From Meager to Miraculous

In Nomine Iesu
St. Matthew 14:13-21
August 3, 2008
Pentecost 12A-Proper 13

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus~

It’s no secret. But I suspect that a majority of people here today don’t know it. It’s one of the most extraordinary things about our congregation. You’d have to look long and hard to find another congregation that can “out-do” us in this particular area. Here’s what you might not know, but should: One of every five dollars given to our Lord in weekly offerings at Our Savior is given away by Our Savior to mission work around the world.
Twenty percent of what comes in . . . goes out.

Where does it go? It goes to support missionaries in the far corners of the world, and missionaries to African and Hmong immigrants right here in Milwaukee. It goes for the education of pastors at our two seminaries, and it goes for the education of little children with autism right here in Milwaukee through Lutheran Special School and Education Services. That twenty percent also goes to support ministry to university students in Milwaukee, and to support people with special needs at Bethesda in Watertown. It goes for the translations of Catechisms and other theological books through Lutheran Heritage Foundation, for broadcasts of “Issues, Etc.” on the worldwide web, and it helps expectant mothers choose life instead of abortion at A Place of Refuge.

I could go on for another paragraph or two, but you get the point. Most churches struggle to send off even five or six percent of their offerings to missions. Our Savior sends off twenty percent of our offerings right out the door—not for the organ, not for salaries or supplies or roof repair, but to spread the good news of Jesus Christ in word and deed to a dying a world.

Why is this the case at Our Savior? Why twenty percent here instead of five percent? Why one out of five dollars instead of one out of ten? That’s what I’m here to tell you. But be prepared; because the reason why is not what you might expect.

It was a Whitefish Bay-sized crowd that came seeking the Savior in a solitary place that day by the Sea of Galilee. It’s the feeding of the “five thousand” to be sure, but to be accurate it should be called the feeding of the five thousand men, plus the women and the children. Add up five thousand men, an equal number of women, plus two children for every couple, and you’ve got yourself a Whitefish Bay-sized crowd. But then again, you know this story well, I’m sure. After all, it’s the one miracle of Jesus that gets recorded in all four of the Gospels.

For Jesus, it was a long day of healing the sick in that remote place, but as the day wore on, the disciples’ concerns were more practical: People were hungry and there was no food. It was a sensible thing to be worried about. The disciples suggested that Jesus should tell the people, “That’s all there is for today folks. Time to go home and get a bite to eat. Good night, everybody!” It would have made perfectly good sense to do that.

What didn’t make any sense was when Jesus told His disciples, “You give them something to eat.” After a few minutes of counting, all they could come up with were five loaves and two fish. Try dividing that up among a Whitefish Bay-sized crowd! It just won’t work. But note carefully what happens next. Jesus asks the disciples to give Him the loaves and fish. Jesus receives what they offer. He has the people sit down on the grass along the lakeshore. (Kind of like Klode Park on the Fourth of July.) Jesus blesses the loaves and fish. He then gives them to the disciples, and the disciples give them to the people. And in the end the whole crowd eats and is satisfied. Jesus took a meager offering of loaves and fish and made a miraculous meal with twelve baskets full of leftovers. In Jesus what is meager, becomes miraculous.


The feeding of the five thousand is a teaching moment, for sure. Jesus is dropping some pretty significant hints that He is the Messiah, the Good Shepherd of Israel who feeds His people in green, grassy pastures, beside the still waters, who prepares a table before them with more than enough food for everyone, from greatest to least.

But for us here today, who already know and believe that Jesus is the Messiah—well, Jesus is teaching us too. Notice the details of what’s going on. Jesus tells the disciples, “You give them something to eat.” On the surface it sounded like nonsense. It would be as if I drove down to Miller Park and shouted out to the Brewers on the field, “You win the division. You go to the World Series!” It’s a nice thought. But meager batting averages and sub-par relief pitching can only get you so far. Just like five loaves and two fish can only feed so many people.

