“Kindom Stories: Kindom Vision, Action and Provision” A sermon on Matthew 14:13-21

Matthew 14:13-21 (Inclusive Bible)

13 When Jesus heard about the beheading, he left Nazareth by boat and went to a deserted place to be alone. The crowds heard of this and followed him from their towns on foot. 14 When Jesus disembarked and saw the vast throng, his heart was moved with pity, and he healed their sick. 15 As evening drew on, the disciples approached Jesus and said, "This is a deserted place, and it is already late. Dismiss the crowds so they can go to the villages and buy some food for themselves." 16 Jesus said to them: "There is no need for them to disperse. Give them something to eat yourselves." 17 "We have nothing here," they replied, "but five loaves and a couple of fish." 18 "Bring them here," Jesus said. 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit on the grass. Taking the five loaves and two fish, Jesus looked up to heaven, blessed the food, broke it, and gave it to the disciples, who in turn gave it to the people. 20 All those present ate their fill. The fragments remaining, when gathered up, filled twelve baskets. 21 About five thousand families were fed.

Thank you Metro, always a blessing to be here and although it wasn't that long ago that I spoke, it feels like it was a while ago because we haven't had morning prayers, and that's where I was stretching those speaking muscles, leading us in some morning meditations and ideas, to which we’ll be returning soon, but anyways I digress…

If this is your first or second time joining us, welcome and just you know, be open, cause if I drop a comic book reference, it is intentional, lol… there are no comic book references in this sermon, so don't worry…

Anyways, I always update us as to where we are in the terms of the church year, we are currently in the season called ordinary time, which as we’ve mentioned before is the season that focuses on the ministry of the church and we are speaking on a series called kindom stories, the idea of the kindom of God. Which, just as a reminder is a term first coined by Mujerista Theologian Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz in which she explains that the term:

“ ‘Kin-dom’ better reflects the kind of society Jesus envisions— a shared community of equals who serve each other. Kin-dom includes a sense of community and shared responsibility for survival and welfare.”

So, we are talking about this community of equals, these ideas that come through the text, that show what Jesus is envisioning and so we have focused on that through parables the last few weeks, the way the kindom is shown through these stories. But today we focus on one of the most popular stories in the New Testament, the feeding of the 5,000 families.

The feeding of the 5,000 families, or 10,000+ people, is one of the only stories that appears in all four gospels. The three synoptic gospels (which just means that they share source material), right, Matthew Mark and Luke, and the non-synoptic John, which was written independently of the three. And there are subtle differences in each of the gospels, on what Jesus is doing before and after the feeding, what he does during it, what he asks the disciples to do. Before we get to all that and just finish the sermon quickly, let us recap this story.

Jesus, after hearing his cousin died, key moment, keep that in mind, wants to be alone. But the crowds see him on the boat, and they start to follow him and then he sees the crowds, is moved with compassion, keep that in mind too, and then begins to minister. They are in a barren land, in a desert, and the disciples are like, Jesus tells them that they do not have to go home, but they cannot stay here, there is no food. Jesus is like, you got some, just give them food and then boom we know the rest.

And this becomes such an interesting story if we focus on some of those facts even before the feeding of the approximately 10,000.

Jesus is mourning the death of his cousin and needs some time alone to process this, as most of us would. But he sees the people. And that is an important part, Jesus sees the people. One of my favorite stories in the bible is the story of Hagar. Briefly, in the OT Hagar is the servant of Sarah, wife of Abraham, who is sent away by Sarah after Isaac was born because Sarah, who wanted to have children through her servant, because of the way slavery worked then it would be her child not Hagar’s, is sent away to the desert, to die.

Hagar in the Wilderness by Camille Corot

But it is in the desert, in this barren and deserted place that God sees her and is moved to help her, and conversely she names God “El Roi,” the God who sees me. And I could not escape the parallels with that story and this one and thinking about God as seeing people and being moved. Jesus is in his own period of mourning, he needs to step away but in that stepping away he doesn't stop seeing, doesn't stop being moved, doesn't place himself above the mission that he has, to bring this kindom on earth and he sees the people, the bible says, and is moved to act…. As womanist theologian Jennifer T. Kaalund says:

“We often emphasize the miracle but overlook the sympathy that literally moves Jesus. Jesus’ compassion compels him to act. So, too, should it be with us. While we may feel sympathy for someone, how often does the emotion result in action?”

