Exodus 16:2-21; Galatians 4:21-31; St John 6:1-15
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
The manna was supposed to be a test. Israel was God’s flock, the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. He led them into the wilderness like a shepherd to test them. To see it they would trust Him for their daily bread in that helpless situation. Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My Word or not.
They were told to scoop something off the ground and eat it. Would you have done that? They were being asked to eat something that had no label, no name. Would you have done that? There was a ban on eating leftovers, which meant they had to trust God every morning for their daily bread. No hoarding. Could you do that? It was a test for God’s people, for His sheep.
They did not pass. They ended up testing Him. Psalm 78 tells us the tragic story. They tested His patience. They tested His love. They hated that bread. They did not trust their Shepherd. They spoke against Him. They did not have a faithful spirit. They flattered Him with their lips, but they despised His ways. They forgot what He had done at the Red Sea. After the Red Sea they even asked, “Can God prepare a table for us out here in the wilderness, in the presence of our enemies?”
It made God furious. He may have given them manna, but He did it with a clenched jaw. With smoke coming from His nostrils. It was a test for God’s flock, to see if they would have faith. They didn’t.
And so, in the days of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, He did it again. He had done signs, like Moses had in Egypt. He healed the sick, turned water to wine, catechized Nicodemus concerning the lifting up of the serpent in the wilderness. Now Jesus leads His disciples across the sea, out into the wilderness and up a mountain, like Moses, in order to test them. He said to Philip, “From where are we to buy bread that these people may eat?” He said this to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.
But Philip failed. He had no faith that Jesus could feed the 5,000. Andrew points out the boy with five loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many? He had forgotten about Cana. Did they catch on when Jesus told them to have the people lie down in the green grass? Were their hearts strengthened when He blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to His disciples and told them to set them before the people?
Can’t you just picture it? Andrew and his brother, Simon Peter, are in the crowd handing out bread. At first they're a little stingy with it. A little piece here, a small bite there. But every time they go back to the basket, its full. No matter how much they give away, Jesus keeps multiplying it! How long does it take until they starting handing out whole loaves? When did they say to themselves, The Lord will provide? You would have thought that from the beginning their faith would have been strong and their hearts calm and confident. But just as Israel, they failed the test too.
What about you? The Lord is your Shepherd. And He has, from time to time, led you into seemingly hopeless situations to see if you would trust Him. He has put your faith to the test, even while He knows what He will do. But like Israel, like Philip, like so many, how often have we failed.
We’ve lived as if we are in control of our lives. That’s not faith.
We’ve been paralyzed by our fretting. That’s not faith.
We’ve craved that which would hurt us. We’ve forgotten how He brought us through the Red Sea of our Baptism, out from death to life. That’s not faith.
How often have we offended God by thinking, “Can He prepare a table before me out in this wilderness, in the presence of my enemies?
Repentance is needed, dear Christians. We have failed God’s test of faith. But He knows what He will do. The Israelites kept putting God to the test and yet, He kept being their Shepherd. He kept feeding them manna. Kept raining bread from heaven for them. The disciples put Jesus to the test, but He kept being their Shepherd. No only did He provide food for the 5,000, as much as they wanted, He even provided green grass for them. He is their Good Shepherd who gives them to lie down in green pastures. He gives them rest. For wherever Jesus is, there is refreshment. Wherever Jesus is, there is His Spirit. Wherever Jesus is, there is the green grass of the Garden of Eden and true rest.
Rejoice, dear ones, with the Psalmist who says, I was glad them they said to me, “Let us go to the House of the Lord. Why? Because your Shepherd is here. You are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Here is your green grass and refreshment. What is His answer when He exposes the littleness of your faith? It is as it was for Philip and Andrew, He does not rebuke your ignorance or get angry with you. He simply does what a Shepherd does. He gives you to recline around this Pulpit where He bestows to you His comforting words and promises. He bids you recline around this Altar to be fed with Real Food that satisfies in the deepest way.
You receive here from Mount Zion the abundance of His mercy because He received on Mount Calvary the fullness of the Father’s wrath. For you get to lie down in comfort because your Shepherd first lay down in agony upon the Cross to be crucified for the sins of His flock. And then He lied down died in a tomb with no human way out. A hopeless situation if there every was one.
But God is the Hope of the hopeless and He raised your Shepherd from the dead.
