If you’ve never heard of TCM, it is an incredible, and vital, campus ministry. Dee Baker, the Campus Minister has been voted the best campus minister in the country, and they got that one right. Kurt has taken classes out there and enjoyed the incredible gathering of different cultures and viewpoints that make up the tapestry of that program. Then we had Bryan Simon, a Villager and a seminary graduate waiting for his first call, preach at the Village for the first time. Bringing yet another voice to our pulpit.
Bryan grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota. When he was growing up, his home church started a Wednesday night meal for their community and beyond. The idea was to encourage people to participate in various activities at the church and provide some food and community. They planned for 30-50 people, but they got 90. Of course, the food ran out. Unlike Jesus, thought,though they were unable to feed the masses with two pans of lasagne and five loves of bread. But you know what happened? Something amazing happened. Despite the food running out, there was fellowship and friendship, conversation and community.
That’s what kind of kind of what what happened in our Bible story from worship today, Matthew 14: 13-21 for those of you following along on the internet. Jesus and his followers had just learned that John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin and friend, had just been executed, on a whim. Jesus was looking to go away and mourn, but so were the masses that followed Jesus and so Jesus did what he always did, he taught.
Like the flash mobs of today, people flocked to where Jesus was. No text messages, no internet, but it happened. Somehow word just got out. And Jesus did what Jesus always did, he brought comfort and teaching to the masses.
But, no one had food, no one had supplies, and there was no town right there, no inns. At that point, they’ve got 5,000-10,000 people to feed and no way they can do it. Sure they were fishermen, but not with enough time to catch enough fish to feed that many. So, the disciples wanted Jesus to dismiss the crowd. But someone had planned ahead. They brought two fish and five loaves of bread.
Now it’s possible that the(delete) Jesus supernaturally caused the food to multiply. And that would be incredible in of itself. But it’s also possible something else happened. People may have found things to share, things they were holding back, in case. They may have only taken a very little when the baskets, in which the five loaves and two fish got broken up into, came around , they may have decided to be happy with nothing. Who knows exactly how that worked, but somehow it worked.
In their grief at the lost of John, in their fear, but in their fellowship, they got a spirit to share. And they spread that food, and maybe others, around and took care of each other. Truly a miracle any way you look at it.
But we experience it here each week. Each week we have a multitude of people who share what they have. Every Sunday here at the Village; our worship is made possible by a cadre of helpers, people who make & run power point presentations, musicians, coffee makers, food preparers, all make our experiences better, more complete. We jump weekly into this story.
We pass the spiritual food of learning and feeding our soul, as we pass we nourish each other. Faith begins the size of a mustard seed, and brothers and sisters, it is bigger now than it was five minutes ago. That is the Sunday Miracle, that people across the country and around the world, stand up in front of other people and share with them their piece of faith. No matter what of the above roles, others like Bryan or Cheri sharing their words. Everyone adds their part to the baskets, putting their contributions in, and together, we are feeding each other. We’re feeding what was planned for as 50 today, but swelled closer to 80. When we leave here, in half an hour, do we sit on our hands and keep this to ourselves. Do we?
NO! We take our nourishment and we go out and we nourish our world. It is how we can begin to understand how 5,000+ could be fed. We, at the Village are here, as our mission statement says to “follow Jesus and Change the World” and we believe we can. Some of us will give money to the Village to support (not it's) its ministries, some our time and talents, some our mere presence at events. But that is how the gifts of 100 or so dedicated followers can feed 5,000 and more. That is how a little church in Toledo is going to expand beyond and start a service in a few months in Maumee and begin feeding Maumee and Perrysburg and beyond, and isn’t that something.
Just like on a Wednesday Night in September in St. Paul, Minnesota, when a church decided it needed to offer a fellowship opportunity and food to encourage (not it's) its members to participate, we have a challenge in front of us now, here at the Village. A challenge to reach out to our communities, and as a regional church we are in many communities, across Toledo, and into Michigan, in Bowling Green and Maumee, Springfield, Perrysburg and Oregon.
Where can each of us step up. What fish and bread do we have to offer our brothers and sisters? If everyone adds a little to the baskets, it won’t take long before we are feeding Toledo, Maumee, Perrysburg, and anywhere else we go. We are followers of Jesus and we CAN change the world, and that, that is where we can meet the story of the feeding of the 5,000, not necessarily with food that we magically multiply, but with teaching, learning and fellowship. We too are sitting on the lakeshore, and we here and now, can make miracles happen, because, both today, like yesterday needs miracles and even miracles need a helping hand.
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