But did you notice what the disciples did with those loaves and fish? They gave them to Jesus—placed them in the Savior’s hands. And in the Savior’s hands what happened? Their meager portions are miraculously multiplied! And then Jesus enables His disciples to do the very thing which moments earlier had sounded like nonsense. The disciples gave the people—all of them—something to eat. In the hands of Jesus what was very little became more than enough. The meager became miraculous.

In Jesus Christ, still today, the meager becomes miraculous. The impossible is accomplished. The unlikely is achieved. But you and I are like the disciples in so many ways. We’re too busy counting our fishes and loaves to notice what Jesus is doing. And with our fishes and our loaves we always want to do what’s sensible. Remember, the sensible suggestion of the disciples was simply to send everybody home—to call it a day and let everybody fend for themselves.

In truth, our dilemma doesn’t concern fishes and loaves; we’ve got more than enough to eat. Our cup runneth over. For disciples today the dilemma is over dollars and cents. And the sensible thing when it comes to dollars and cents is to hold onto those dollars and cents—in our own two hands. In our hands, you see, we control the inflows and outflows. We parcel them out where we see fit. In our hands we do the investing. And best of all, when our dollars and cents are in our hands, we can see them. Dollars and cents look good in our hands! We can feel secure and safe and successful with those dollars and cents in our hands. (And that’s important when you’re hanging out in a Whitefish Bay-sized crowd!)

But when you place your dollars and cents into the Savior’s hands—when you give back to the Lord a percentage gift of ten or maybe even twenty percent of what He’s given you—well, Jesus shows you today what can happen. The meager becomes miraculous. In the Savior’s hands our meager offerings are multiplied for the good of the whole world—for the whole Christian Church on earth. And in the end, there’s even more leftover.

This is why. This is why one of every five dollars goes directly out the doors of this church. This is why twenty percent of your offering can accomplish great things around the world. It’s not because this congregation has been blessed with wealthy members for 75 years. It’s not that we’ve cut corners and done things on the cheap and robbed Peter to pay Paul. It’s because for 75 years the forgiven sinners of Our Savior have placed their meager offerings into the hands of Jesus—full of faith and hope and love—and in Jesus there has been a miraculous multiplication which can’t even begin to be measured in fishes and loaves or in dollars and cents—and which will not be seen in full until we are all gathered around the throne of our gracious God in heaven, singing "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain."

What will you do with your fishes and loaves—with your dollars and cents? Will you do what’s sensible and reasonable and hold onto them and enjoy the temporary comfort and status they provide? Or will you in faith place them in the hands of Jesus? Those hands, of course, are now scarred with the marks of nails. Those nails were placed there for you—so that you would not receive what you are owed for your sins. There at the cross Jesus was for you with a love that did not count the cost. You see, Jesus doesn’t parcel out His love in little increments, based upon what you deserve. No, Jesus pours out His love in a way that is not sensible or logical—but prodigal and wasteful and lavish, with basketfuls left over!

The blood that Jesus shed on the cross is also poured out for you here today in the Sacrament of the Altar. The Good Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep, also gives us the bread that is His body. He prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies. With these meager portions of bread and wine the Lord Jesus miraculously feeds you with His body and blood for your forgiveness—for your eternal good.

The feeding of the five thousand teaches us that the distance from meager to miraculous is no farther than the outstretched hands of Jesus. If you leave here today only thinking that this is a story about Jesus feeding lots of hungry people, then you’ve missed the point. If you leave here today thinking that Jesus is a means to get rich quick and have your dollars miraculously multiplied, then you’ve missed the point. If you leave here today thinking that you yourself should head off and feed five thousand hungry people just like Jesus, then you’ve missed the point.

But if you leave here today believing that five out of every five dollars you have are from Jesus—if you leave here today believing that the forgiveness of your sins totals a whopping one hundred percent—if you leave here today believing that Jesus can receive from you what is meager and then do the miraculous for His church and for the whole wide world—then you will know what the feeding of the five thousand is all about. Amen.