Hello,
Today’s Bungee Cord is my sermon from Sunday….seemed to me that it was worth Bungee’ing.
“And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.” So, if we add in the women and children that were there in that deserted place – people who had followed him in order experience his divine compassion and to be cured of their illnesses – there were about 10,000 people there. 10,000 people. According to the 2018 records, Ligonier has about 1500 people living here, and Latrobe has about 7800 people living there. So, if every man woman and child from both Ligonier and Latrobe gathered on the shore Lake Donegal, then we would get a picture of the size of the crowd that gathered on the shore of the Sea of Galilee that day.
So, no wonder when Jesus told the disciples, “They don’t need to go away to get food, you give them something to eat,” they were shocked and stunned as they looked at the food in their baskets. Five loaves of bread, and two fish…to feed the population of Ligonier and Latrobe…”Jesus, are you crazy? What were you drinking when you were out in that boat!”
Five loaves of bread, and two fish. That is all they held in their hands. That is all they had to take on the task of feeding 10,000 people. But what we find out today, and what those disciples found out that day, is that when five loaves of bread and two fish are in Jesus’ hands, that is more than enough to do what Jesus wants to be done. “Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full.” In Jesus’ hands, five loaves of bread and two fish were more than enough to do what Jesus wanted to do.
I think that we have some sense of the futility in the disciples’ reply when he told them to feed that crowd of 10,000 people with five loaves and 2 fish….because today we are facing the same thing. Millions of people in our country have caught this virus, 150,000 people have died, people’s livelihoods have been challenged and some have been lost, loneliness is flooding people’s lives, testiness and anger are rising up in people, and as of right now, there seems to be no clear end in sight. And we say to Jesus, “Jesus, it’s getting late in this battle against the virus, and the people are starving for hope. Send them somewhere they can find hope.”
And today, I hear Jesus tell us the same thing that he told those first disciples, “They don’t need to go anywhere for hope, you give them hope.”
“But Jesus,” we might respond, “all we have are these masks and bottles of hand sanitizer.”
“Bring them here to me,” says Jesus. And in a few moments he will do just as he did with that bread and fishes, he will bless these masks and hand sanitizers, and those who wear them, and he is going to send us, his disciples out into this world so hungry for hope. “You feed them,” says Jesus.
And so we will go….go having been blessed and our masks and hand sanitizer being blessed. And what will happen as we go….well, guess we’ll have to see, but after hearing our Gospel lesson today, I don’t think that we should be surprised if we see….
· When you see the checkout person at the grocery store have a glint of joy in her eyes and a smile on her face that we cannot see behind her mask when you, by the patience you show and the kind words that you share, spread the hope of Christ with which you have been blessed…
· When you hear the lilt in the voice of the elderly person who lives next to you when you call her on the phone just to say “hi” and check in on her, thereby sharing the hope with which Jesus as
· When the larger than usual tip that you leave for the restaurant person after you have picked up your supper to take home, is received with a response of, “Thank you. Thank you very much.”
· When the kids in the house near to you who are bored to death and are anxious about what lies ahead of them this fall, when you give them the plate of cookies that you have brought over for them, and they go running into the house, “Mom, mom. Look what the neighbor brought over.”
· Or when your coworker who is exhausted from work says something uncharacteristically bristly to you, and out of the hope with which you have been blessed, you say back, “I know that you didn’t mean that. We’re all a bit on edge.
· Or when a spouse who is feeling worthless and empty, not being able to do the things that has brought meaning to their life is hugged by you and out of the hope with which you have been blessed you say, “Honey, I love you.”
I don’t think that you or I should be surprised to see hope rising up….no, not rising up, but gushing up, drenching the pervading parch path of hopelessness with buckets of hope – who knows, maybe even 12 buckets of hope – hope to step into the bleakness of the days ahead, hope to see the wonder of God’s love, hope to stand up to the pressures of the day and say “thank you Lord for another day of life”, and hope to step out into the world with courage, buckets in hand, and delight in being part of doing some divine drenching of the world with hope.
This just may be an exciting week for you as you discover the amazing things that Jesus can do with a few masks and jars of hand sanitizer!
Amen.
Have a great week,
God’s grace and peace, (ggap)
Pastor Jerry Nuernberger
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