The crowd that followed Him got it so wrong. They saw Him as the Prophet like Moses, to be sure, but they wanted to take Him by force and make Him King. They thought He was the goose that laid the golden egg. A never ending supply of bread and fish! Healing for our illnesses! That sounds pretty good right now.
But He already was the King. And there would be no force needed for Him to give away His Kingdom. For it is His Father’s good pleasure to do so. To give you His Kingdom.
And that’s precisely what He gives you here. Not just enough for today, like with the Israelites, but an abundance, like the bread and fish. Did you notice that from those five loaves and two fish which feed 5,000 men plus women and children, there were twelve baskets left over? The fragments are gathered so that none may perish, Jesus says. He has in mind the future of the Church. The food Jesus gives remains so that it is available for future believers who may also partake in the feeding which Jesus gives.
The earliest Christians understood this. In fact, they used this language and imagery in a prayer before the Holy Eucharist. “Just as this broken bread was scattered upon the mountains and then was gathered together and became one, so may your church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into Your Kingdom; for Yours is the glory and the power through Jesus Christ forever” (Didache 9:4).
So it is for you here today who have come up to the House of the Lord. Rejoice and be glad! For you are gathered as many grains baked into the one loaf, even as you receive the one bread that is Jesus’ Body given for you. Here He speaks His Word, gives thanks, and simple bread becomes the Feast of Salvation. Here, from the Pastor’s hand you receive forgiveness in place of God’s anger. Here Jesus’ distributes the true Bread from Heaven which He gives for the Life of the world and saints are refreshed and renewed, little-faith disciples become brave and courageous confessors. Straying sheep are gathered and made faithful.
But it does not end here. The leftovers are gathered so that none may perish. Dear Christians, you have many at this time who are not gathered with you here, but are scattered to their own homes. Some are afraid. Others cautious. But all need the wholesome loaves of Christ’s Word; to hear the Voice of their Good Shepherd and receive His comfort and rest. Carry it to them. You who have received an abundance of the Lord’s mercy and life, bring it to those in need. Even if only by phone. These are your vocations, your crosses during this present time.
And do not fear, brethren, for like Isaac, you are children of promise; children of the free woman, your heavenly Jerusalem, in whom you have life. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people.
In the Name of the Father + and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
The manna was supposed to be a test. Israel was God’s flock, the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. He led them into the wilderness like a shepherd to test them. To see it they would trust Him for their daily bread in that helpless situation. Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My Word or not.
They were told to scoop something off the ground and eat it. Would you have done that? They were being asked to eat something that had no label, no name. Would you have done that? There was a ban on eating leftovers, which meant they had to trust God every morning for their daily bread. No hoarding. Could you do that? It was a test for God’s people, for His sheep.
They did not pass. They ended up testing Him. Psalm 78 tells us the tragic story. They tested His patience. They tested His love. They hated that bread. They did not trust their Shepherd. They spoke against Him. They did not have a faithful spirit. They flattered Him with their lips, but they despised His ways. They forgot what He had done at the Red Sea. After the Red Sea they even asked, “Can God prepare a table for us out here in the wilderness, in the presence of our enemies?”
It made God furious. He may have given them manna, but He did it with a clenched jaw. With smoke coming from His nostrils. It was a test for God’s flock, to see if they would have faith. They didn’t.
And so, in the days of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, He did it again. He had done signs, like Moses had in Egypt. He healed the sick, turned water to wine, catechized Nicodemus concerning the lifting up of the serpent in the wilderness. Now Jesus leads His disciples across the sea, out into the wilderness and up a mountain, like Moses, in order to test them. He said to Philip, “From where are we to buy bread that these people may eat?” He said this to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.
But Philip failed. He had no faith that Jesus could feed the 5,000. Andrew points out the boy with five loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many? He had forgotten about Cana. Did they catch on when Jesus told them to have the people lie down in the green grass? Were their hearts strengthened when He blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to His disciples and told them to set them before the people?
Can’t you just picture it? Andrew and his brother, Simon Peter, are in the crowd handing out bread. At first they're a little stingy with it. A little piece here, a small bite there. But every time they go back to the basket, its full. No matter how much they give away, Jesus keeps multiplying it! How long does it take until they starting handing out whole loaves? When did they say to themselves, The Lord will provide? You would have thought that from the beginning their faith would have been strong and their hearts calm and confident. But just as Israel, they failed the test too.
