the stormy waters. I believe that the stories are similar. 1. Both are stories about scarcity and abundance. 2. Both stories reveal something that is at the heart of Christ ministry, and 3. Both stories speak to us today as individuals, a congregation and even a nation.

I

The stories are similar. One takes place in front of over five thousand people and the other in the presence of the disciples. In both stories Jesus does something which we might regard as miraculous. In both stories we are presented with a need and Christ’s response. In the first story, the need is for food for 5,000 people. In the second it is for rescue and assurance amidst the stormy sea. Let us look at them a bit closer. In particular, we need to look at the reactions of the disciples to the respective situations. I think that in both situations they react in all too human fashion. They are stressed out and filled with fear by what is going on.

Jesus is at the foot of a mountain by the sea of Tiberius in the first story. It is the time of Passover and so Hebrew pilgrims would be making the trek to Jerusalem to offer their sacrifices. But they are compelled to stop and hear this rabbi who was gaining a reputation with his teachings and healings. They followed him around and the following got larger until in numbered over 5000 people. It was time to eat. Philip, who only gets scant mention in the Bible, said to Jesus, “What are we going to do We don’t have enough food?” A more modern response, might be, “How are we going to find a caterer at this time of day?”

I can understand Philip’s reaction and so can you. His was the panic that comes from a social situation where one cannot meet the demands of others. Simply put, they don’t have enough food. Philip might be called a realist today. I think I might be one also. At the church supper, I will go back into the kitchen and check if there is enough food. Poor Charlie has to listen to me every Sunday morning ask if there is enough coffee made. Are the bulletins in place? Is there water in the baptismal font? Is the P.A. system adjusted? Are the hymn numbers right. Why the concern? Because I know what the reaction will be if these things aren’t taken care of. Philip knew that there was not enough food and he did not want to face 5000 hungry people. Philip had a scarcity mentality. There was not enough. He looked at a situation in terms of what was missing. He would fret and stress over a situation because the food was scarce.

Scarcity is also the theme of the second story. It is not the scarcity of food or funds, it is the scarcity of security. It is that sense of panic that we experience when we feel as though we have lost control. Sailing on the ocean in a storm is frightening. We also have many frightening situations today. It is frightening to be a civilian in the Middle East, where the storms are not waves but rockets and bullets. It is frightening to be a teenager in school, worried if you are dressed right and most of all, or if you will be accepted. It is frightening be a parent, knowing all the things that can happen to your child when they leave your sight. There are storms all around us and it often seems as though we are missing the security that we desire. We live in fear.

II

The stories are about scarcity: the scarcity of resources and the scarcity of security. But at their heart they are about the scarcity of faith. The disciples have listened to Jesus talk about moving mountains with faith; about raising people from the dead; about healing the sick; and they still panic about feeding a five thousand people! They heard Jesus talk about living in the presence of God, about the love of God that seeks out the lost sheep, and yet they lose their cool when the storm comes up and fear that they are going to die. The root of scarcity is the scarcity of faith.

Think about what it means to be a person of faith, to rise following the sermon and state that we believe in God, Christ and the Holy Spirit. We believe that God raised Jesus from death, that Christ’s love is so complete that he descended into Hell to redeem it and that nothing is beyond the reach of God. We will affirm that Jesus rose from the dead and that this same resurrection power if given to those who follow. We believe all this, yet on Monday, we clergy worry if we will have enough in the collection plate to pay the light bill. I keep telling myself that if faith can feed 5000 people and calm a stormy sea, it can keep a church alive and sustain a ministry.

I am convinced that at the heart of Christ’s ministry and teachings is a message: “Do not be afraid… do not panic. My grace is all you need.” There are many things in life over which we have no control. We can’t control how others think and react. We can’t control the world situation. We can’t control the price of gasoline. But we can control how we respond to all these things. Fretting, stewing, worrying, and looking at things with a scarcity mentality does not help.

III

There is one other component to the feeding story that speaks to us today. There were five loaves and two small fish and five thousand people. Philip panicked and wanted to call the caterer. What did Jesus do? He took what he had been given and shared it. He was not concerned about the supply or what they had. He was concerned about the faithful and just distribution of what they had.

More often than not our worries and fears in life are about what is missing, what we don’t have. We worry about it as a nation, as a community, as a church as families and as individuals. My guess is that it is compounded by the power of advertising and marketing. The question that Jesus poses to those who wish to follow him is not “what do you have?” It is “Will you be faithful in using it?” Two copper coins is a fortune from this perspective, and five barley loaves and two small fish are a feast…. Do we worry about what we don’t have… or are we faithful in using and sharing what we have received? Do we believe we do not have enough or do we have faith in the abundance of Grace? Do we cower in fear, or live boldly in faith, rising above the storm to walk with our Messiah. Do we tightly hold onto our loaves and fishes or do we offer them willingly, sharing what we have with others? This is the challenge of the Gospel.  Amen.

 
*The New Revised Standard Version Bible, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers) 1989.

Abington Presbyterian Church, Abington, Pennsylvania,  www.apcusa.org