 It is Jesus' compassion, that literally means suffer with, that moves Jesus to act. He is suffering as they are suffering. Compassion is a good verb in Greek that implies feeling it in your gut, in your intestines and moves towards action, it is a verb here that leads to act. What people did he see, though? See sometimes hear this sermon and we think of the people looking like this:

and that looks all nice, and green and warming and everyone seems happy and like they are just having a picnic, but I am sure that what Jesus saw was more like this:

the text says that he saw the entirety of the people his heart was moved and he then decided to heal them… The people that were coming to Jesus were coming to Jesus desperate, in need, in need of healing, in need of restoration, dying of thirst, to quote Kendrick Lamar. They come to the desert to seek the fount of living water because they need something…  

and I wonder where do we see that today? Where do we see people so in need that they are looking for the answers wherever, and the reality is that we see that every day, every day as the virus continues to take lives and put people in danger, every day as people seek to end injustice and racism, every day as we look in the mirror…. As Russian Poet by Mikhail Pozdnyayev says in a poem he wrote about this text entitled “Remembrance of Five Loaves.”

“I see us so often, not [only] in the stormy waves of daily life, but in the desert, among those more than 5,000 who were filled by five loaves of bread - and, yet, they say, twelve baskets full of fragments remained. Yes, “fragments that remained twelve baskets full.” ... and when it happened, imagine! All victuals do not diminish.”

 When we read this text, do we see ourselves as the 10,000 or do we see ourselves as just observers?

 See Metro, understanding this kindom, this kinship that we are talking about in this series is our understanding that we are united as siblings in Christ, that we are one, that we share in the good and the bad. But it is also seeing ourselves as those desperately seeking Jesus, desperately following him wherever he goes so that we may be healed and then in turn heal our land.

We must be able to see though, see beyond our own needs, our own preoccupations with seeing people as we see ourselves, to relate to others in solidarity and mutuality. Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz says:

 “The main obstacle to the unfolding kindom is the alienation from God and from each other experienced by all in and through the oppressive societal categories and structures that cause and sustain oppression.”

we must not be alienated, not just be compassionate from time to time, no, the Gospel calls us to do more, be more, and to see ourselves not only among the twelve, but also among the 10,000.

 And it is only that, this idea of solidarity, of mutuality, of overcoming this obstacle of alienation that leads is to seeing kindom provision.

 The disciples are there, with Jesus, watching as Jesus does his thing, watching and assisting, helping. But they know the deal, the area is deserted, lonely, it’s getting late, and there’s mad people here and they don't want to be responsible for them, I don't think in a bad sense, like they are detached from them, I think it’s more of a realistic sense. They only have enough food for their own intimate dinner with Jesus.

 But Jesus knows there is enough here. That they all have enough, that they have more than enough to provide for the people. Jesus is inviting the twelve to really practice something.

 And this is what kindom provision is. It is not the idea of amassing more wealth to do… it is changing our mindset to understanding that we have all that we need already with us, all we need to do is recognize how God can use these gifts we have, whatever they are. And see this is a good point that I see in this story, that this story becomes what Spanish theologian Alejandro Duarte says

“a door toward an ecclesiology characterized by Christian life practices rather than theological views.”

I have been reading some more Asian theologies to help gain an additional view to understanding the gospel and in Water Buffalo Theology by Kosuke Koyama he speaks of this idea of ‘neighborology.’  Neighborology is an idea that he says expresses the fact that we need to understand our neighbor’s needs by entering and understanding their reality. He says:

 “In order to be able to be present to Christ in “neighborological” terms to our neighbor, we must learn, first, to see [him/her] ... We must try to build our neighborology upon our direct experience with our neighbor…”

And the way we do that is by participating in the kindom work, by being active participants by engaging our Christian practices and not theologizing or reasoning this.

I am often guilty of that Metro. I sometimes reason and ration a lot of things and remain theologically astute, but my theology can be insufficient if I can’t choose to help someone, if I am always seeking an excuse to not do, if I am always seeing people as others and not as united with me through God’s spirit.

But I often am not, some of you know about a friend of mine who is in a dire fight with Cancer, and the past two months I, and others have been helping her get her affairs in order. Miriam is a mentor and a friend and like a second mother to me, intellectually for sure. And she is a staunch atheist, but I practiced this neighborology, this being with her, not focused on her theological differences and making that the main factor, but making love the real factor, making my relationship with her the focus, not a belief…  and that has led to one of the most fruitful relationships in my life, that has formed and shaped me. But that only happened when I moved away from the focus on a theological disagreement and focused on being with Miriam, being a neighbor to Miriam.

And that is the kindom metro, it is not subscribing to a specific creed only, it is seeing this unity amongst all of us. When we can see people beyond what our human eyes can see, and see the imago Dei, image of God within them and see them as we see ourselves, we are able to help the kindom be on earth as it is in heaven.

 The kindom, Metro, is one in which we are invited to participate, one in which we are expected to engage in our Christian practices to make the Kindom come about. It is the participatory nature of the kindom, a unique aspect of it that when we see need, when we understand the surroundings about us, we are to use what we must help meet the need. We rely on Jesus, but it is our action that brings the kindom about. See, it cannot be Jesus alone, it cannot just be like, Jesus take the wheel and I am gonna just watch you do your thing, no Jesus calls us to come as partners in this mission. It is not just action in the future, it is an immediate participation that helps us bring about God’s kindom to the world.

