11/21/04

Not By Bread Alone

Deuteronomy 8:1-11
Philippians 4:4-13, 19
Mark 8:11-21

"Now the disciples had forgotten to bring any bread ..." How could they be so absent-minded? How could they forget the bread? Just the day before, Jesus had fed thousands of people with only a few loaves of bread and a few fish, and everyone had their fill - yet there were seven baskets full of pieces of bread left over. One would assume that the disciples would have taken these seven baskets of bread with them. But they don't.

Our lesson starts this morning after they go across the Sea of Galilee. Jesus has a chat with some Pharisees, who as usual try to trip him up - this time asking him for some heavenly sign "to test him." Obviously, they haven't heard about the miraculous feeding that has just taken place. After the conversation Jesus and the disciples hop back into the boat and head for the other side.

It is then that they realize that somewhere along the way they've misplaced the seven baskets of bread. There is one loaf in the boat, but that's it. While it's hard to believe they could be so irresponsible, it's also hard to believe that these disciples are making such a big deal out of this. They've seen with their own eyes that Jesus can do miracles - he's just fed thousands with only a few loaves. Surely he can feed the twelve of them with just one loaf. But they don't get it. They blankly stare at each other saying, "We have no bread."

Of course, this impaired perception is typical of the disciples. They rarely seem to get what Jesus is saying or doing. The people of Israel throughout their history are not much different. Their leaders, like Moses, the judges, and the prophets, are always reminding the people that everything they have they owe to God. God has led them for 40 years in the wilderness. They've been fed with manna, been clothed, been kept healthy. Now, according to Deuteronomy, they are about to be brought into a wonderful new land, a land of milk and honey, called elsewhere, the Promised Land.

There are only two cautions: "First, remember that you don't live by bread alone - everything, everything that you have in life comes from the Lord. And second, therefore, follow in God's ways and don't forget to keep God's commandments." But, of course, they don't heed these warnings. Continually throughout their history they run after pagan gods, ignore the Lord's commands, and assume time and again that any success they have is because of their own brilliance, their own cleverness, their own power and might. On many occasions, their leaders refer to them as a hard-hearted and stiff-necked people - a good description.

But we're not much different from the early Hebrews or the disciples, are we? We also forget our past blessings. We also run after the gods of materialism, popularity, etc. We also ignore God's commands when they don't suit us. We also pridefully assume that all that we have we've earned completely ourselves -with no help from anyone else or from God. We also at times can be hard-hearted and stiff-necked, stubborn, headstrong, and unbending.

I've always thought that Jesus must have had a good sense of humor to retain his sanity with those disciples. I don't mean to make fun of them, for I doubt that you or I could have done much better if we'd been in their sandals, but Jesus either must have frequently gotten discouraged with them, or just laughed off some of their comments. I can see him smiling as he questions his followers: "Why are you talking about no bread? Are you blind or deaf? Don't you get it? Don't you remember what happened with the loaves and fish? You still don't get it?" Obviously they didn't.

Earlier in their conversation, when he first realizes their concern about bread, Jesus warns the disciples: "Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod." What does he mean? Yeast as we know causes bread to rise, and for first century Jews such yeasty fermentation was also associated with rotting and decay, so "yeast" was a metaphor for evil. Thus, we might translate Jesus' words: "Beware of the evil influence of the Pharisees and of Herod." Jesus is warning his disciples not to be influenced by the Pharisees and King Herod, not to adopt their evil ways nor their false ideas of power.

The Pharisees have just asked for a sign from heaven. They are looking for a Messiah who will bring wonders and conquests, stupefying deeds, nationalist triumphs, and political supremacy - all through God's dramatic intervention of course. But this is not what Jesus is about. Herod, the political ruler of the day, has established his power through wealth, influence, prestige, and military might. The Pharisees, the religious leaders of the day, conceive of the coming kingdom of God as an earthly kingdom, based on human power and greatness, based on the victories that force can win. (i) These are not what Jesus is about either.

