The department store of God’s grace
Isaiah 55: 1-5; Matthew 14: 13-21
Our reading from Isaiah prompted one of my friends, Phil, who is a minister in Cambridge to say that, for him, this is a description of “the department store of God’s grace”. I love that phrase - the department store of God’s grace.
Everything people need is offered to them by God – free of charge – come if you are thirsty or hungry or tired; come if you are dispirited, or feel unloved, or hopeless.
Come - listen and see – and God’s grace will provide everything you need.
The original message was given to the people of Israel when they were about to return to their land having been held in captivity in Babylon. It was a message of comfort, of assurance that God still cared for them, that the department store of God’s grace was open to them and that God would supply everything they needed.
This is a message which is just as relevant for our society today. We were discussing this at the Zoom Bible Study on Tuesday (if you missed it, the next one is Tuesday September 5th).
We realised that there were still people today who are hungry – relying on food banks, dreading the need to find extra food in the Summer holidays, worrying about rising prices. When you are hungry it is hard to think about anything else except where you will get food, but there are other needs too: some people we know are very lonely or isolated… some are struggling and don’t know where to turn…others are deep in grief and loss.
To all of these people, the department store of God’ grace is open and available – and they need to know it. We need to know it.
God’s grace is with us and for us, whatever our needs.
In the Gospel reading we heard from Matthew’s gospel, Jesus is also aware of people’s needs and shows the activity of God’s grace by meeting those needs.
The passage begins with Jesus hearing the news of John the Baptist’s beheading and withdrawing in a boat to a deserted place by himself. John is Jesus’ cousin; some of Jesus’ disciples started out as disciples of John; John, like Jesus, faced opposition from the authorities - we can only try to imagine how Jesus might feel about the death of John.
On Tuesday night we thought a little about Jesus’ need to be alone to grieve – and the thoughts of the crowd when they hear the news and decide to follow Jesus on foot from the towns. Were the crowds trying to support Jesus – as we might visit someone who is grieving? Were supporters of John the Baptist now looking to Jesus for leadership and teaching? Whatever the reason, by the time Jesus reaches the shore there is a great crowd waiting for him.
But instead of feeling irritated or overwhelmed by the crowd, intruding on his grief, Jesus has compassion on them, and cures those who were sick.
The department store of God’s grace is available to those who are sick and suffering – even when people might least expect it.
Then another need arises – the day is closing, the people are hungry and there is nowhere nearby to get food.
The disciples come and demand action from Jesus – ‘send the people away into the nearby villages so they can get food’.
Were they annoyed that this crowd was distracting Jesus from taking time away with them? Did they imagine they were protecting Jesus – as when they send away the parents who are bringing their children to be blessed by Jesus?
Jesus does not go along with the plan the disciples have – he says something that must have really made them stop and think ‘You give them something to eat’.
They reply ‘we have nothing here but five loaves and two fish’.
It seems hopeless – even the department store of God’s grace would have trouble feeding more than 5,000 people with just five loaves and two fish.
But Jesus wants the crowd to know that God’s grace is there for them – however many they are, wherever they are, whatever their hunger.
Jesus takes, blesses, breaks and gives the bread.
This might well make us think of the Lord’s supper, and of our own communion service.
There is actually a communion hymn in Rejoice and Sing (436) which gives each verse a title:
He took
He blessed
He broke
He gave.
- exactly the same pattern as this miracle of feeding.
There is more going on here than just Jesus feeding people – even 5,000 people – this is Jesus using bread and fish to demonstrate to people the vast store of God’s grace – so great a source of grace that here are 12 basketfuls left over.
There is great joy to be had here – God’s grace is there for everyone, for every need, and never runs short.
But there is also a great challenge.
Jesus does not give the bread to the crowd – he gives it to the disciples, and the disciples give it to the crowd.
Jesus enables the disciples to do precisely what he told them to do for the crowd “you give them something to eat”.
At the Bible Study we reflected on what a challenge this is to us.
We are the disciples of Jesus – surrounded by those who are in need – and Jesus gives us all that we need to feed the hungry around us.
We wondered, together, what this might mean for us today.
Perhaps we should be more aware of the need of the Patch Foodbanks in Merlin’s Bridge, Milford, Pembroke Dock, Kilgetty & Tenby to have the supplies they need. We can place things in the box in many supermarkets, or we might decide we could have a collection box here in the chapel?
There might be other needs that we know of among our neighbours: people who need company, support, practical advice, care. Wherever people are suffering or struggling there is a need for the grace of God to be poured out – and we, Jesus’ disciples, are called to be the means of distribution.
By God’s word and at this table we are fed from the department store of God’s grace. But as we have our needs met, we are then sent out to share that grace with others, so that they too may know their needs met, in the name of Jesus Christ, who feeds us all. Amen.
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