Jesus does so much with so little

Sermon preached at St Alphege, Solihull at the 9.15am Eucharist.
Sunday 26th July 2009, Trinity 7 Proper 12 Year B

Readings: 2 kings 4: 42-44 Ephesians 3: 14-21 John 6: 1-21



I studied Maths at university. On the whole I found the maths lectures incredibly difficult. I found that I could never understand what was being taught in the lecturers, but I would take notes and hope to work it out later. The lecturers used to give us “examples sheets” with questions on. The idea was that you worked through the examples with your lecture notes and that way started to understand what the course was all about. We were also encouraged to go to “examples classes” were the lecturer would go through the example sheet and help people who were stuck. But the trouble with going to examples classes was that it was all too easy to show yourself up as being very ignorant and stupid.
I remember on one occasion the lecture had been particularly obscure. I had failed to any progress on even the very first question on the example sheet. I decided to go to the examples class, and I hid myself quietly at the back. Mercifully there were several other people there. We all stared down at our books, hoping not to be asked a question. The lecturer started, “Now put your hands up if you managed to complete the example sheet”. Not a hand moved. I felt relieved. “Oh, Oh, that’s a bit disappointing. Er.. put you hand up if you managed to complete the first half of the example sheet.” Not a hand moved. I felt even more relieved. “Oh dear, Oh dear” said the lecturer, “I hope that this wasn’t too hard for you all, because it was really very basic. Perkins, you usually complete the example sheets, how far did you get?” Perkins, who we all respected as a wiz kid, said, “Actually I couldn’t do any of it.” Waves of relief swept through the classroom. One by one we could all safely admit that we hadn’t managed to do make any progress. And once we were all confident that everyone in the room was hiding an ignorance similar to our own, then we all felt able to admit it. The lecturer had no choice but to go back to the very start and explain it all again.
Now there are people who think that the feeding of the five thousand worked a bit like this. They think that what really happened was that everybody present had hidden away in a cloak or a bag some form of packed lunch. But nobody knew that anybody else had brought food. Nobody wanted to get their food out in case they would need to share it with the people around them, and they would end up going hungry. But when Jesus started to share food around everyone suddenly felt able to get their own food out. Perhaps this was because they recognised it was now time to eat. Perhaps it was Jesus teaching that changed their hearts and made them willing to share, even at the risk of going hungry. Perhaps people simply needed to know that there was plenty of food to go round, and once they knew this they felt confident to get their own food out and share it.
Now personally I don’t believe that this is an adequate explanation of the miracle. It seems to me that something physically miraculous must have happened. Jesus must have really created some food, because, it seems to me, the people present clearly saw it that way and were deeply affected by it.
But however you try to explain it, there is no doubt that something very remarkable happened. A very meagre offering of five loaves and two fish brought about, through the presence of Jesus, the feeding of five thousand people, with 12 baskets of food leftover.
Let’s just think for a moment about the boy who provided the five loaves and two fish? What was it that made him come forward and offer the food that he had? Did he think that such a pitiful amount of food could possibly be significant among so many people? Did he worry that people might laugh at him? Did he worry that people would just steal his food? It may be that he had thoughts like that, but they did not stop him from offering his gift. Then Jesus, somehow or other, in the midst of all those people, ensured that there was sufficient, or rather plentiful food.
Sometime we can be put off doing good because our contribution seems so small compared to the demands of the situation. We might think of picking up a piece of litter while walking to work, but then be put off because there is so much litter. We might think of driving very courteously, but be put off because nobody else does. We might think to write to our MP about a particular issue, and then not do it because nobody else seems to care. We might think of walking rather than using the car, but be put off because that on its own will not solve climate change. We might think of increasing our giving to the church, then shy away because the church needs so much money. We might think of visiting that elderly lady who is lonely, but then not do it because there are so many lonely people we could visit.
The feeding of the five thousand teaches us not to worry about the demands of the situation, but to offer to Jesus what we can and to make the contribution that Jesus asks us to make. We each of us needs to offer to Jesus our own small contribution, and then entrust to Jesus the outcome, because Jesus can do wonderful things. Maybe he does it by encouraging lots of other people to make their own small contribution, maybe he intervenes in some other extraordinary way, but over time Jesus does address the situations that are entrusted to him in love.
I am always amazed by the work of Solihull Churches Asylum Seekers Support Group. A few people shared together a desire to help and support the asylum seekers who the UK Boarder Agency requires to sign on monthly or weekly at Stamford House on Homer Road. What could these people hope to achieve? Yet now, three years later, there are sixty volunteers, four sessions of support offered each week, many regular visitors and an inspiring example that that has been influential with councillors, MPs and Bishops.
And this is just one example. A few years ago a different group of people had a comparable experience in setting up Solihull Churches Action on Homelessness (SCAH). And looking further back, what about those Christians who first established schools to educate the working classes, or who were first moved to make medical services more available to more people.
So let’s never be discouraged from doing good. Let’s make our own contribution in accordance with what Jesus wants from us. Let’s offer this to Jesus, not worrying that it is only a small contribution, and not feeling that we need to solve the problem ourselves. Rather let’s trust Jesus and work with him according to what he asks of us. And over time, let’s see what miracles Jesus performs.