Neither is this the kind of power that we believe in as present-day followers of Jesus. We who call ourselves Christians renounce worldly power: power that one race can hold over another race, based on perceived privilege or perceived superiority; power that the rich can hold over the poor, based on economic greed or selfishness; power that one person in a family can hold over another, based on envy, jealousy, anger, or resentment; power that one nation can hold over another, based on military might or oppressive policies. The power that we believe in, the power that Jesus teaches us to seek, is the only redemptive power in the world, the power of suffering love, unselfish sacrifice, service to others before self, a reliance and trust in the power of God to work through the creation, to work through common folk like you and me, to bring about the kingdom as God sees fit. Ah, but we say, the power of suffering love is not really power at all. Turning the other cheek makes us vulnerable, forgiving those who have wronged us makes us appear weak, unconditionally loving others, whoever or wherever they are, is impossible to do; it's not humanly possible. No, but it is divinely possible, and it's possible for us if we truly have the love of Christ in our hearts, and the faith to trust in the power of God.

Some of us tend to look at life pessimistically, hopelessly. Yet, if we think back on our past experiences, we may remember how God led us through wilderness times in our lives. We may remember that sorrow came ... and somehow we survived it; temptation came ... and somehow we did not fall; illness took us ... and somehow we learned to cope; a problem seemed insoluble ... and somehow it was solved; we were at our wits end ... and somehow we went on; we reached a breaking point ... and somehow we didn't break. People of faith, maybe you or I, often say, "God led me through these times of wilderness," or something similar. Remembering these experiences can give us hope and confidence that God, as in the past, will bring us through anything that may happen in the future. (ii)

Yet, like the people of Israel and the disciples of Jesus, too often we close our eyes and ears to the truth, too often we forget "from whom all blessings flow," too often we neglect to thank God for our blessings, too often we alternate between helpless, hopeless worrying and arrogant, boastful bragging. Truth is, we cannot solely live on the "bread" we make. We are dependent upon the grace of God, whether we admit it or not.

The Hebrew prophet Amos warned that the worst famine is not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. (iii) When we forget to remember God's goodness, when we neglect to give thanksgiving and praise to God, not just on one special day of the year, but every day, when we assume we can make it - as individuals or as a church - on our own power and might, then we succumb to this famine of lost hearing. Fundamental to our being able to hear the word of the Lord is remembering that we are beneficiaries of God's providence. God has provided us with abundance way beyond our deserving. Whether we live a redeemed life or not depends on our remembering what we've received, and our thankful response. (iv)

Part of our thankful response is sharing what we have with others who are less fortunate. This is a major motivation for many of us to pledge generously to Missions/Outreach as well as to our church operations each year. For most of us it is relatively easy without too much of a sacrifice to share from our abundance. But in some parts of the world there's not much abundance from which to share. Mother Teresa recalled this story in one of her writings: "Some weeks back I heard there was a family who had not eaten for some days, a Hindu family. So I took some rice and I went to them. Before I knew [what was happening], the mother of the family had divided the rice into two halves, and she took the other half to the next door neighbors, who happened to be a Muslim family. Then I asked her, 'How much will all of you have to [eat]? There are ten of you with that bit of rice.' She replied, 'They have not eaten either.'" Mother Teresa commented: "This is greatness." (v)

As we gather around our Thanksgiving tables later this week let us remember to be grateful for the many blessings God has so richly bestowed upon us. And let us also remember those in our communities and around the world who are not so fortunate, who do not share in our abundance. Let's focus on these others, not to feel prideful nor to make us feel guilty at what we have, but to motivate us to share in tangible ways, if not this week, then in the weeks and months to come. This, I believe, is what God calls us to do. My wish is that each of you will have a blessed and joyous Thanksgiving, and that the spirit of that day of giving thanks will illuminate your lives always. So may it be. Amen.

The Pilgrim Church of Duxbury
Rev. Kenneth C. Landall

i William Barclay, The New Daily Study Bible, The Gospel of Mark, p. 217.
ii Ibid., p. 218.
iii Amos 8:11.
iv Word & Witness, 11/25/82.
v Ibid.