Fed by God Alone

9th Sunday after Pentecost

Today's Readings: Isaiah 55:1-5; Matthew 14:13-21

Grace and peace to you in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In our first reading this morning I am tempted to compare this scene to a modern day carnival of sorts (in non-COVID days, of course). At a large festival there may be bouncy houses, carnival rides, pony rides, bands playing, fun houses, cotton candy, funnel cakes, games with prizes and children yelling ‘It’s so FLUFFY!’ All this to say, there’s a lot going on! Something or someone is demanding your attention every way you look and the volume of life is up so loud you can barely hear yourself think! Perhaps we could attribute all of this to the hustle and bustle of our busy everyday lives as consumers of endless distractions.

But then, out of the corner of your eye, you catch a glimpse of the prophet Isaiah yelling out to the crowd, “Ho, all you who are hungry and thirsty for abundant life! Come on over to this tent to have your fill! It’s free, completely free, no ticket required! Come on in and make yourself comfortable! Don’t waste your money on that nonsense that will just leave you feeling empty inside! See REAL life just behind this curtain!” I don’t know about you, but I’d be curious enough to have a look. What’s there to loose!? It’s a free experience!

The harder part for me to imagine is.. what exactly is behind that curtain? Well, apparently, according to Isaiah, all you can eat bread, wine and milk! ..But what else?.. As I pondered this idea, I imagined a table that stretches further than your eyes can see where people of all kinds have plopped down to enjoy one another’s company.. Maybe some hang out areas with comfy beanbag chairs and fluffy pillows where children and teens are laughing and playing together.. Perhaps a grassy area for all to take a moment to rest and look up and marvel at the sky... What do YOU imagine? What are the life giving things you imagine you might find hidden away in this tent of God that Isaiah lured you into with the promise of life?

So, God has succeeded in getting your attention.. but now what? What is this? What is it that makes up our life of abundance with God?.. That not only makes us want to stay and make our home here, but invite others to join?.. I feel this text from Isaiah inviting us to reflect on what truly satisfies our hearts. What does society tell us (or rather sell us, promising it) will bring us happiness, fulfillment, and success VS what does God tell us (or rather, offer us freely, promising it) will bring us a life of abundance and deep-seated satisfaction?

Could it be as simple as free bread and wine.. the body and blood of Christ.. a splash of the waters of the Jordan.. a seat at the table with a generous portion of loaves and fishes?.. Could it be as simple as divine relationship? Perhaps what draws people in, attracts people to the tent of the life-giving God, is not impressive statistics or the glimmer of gold or any extraordinary tricks demanding our ‘oooos’ and ‘ahhhs’.. but it is simply the way people live and treat one another here that attracts and holds our hearts.

Here in this place, we don’t have to look like or be anyone other than who we truly are. Here in this place we are invited to have our fill, no strings attached. There are no place cards on the table, just open invitation. No one wants your resume of accomplishments and you don’t have to fill out any paperwork demanding details on your salary, denomination, love life, gender, race, ethnicity, address, etc. What is it that matters? You - as God made you, not as the world has defined you. Freely you are loved and freely you are able to love others. I think that is perhaps God’s version of a life of abundance.

This seems like a sweet dream, but impossible in our modern way of living. We have to get out there, join the hustle and bustle, play the economic game of life.. and maybe when we retire at the end of the night (or the end of our careers) we can hear Isaiah calling and summoning us to rest behind the curtain at the table of God.. but isn’t it just easier to drink wine alone on the couch with your favorite TV show to distract you from the game and the reality that you have to get up in the morning and do it all over again? Yet Isaiah’s question rings in our ears, “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?” (Isaiah 55:2)

I understand, though, this desire and Jesus’ disciples did too! In the story of the feeding of the 5,000 the disciples, most likely tired out from the long day of following Jesus and helping the people in the crowds, they were ready to send these people home! ‘Jesus, I think it’s time we send everyone back to the village so they can get home for dinner.’ But surprisingly Jesus was like, ‘No way! They can all just stay for dinner! What do we have to feed them?’ Probably rolling their eyes and thinking of any way to finally get some time to themselves they told Jesus, ‘Look, we don’t have near enough food for them all, we really ought to send them all home.’ But what is it that truly satisfies? God. And who is the only one who can make something out of nothing? God. So Jesus says, ‘Take a seat. Have your fill. This is life!’

In the land of the independent.. it is difficult to admit that we are utterly dependent on God. In the land of ‘No, it’s okay, I’ve got it,’ it is difficult to ask for help. In the land where, ‘Hi, how are you?’ is a greeting and not a sincere question anticipating an answer, it is difficult to confide in someone the true state of our hearts and minds. The 5,000 whom Jesus fed that day in the desert.. (well, let’s be clear that in the 5,000 only men where accounted for, so if we were to actually count all the women and children, Jesus would have most likely miraculously fed upwards of 10,000..) but, thousands of people were hungry for something that they knew only Jesus, the Son of God, could provide. I wonder if, because of the way our society breeds us, we’ve lost this sense of hunger for God.. Is God like the ‘sauce on the side’ of our life that (we think) is actually fulfilled by work or status.. or is God the center of our lives, the foundation on which we stand, the deep well from which we draw from as we live, move, and have our being in this world…?

Why should we listen to Isaiah? Why should we care about a miracle in the desert that happened over 2,000 years ago? Well my hope is that in Isaiah’s voice you hear the voice of God. My hope is that in the miracle of loaves and fishes you are reminded of God’s overwhelming love for you and of God’s desire to provide life in abundance. My hope is that you who feel empty and are hungry for the satisfaction this world alone cannot provide, will find life in God, who will in turn bear more fruit in and through your life than you could ever have possibly imagined.

My hope is that you will eat and have your fill. For God has not only fed you, but ‘made with you an everlasting covenant,’ ‘has glorified you,’ and ‘made you a witness to all people.’ ‘Incline your ear to the Lord, come and listen, so that you may live’ (Isaiah 55:3-5).

Amen.