 And it happens wherever we are… both internally and externally. How many times did God show up in places where we did not expect? In the text, they are all in a deserted place, a wilderness. The promise of God’s presence shows up even in the wilderness and uses what we have, we have more than enough in the hands of God.

 And that is the key metro, not to devalue the gifts God has given us and think they are not sufficient or that they are not what God needs, no, it is understanding that they are. I have been seeing Tia’s emails and posts encouraging creatives to start creating again. Her joyous emails engage people to really change the narrative of what is going on. I have seen Kendra as she continued her movement challenge for all of July, I am sure she inspired people, Wenimo hosts a space for educators to rest and be restored, and it just often takes us hearing God, really tuning in to God, seeing people, that leads us to actions that God uses to bring the kindom.

 We have what God needs in our hands, all God needs us to do is offer it up and allow it to impact the world. Allow it to be turned into fragments of what it is in order so that it becomes more. “Your offering can be the “little” resources (like that of the disciples) that when blessed and added with others can bring forth an increase.”

 To close, St. Oscar Romero says:

The church cannot seek only liberation of a temporal nature. The church does not want to liberate poor people so that they can have more, but rather wants them to be more. She promotes people so that they are more. The church is hardly concerned with having more or having less. She is interested in making sure that all persons, whether they have many possessions or not, make progress and become true human beings and children of God. She wants people to be valued not for what they have but for what they are. This is the human dignity that the church preaches. It is the hope people have in their hearts that tells them: when you complete your life, you will participate in the kingdom of heaven. Do not expect a perfect paradise here, but the kingdom will exist to the extent that you work on this earth for a more just world, one in which you try to be more neighborly to your neighbors. This will also be your reward in eternity.

And that is what this story brings to mind to me, Metro. The idea that we must bring God’s kindom by seeing people as Jesus sees and by recognizing what we already possess.

Sometimes we think we must be in the right place at the right time to do anything for God. We need the correct conditions, tomorrow I will, next week I will, once I get this job I will, once I move here I will… and yes, sometimes we must wait for those things… But I know, Metro, that often, we have enough, the text says that they ended up with more than enough, that we have abundance wherever we are in our lives to make the kindom come. It is a dry season for us right now, the pandemic is hitting home, the continued racial injustices are bearing down on us, the storms that are raging through already endangered people are affecting us, but how can you bring the kindom about even in that circumstance? How can God use what you must help someone else who may be in even more need… who may need even more hope…

Ideal conditions do help plants grow, but plants can grow even in the concrete. We just have to be moved… we have to listen to that deep part within us, God’s spirit, and see others as ourselves, I was recommended to watch a long list of movies by an amigovia, Colombian for friend, of mine, and one of the movies, Y También La Lluvia, and also the rain on Netflix, deals with this transformation of seeing the other as other to seeing the other as intrinsically tied to our own liberation and growth. The othering of people happens all the time, maybe not here at metro, but all around us we hear of people being othered, but we need to re-engage that El Roi identity of God and see people as God sees them. Or as a song I like from Rage Against the Machine ‘The Ghost of Tom Joad,’ which they covered from Bruce Springsteen, says:

“Whenever ya see a cop beatin' a guy

Wherever a hungry newborn baby cries

Wherever there's a fight against the blood and hatred in the air

Look for me, ma', I'll be there

Wherever somebody's strugglin' for a place to stand

For a decent job or a helpin' hand

Wherever somebody is strugglin' to be free

Look in their eyes, ma, you'll see me”

 Yeah, that's far away from the hip hop I usually quote, I know, don't judge me… I can talk more about it… and if this is your first sermon and you’re like, did he just quote RATM to connect it with the gospels… well… it's not the worst thing I've done…  but if we don't see ourselves in all those suffering, who are us, we will not be able to bring about God’s kindom. We must use what we have, whatever God has placed within us, to bring about this Kindom and offer it to God, so that God may multiply it and use it for God’s glory. Let us pray.

Prayer

Redeemer, move us to see people like you did, move us to have a compassion that moves us to help those in need and move us so that we can see that you have given us enough, more than enough to bring about your kindom. That we may see others as we see ourselves and understand that we are woven together by your spirit and your kindom, which is here and not yet. We pray for these things in your triune name, amen and amen.

Benediction

Jesus:

We give you our hands to do your work

We give you our feet to go your way

We give you our eyes to see as you do

We give you our tongues to speak your words

We give you our minds that you may think in us

We ask for your spirit that you may pray in us

Above all:

We give you our hearts that you may love in and through us,

We give you our whole selves that you may grow in us,

So that it is you, Jesus,

who live and work and pray in us and move us to act.

Send us forth now, ready to see, hear and do, knowing that

You have given enough more than enough to bring your kindom.

Amen and Amen.