Bible Text: Matthew 14:13-21 | Preacher: Rev. Jenn Geddes
When talking about food the term, “miracle food” or “super food” is thrown around whenever a particular item is having a trendy resurgence in the culinary arts. Things like kale, quinoa and blueberries have all enjoyed this experience. However, I think there is one miracle food that has yet to receive the credit it is due, the potato. There are few vegetables that pack a more powerful punch in terms of nutrition, taste, versatility, and production than the potato. A medium sized potato contains significant amounts of vitamin C, B6 and potassium as well as a little iron, calcium and magnesium. And a Canadian has had a major role in developing the potato. In 1966 Dr. Gray Johnston of the University of Guelph went to the Andes of Peru to study potatoes. He went to a market and made it known that he wanted to buy the most expensive potato, the one they found to be best in flavour and treasured the most. They sold him a variety that was translated as the “golden egg.” He found it to be smooth and delicious. He brought it home to Canada and by cross-breeding it with hardier types was able to develop an easy to grow and delicious potato. He named this new potato, Yukon Gold, to honour both its Peruvian and Canadian heritage. It is one of the most common potatoes grown not only in Canada but the US.
Food security is something that we should all be concerned about, especially as overpopulation and climate change become very real issues for our world and the potato can play a big part in that. If you’ve ever grown a potato plant you know that one little eye can go a long way. However, food security and the hunger are not new issues. Sadly, they have existed for a long time. This is one reason why the Gospel passage is so intriguing. Many of us have heard it before and it is often considered one of Jesus’ most amazing miracles. However, I think it is important for us to look at the context of the story. Why did it happen? Whom did it happen to? And what does this say about God?
Like trends in food, there are some of Jesus’ miracles that get more credit than others. The feeding of the five thousand is one of those massive miracles. In part it is because it is one of the few stories of Jesus that appears in all four Gospels. In part it is memorable because Jesus turns a little food into a feast. However, I recently read in an article by David Lose that stated we really shouldn’t call it a miracle. After reading his arguments I would have to agree. Within the socio-historical context of this text we must remember that neither Jesus nor his disciples could have imagined how we over 2000 years later would interpret this story, how we would see it as one of Jesus’ greatest miracles. Instead we should read it as one of the many signs in which the character of God, in the presence of Jesus, is exposed. After all, that is what the Gospels set out to do, to tell of the signs that Jesus was Emmanuel, God with us.
It begins with Jesus hearing about John’s murder by King Herod. Jesus immediately needs to take a moment, by himself, to regroup. Clearly Jesus is experiencing grief and sadness at the loss of his friend. Already this reveals something important about God’s character, that through Jesus, God experiences pain, sadness, loss and grief. Jesus needs some alone time- but unfortunately that alone time doesn’t last long, for the crowds follow him. Notice how in verse 13 it says that Jesus withdrew to a deserted place. This is important in understanding where they are- they are no longer near water or a village. They are literally in the middle of nowhere. Which is perhaps what makes the disciples suggestion a little later, that the crowd leave and find their own food callous and insulting. Not only is there nowhere for this crowd to go but they are also not the type who could afford purchasing anything in the first place. These are people who may not have understood the meaning of food security but certainly lived its challenges.
When Jesus sees that the crowd has followed him instead of getting frustrated or burnt out by the situation, Jesus looks to the crowd and he has compassion. In hearing the story of the feeding of the five thousand we must consider not what Jesus did but why. As David puts it, “Because the character of God that Jesus reveals and represents is captured in a single word, “compassion.”” Think about this juxtaposition, Jesus has just heard that his greatest supporter has been murdered by the elite leader of his people and, while he wants to mourn in peace, he sees the desperate poverty facing most people of the day. They do not need some rich leader who chooses who lives and who dies; they need a compassionate God who will feed more than just their physical bodies. This would have been in great contrast to the other gods of the day who were often portrayed as using humans as playthings, or only intervening when they were bored. The Greco-Roman gods were not for the peasants and poor but for the rich and wealthy. So, the fact that this man, the son of God, is healing, ministering, addressing, and feeding the poor is an incredible statement on the God of Israel. This is a God who understands grief and who has compassion and feeds our needs. What an incredible sign of who our God is.
But also notice how Jesus uses others in this story. Despite being in the middle of nowhere, Jesus could have sent the crowd away to get their own food but instead he says that they need not go away, rather the disciples will give them what they have. The disciples are quick to respond that all they have are five loaves and two fish but Jesus takes this meagre amount, looks to heaven, blesses and breaks the loaves. Hopefully that act sounds a little familiar- it is a foreshadowing of the last supper. But then the incredible thing is that Jesus gives these broken pieces to the disciples and the disciples give them to the crowd. While Jesus may be the miracle worker it is actually the disciples who do the distribution.
This is a story about a compassionate God who, in contrast to all superficial values about riches and fame, cares for those most vulnerable and who provides healing and nourishment for those of us who are hungry for something more and of deeper meaning. However, this is also a story about how we too are equipped to provide for the needs of others, even with our meagre amounts. And perhaps that’s the real miracle of this story, not that the loaves and fish are enough to feed thousands but rather that the 12 disciples serve thousands. It is natural for us to think of ourselves first, of our own needs and wants, but through God, hearts are moved to respond to the needs strangers and friends first. It is a miracle that continues day in and day out when we respond as a community to crisis in the world, or when we work at providing a space not only to worship but to gather in outreach and fellowship. And it is a versatile miracle, that packs a powerful punch, in that it occurs in a diversity of ways and we never know just how one act of reaching out can grow. That’s what I call super food and a golden miracle. Amen