Start
The feeding of the five thousand is one of the famous miracles of Jesus, and one we all know very well. But perhaps so well, we can be blasé about it and skim over the text without entering deeply into what is going on.
First… How much food…?
In the Second World War, the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid had a crew of 3348[1] in total. Each meal for these men – there were no women on US combat ships until 1993[2] – would have consumed at least one slice of bread each, which at 20odd slices per loaf, works out at just over 150 loaves each meal, as well as other bits and bobs. So… when we talk about the five loaves (and small loaves at that – more like buns) and two fishes – like mackerel rather than tuna, we need to think about the magnitude of the miracle. Such extravagance to feed so many people! In Mark 6, we read the disciples moaned that it would take “half a year’s wages” to feed so many people!
Theologically, huge feedings are often the sign of God’s presence and power: Apart from the manna and quails in the Old Testament, we might remember the amazing work by Elisha (not Elijah) who not only filled an large number of oil jars, but also in a parallel with today’s reading, fed a hundred men with 20 buns in 2 Kings 4. We might note that the taking, thanking, breaking and giving is both the standard way of doing food in Jewish families as well as being something that has been given deeper significance to us in the last supper – all five versions thereof, including the 1 Corinthians 11 version – and is a foretaste – if you forgive the pun – of the great wedding supper of the Lamb in Heaven in Revelations 19:7-9.
But there’s more…
How many people?
Five thousand is a large number. Matthew is the only gospel writer, who notes in v 21 that it wasn’t just men. We find these words andres hosi pentakiskhilioi (about five thousands of men) … , khoris gynaikohn kai paidiohn (besides the women and children)[3]. This is in the ancient Greek version[4], so it’s not a modern addition.
The theologian Professor Emerita Christiana deGroot[5] of Calvin University Michigan[6] quotes Megan McKenna’s Research work based on sociology quotes work (happy to give you references) that the ratio of women and children to men would be 5 to 1 or even 6 to 1 [7]. This puts the numbers of folk there from the level of Hartley Wintney to something between all of Yateley and Fleet! This clearly augments the amount of food needed even if they didn’t all come along! But it just means we go from having a miracle to a bigger (Rachel says “flipping enormous”) miracle. We would need perhaps not 150 loaves but somewhere near a thousand…
But there’s more.
So what’s the point of the story then?
I think the key to this story is in the first paragraph. That in the midst of strife we are called to be compassionate.
Our reading starts…“When Jesus hears what had happened”
What had happened? Herod had happened.
This Herod was Herod Antipas, and he was the son of the Herod in Luke’s Gospel who had met the Wise Men, and subsequently ordered the massacre of “all boys under two” in Bethlehem. Not the first choice of heir, Herod Antipas only got his role because the original heirs were executed for treason, and the next in line was convicted of trying to poison his father. This was a family who held onto power through violence.
So now our current Herod Antipas had seen his step daughter dance for his dinner guests and as a result had offered her a reward. Mark’s gospel has “anything up to half my kingdom”; but Matthew 14 has “whatever she asked”. And what she had asked for was the head of John the Baptist.
Reluctantly, and fearful of showing weakness in front of guests, Herod Antipas complies. Such violence so starkly and simply put – John’s head was placed on a dinner plate of all things – should open our eyes to the casual brutality of the era. Rachel added, quite rightly, how much has actually changed?
After this shocking event, Herod – full of guilt and of bad conscience – started hearing reports of the miracles of Jesus, and he was haunted by the idea that it was John come back to life.
So this now makes sense of the opening line: when Jesus hears about Herod Antipas showing an interest in his life as well as his miracles, he leaves Nazareth where he was (and had been rejected in Matthew 13!), travels across land 22 kilometres (12ish miles) North East, jumps in a boat somewhere near TIberias possibly, and sails about 13 kilometres (10ish miles) across to (according to Luke) a deserted site near to Bethsaida on the far shore of Lake Galilee. This is like him travelling from the church here to Polesden Lacey, or as the crow flies to Kings Worthy north of Winchester. Six hours solid walking, and perhaps a three – four hours in a boat depending on winds.
It’s hard to find a “deserted place” in the area around Galilee, which is about the size of Hampshire. William Barclay quotes the historian Josephus, who noted 204 population centres, none smaller than 15 000 – just slightly smaller than Yateley. It is not surprising then that when Jesus moves, folk get wind of the wonder worker and walk the four miles from Capernaum to where Jesus has landed.
Jesus of course is trying to get some quiet time to deal with the death of his cousin John, as well as supporting his disciples in their grief, some of whom, like Andrew, had been John’s disciples too remember, as well as process the potential murderous intent of Herod Antipas.
Put yourself in Jesus’ shoes. He sees a crowd of people coming to him. What would you do? I think I might turn my phone off, and run deeper into the wilderness (not that there is much around there!) to think things through! Grief can be a consuming thing can’t it? And sometimes we need peace to take stock.
