Sunday LinkUp – 06August2023

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WELCOME and THANKS

 

OPENING REMARKS

  1. Today is Independence Day … Happy anniversary!
  2. Today is also the first Sunday in the month … a good time, maybe, to reformat our Sunday meetings … FROM a church-service format TO a fellowship-meeting format.
  3. The theme for this week is transformation through relationship.
  4. The keynote passage for today, Matthew 14:13-21, recounts the story of feeding the crowd with five loaves and two fish, revealing that God transforms who we are and what we possess to be much more than we think.

 

OPENING SONGS

 

 

 

FIRST READING
Genesis 32:22-31

The same night he got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. 24 Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” 27 So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then the man[a] said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel,[b] for you have striven with God and with humans[c] and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. 30 So Jacob called the place Peniel,[d] saying, “For I have seen God face to face, yet my life is preserved.” 31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.

 

SPEAKING OF LIFE

 

 

PROGRAM TRANSCRIPT +

If you’ve ever spent any time in a park, you’ve probably observed a parent with a toddler who wants to race. The three-year-old doesn’t care that her legs are about a third of the length of her parent’s legs – she simply wants the joy of running and connecting with her parent. You may have watched the parent let the toddler get a head start and then take smaller steps to give the little one a chance. The parent may have even let the toddler win despite being superior in size and coordination. When I see something like this, it makes me think of how God approaches us with humility, compassion, and kindness, wanting us to boldly wrestle and engage with him. There’s no better story to illustrate this than Jacob wrestling with God as told in Genesis 32.

The chapter begins with Jacob receiving the news that his brother Esau is coming to meet him with 400 men. Jacob is worried because he schemed to get Esau’s firstborn birthright, and he was sure Esau was coming to take revenge. Jacob divided his camp to make it look smaller, and he sent his wives and children ahead of him, along with gifts for Esau. That night, alone and in his solitude, Jacob wrestles with an unidentified man until daybreak. Let’s see what happens next:

When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then [the man] said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” So [the man] said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then the man said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But [the man] said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed [Jacob]. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, yet my life is preserved.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.    
Genesis 32: 25-31 (NRSVUE)

Up to this point in his life, Jacob had relied on scheming and manipulation to get what he wanted. These methods weren’t without consequence, though. He was estranged from his family and fearful of his brother’s wrath. Jacob’s wrestling match with the man, whom Jacob identified as God in verse 30, resulted in his transformation because Jacob refused to let go of God, and God was willing to let Jacob prevail to help him change.

The evidence of this radical transformation is both physical and emotional. Jacob’s damaged hip caused him to limp, and though we don’t know how long his hip injury persisted, we do know that the Israelites would not eat that hip muscle of a sacrificial animal, out of respect for Jacob’s wound from God. We also see that Jacob’s name was changed to Israel, which means “one who prevails with God and humans.”

We can learn from this story that some of our transformations come through perseverance and wrestling with God. More importantly, God wants us to engage this way – boldly asking for blessing, unafraid, not because we deserve it but because we know God wants to give it. Jacob’s face-to-face confrontation with God shows us the intimacy God desires from us. God comes to us in humility, letting us prevail like a toddler racing a parent.

May we boldly wrestle with God when the mysteries of life confront us, like great beauty and great sorrow. May we offer the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit the intimacy they desire by allowing ourselves to be sculpted, renamed, and transformed by the Love that won’t let us go.

I’m Cara Garrity, Speaking of Life.

 

SPECIAL MUSIC

 

SERMON

 

5 Loaves For 5000 Men – No Problem!

Matthew 14:13-21 (NRSVue)   Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself.  But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.  14 When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion for them and cured their sick.  15 When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”  16 Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.”  17 They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.”  19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.  20 And all ate and were filled, and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full.  21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.  

 

WHAT IS THE PASSAGE SAYING?  

 

Matthew 14:13-21 (NRSVue)   Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself.  But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.  14 When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion for them and cured their sick.  15 When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”  16 Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.”  17 They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.”  19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.  20 And all ate and were filled, and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full.  21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.  

10 On their return the apostles told Jesus[a] all they had done. Then, taking them along, he slipped quietly into a city called Bethsaida. 11 When the crowds found out about it, they followed him, and he welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God and healed those who needed to be cured.