What about you? The Lord is your Shepherd. And He has, from time to time, led you into seemingly hopeless situations to see if you would trust Him. He has put your faith to the test, even while He knows what He will do. But like Israel, like Philip, like so many, how often have we failed.
We’ve lived as if we are in control of our lives. That’s not faith.
We’ve been paralyzed by our fretting. That’s not faith.
We’ve craved that which would hurt us. We’ve forgotten how He brought us through the Red Sea of our Baptism, out from death to life. That’s not faith.
How often have we offended God by thinking, “Can He prepare a table before me out in this wilderness, in the presence of my enemies?
Repentance is needed, dear Christians. We have failed God’s test of faith. But He knows what He will do. The Israelites kept putting God to the test and yet, He kept being their Shepherd. He kept feeding them manna. Kept raining bread from heaven for them. The disciples put Jesus to the test, but He kept being their Shepherd. No only did He provide food for the 5,000, as much as they wanted, He even provided green grass for them. He is their Good Shepherd who gives them to lie down in green pastures. He gives them rest. For wherever Jesus is, there is refreshment. Wherever Jesus is, there is His Spirit. Wherever Jesus is, there is the green grass of the Garden of Eden and true rest.
Rejoice, dear ones, with the Psalmist who says, I was glad them they said to me, “Let us go to the House of the Lord. Why? Because your Shepherd is here. You are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Here is your green grass and refreshment. What is His answer when He exposes the littleness of your faith? It is as it was for Philip and Andrew, He does not rebuke your ignorance or get angry with you. He simply does what a Shepherd does. He gives you to recline around this Pulpit where He bestows to you His comforting words and promises. He bids you recline around this Altar to be fed with Real Food that satisfies in the deepest way.
You receive here from Mount Zion the abundance of His mercy because He received on Mount Calvary the fullness of the Father’s wrath. For you get to lie down in comfort because your Shepherd first lay down in agony upon the Cross to be crucified for the sins of His flock. And then He lied down died in a tomb with no human way out. A hopeless situation if there every was one.
But God is the Hope of the hopeless and He raised your Shepherd from the dead.
The crowd that followed Him got it so wrong. They saw Him as the Prophet like Moses, to be sure, but they wanted to take Him by force and make Him King. They thought He was the goose that laid the golden egg. A never ending supply of bread and fish! Healing for our illnesses! That sounds pretty good right now.
But He already was the King. And there would be no force needed for Him to give away His Kingdom. For it is His Father’s good pleasure to do so. To give you His Kingdom.
And that’s precisely what He gives you here. Not just enough for today, like with the Israelites, but an abundance, like the bread and fish. Did you notice that from those five loaves and two fish which feed 5,000 men plus women and children, there were twelve baskets left over? The fragments are gathered so that none may perish, Jesus says. He has in mind the future of the Church. The food Jesus gives remains so that it is available for future believers who may also partake in the feeding which Jesus gives.
The earliest Christians understood this. In fact, they used this language and imagery in a prayer before the Holy Eucharist. “Just as this broken bread was scattered upon the mountains and then was gathered together and became one, so may your church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into Your Kingdom; for Yours is the glory and the power through Jesus Christ forever” (Didache 9:4).
So it is for you here today who have come up to the House of the Lord. Rejoice and be glad! For you are gathered as many grains baked into the one loaf, even as you receive the one bread that is Jesus’ Body given for you. Here He speaks His Word, gives thanks, and simple bread becomes the Feast of Salvation. Here, from the Pastor’s hand you receive forgiveness in place of God’s anger. Here Jesus’ distributes the true Bread from Heaven which He gives for the Life of the world and saints are refreshed and renewed, little-faith disciples become brave and courageous confessors. Straying sheep are gathered and made faithful.
But it does not end here. The leftovers are gathered so that none may perish. Dear Christians, you have many at this time who are not gathered with you here, but are scattered to their own homes. Some are afraid. Others cautious. But all need the wholesome loaves of Christ’s Word; to hear the Voice of their Good Shepherd and receive His comfort and rest. Carry it to them. You who have received an abundance of the Lord’s mercy and life, bring it to those in need. Even if only by phone. These are your vocations, your crosses during this present time.
And do not fear, brethren, for like Isaac, you are children of promise; children of the free woman, your heavenly Jerusalem, in whom you have life. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people.
In the Name of the Father + and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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