So, that’s what Jesus did.
No.
“When Jesus landed and saw the large crowd he had compassion on them and healed their sick”.
And then eventually the disciples – grieving as some of them were and worried – had had enough. Politely – “it’s dinner time, we need to get some food.”
And Jesus says “sure – we’ll get Deliveroo to sort this.”
No.
He effectively says this – “using my resources I have healed these people. It’s your turn to do something from what you have.”
We can imagine the scene. It might have been Peter who said something. Peter who had a wife remember, who had probably packed him a little meal for him and his brother Andrew to have later. Or was it James and John, the “sons of thunder” – whose mum wanted them to sit at the right and left hand of Jesus – who had packed them a delicious dinner box? It does not matter. John’s gospel has a little boy coming up to the disciples. But Matthew Mark and Luke’s gospels all have one of the disciples saying “we have only five loaves and two fish”
Only five loaves and two fishes. These are the physical resources at hand. But what is really being said is “If we give these people the food, a) they will get hardly anything and b) nor will we !!”
Watch Jesus trying not to roll his eyes and huff at them.
He might be biting back the words he would say just three chapters later on in Matthew 17 – the “oh unbelieving and perverse generation! How long must I remain with you?” But today, today, no. He takes a deep breath, the bread, and the fish; and raises them to God, and speaks (as Barclay suggests) a traditional prayer perhaps… “Blessed art thou Jehovah our God, King of the Universe who bringest forth bread from the earth” and the bread gets given out, so much that each of the twelve male disciples is able to collect leftovers in his basket. A simple meal in the midst of tragedy and suffering, fuelled by compassion and tiny offerings.
In a minute we will be having communion. We will get a little bread, today real bread rather than a wafer – and if we so choose some wine. The ritual of taking, thanking, breaking and sharing just as in our reading. And we will recall that Jesus is the bread of life who was taken, broken on the cross for us so we could share in his life and spirit.
So, application. What do we do as a result of this reading? We could talk about out small offerings being amplified by God, and indeed Tom Wright in his Matthew commentary does just that. But whilst offerings of time talents and money are always welcome, I’m reminded by Psalm 51 and Micah 6, which talks about God wanting more than just things.
At the end of the communion service the priest – in this case Rachel – may use a prayer about being sent out as living sacrifices. This echoes the passage in Romans 12 – it’s like liturgy is based on the Bible!
So what does this mean? What small things can we offer to be living sacrifices?
Whilst in this country it is unlikely that our bodies will be broken in martyrdom (thankfully!), we might then look to our attitudes and mind sets.
I’m currently reading this book – Being Interrupted by Al Barrett and Ruth Harley[8] – which asks hard questions about what we don’t see because of our unconscious biases.
We will have accepted these ideas and patterns of thought over the decades we have been Christians, and some of these will have arrived perhaps unthinkingly by reading newspapers, magazines, television or conversations with friends.
These internal and unconscious biases and prejudices may prevent us offering help, advocacy or real compassion to those we currently consider to be undeserving of such.
But note – Jesus heals all in the reading. Jesus feeds all in the reading. There is no sense of deserving as the reality is that we are all undeserving of God’s graces – in communion we sometimes say “we are not worthy so much as to eat the crumbs under your table; but you are the same lord whose nature is always to have mercy”. It is because of God’s grace, his mercy and his love that he meets us where we are and gives us healing in our souls. Healing in Latin is Salve, and it’s where we get our word “salvation” from – that ability to be at one with God: where we get atonement from a word that the translator Tyndale had to make up to describe what Jesus did.
So. Who have we been ignoring? Who needs our forgiveness? Or our help? Which body of people before us have we been bad mouthing or been prejudiced against?
In short, which attitudes, like the bread, do we need to break so that we can release the fragrance and power of Jesus into this place, and so draw more people into the Kingdom?
Heavenly Father, who sent the Bread of Life Jesus to feed our souls, help us to follow his example to feed those around us, so that the Kingdom is advanced, step by step, little by little, until all are gathered into the great Wedding Feast of the Lamb. Amen.
[1] Source https://www.businessinsider.com/uss-intrepid-food-2017-3?r=US&IR=T 20230731 and converted
[2] https://www.facebook.com/IntrepidMuseum/photos/a.126317712641/10160430021897642/?type=3 20230801
[3] https://www.greekbible.com/index.php
[4] https://textusreceptusbibles.com/Editorial/Elzevir#:~:text=The%201624%20Elzevir%20Textus%20Receptus,fifty%20minor%20differences%20in%20all.
[5] https://calvin.edu/directory/people/christiana-degroot
[7] https://reformedjournal.com/not-counting-women-children/
[8] https://scmpress.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9780334058625/being-interrupted
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