12 The day was drawing to a close, and the twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside to lodge and get provisions, for we are here in a deserted place.” 13 But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish — unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” 14 For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15 They did so and had them all sit down. 16 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke them and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17 And all ate and were filled, and what was left over was gathered up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.  

6 After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias.[a] 2 A large crowd kept following him because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. 3 Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. 5 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?” 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” 10 Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was a great deal of grass in the place, so they[b] sat down, about five thousand in all. 11 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. 12 When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets.  

 

CONCLUSION

WHAT, THEN, DO WE TAKE AWAY FROM THE PASSAGE?

The lesson(s) we learn may depend on whom we identify with.  What if we identify with the disciples?  The people?  The little boy?

  1. The main point of the passage is the revelation of Jesus as the Messiah, and as the Messiah
  2. He can and will meet all the needs of His people.  He did so on the immediate occasion; … but He will do so again whenever we need for Him to provide.
  3. The primary application, then, is for Christians to have the same compassion that Jesus did.  God desires that the poor and the hungry be fed.  The miracle of multiplying food is referred to by some as a “gift” miracle.  It is not like some healing miracles, which may be explained in psychological terms. It is the kind of thing that can only be explained supernaturally. It is a work of creation! If we see the poor, the needy, the hungry, and are moved with compassion, then we must follow Jesus’ instructions: Give them something to eat.  We may not have much, but we may have more than the needy. We may reason that they will only squander what we give them, or that we should not give because it will only encourage them to remain poor and dependent–but that is not what the Bible tells us to be concerned about. If we become more like Christ we will be moved by compassion, and we will start to meet people’s needs — which may mean we will have to go to the Lord to ask for more to give them.
  4. A secondary idea suggested by these things is that with the provision of food there has a spiritual message as well.  The people would have had it in their thinking that man does not live by bread alone, or, that God provides things for people in order that they will listen to Him. We too have received the word from the Lord, and so must give it to the people. Any time God provides something for people it is a call for faith, a call for them to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, and that they need to trust in Him.
  5. So the secondary application is to take the spiritual food that Christ gives us and give it to the spiritually needy people of the world.  It may well be that in providing physical food for the hungry and the masses we will also have opportunity to tell them of the true food (as Jesus did with the discussion of water at the well in John 4).  For those who are spiritually needy, then the provision of life from Christ is always available.
  6. With God, all things are possible.  The disciples, by themselves, could not feed 5000 men plus the others who were present … but, with God, they could … because, with God, all things are, indeed, possible.

 

SONG OF RESPONSE / CLOSING SONG

 

 

CLOSING PRAYER

 

SHARING TIME

 

From an article, on bible.org, entitled Feeding of The 5000(+), by Hampton Keathley IV (co-founder of bible.org) …

INTERPRETATION

  1. What do we learn about Jesus? Jesus is the bread of life who can provide life and supply it for the world. This is demonstrated here and then stated in the next sermon/discourse.
  2. What do we learn about the disciples? What was their failure? The disciples failed to recognize their resource in Christ.
  3. What is the lesson for the people/us? The biggest need that people have (the biggest need that I have) is spiritual, not physical.

APPLICATIONS

  1. Nothing is too small for God to use it.  They didn’t think the little boys lunch was any help at all.
  2. Beware of limited thinking when we have the greatness of God at our disposal.
  3. Christianity is more than temporal satisfaction.  We can deduce that from the reaction of the crowd and Jesus’ refusal to become their king.
  4. Beware of the human tendency to want to use God.  We need to be careful that we don’t have that attitude.
  5. His strength is made perfect in our weakness.
  6. God is our source.  He wanted them to recognize that He was the resource.  This is miracle 19, and they are telling the crowd to go away.  When are they going to catch on?  We do the same thing. We see God work in our lives and then when things get tough again, we have to go through the same process of trying to do it on our own , failing, being broken and then finally trusting in God.
  7. It is easy to dismiss when the going gets difficult. I don’t want to deal with this now. Procrastination?
  8. Jesus is the only adequate provision for life and ministry.  How can we know that?  Would God ever test us with the impossible … to drive us to the Him to whom all things are possible?  Phil.4:13; John 15
  9. A hardened heart might harden me to the possibility that God can work.  In Mark, the theme of the book is to identify Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God.  Early on in the ministry of Jesus, the demons recognize who He is, and the blind see who he is, but the disciples are dense.  Mark 6:52 says the disciples did not understand the miracle of the loaves because of their hard hearts.

 

 

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