“They need not go away...”

Scripture Lesson: Matthew 14: 13-21

Dr. Matthew Brown

January 30, 2005

It came to me as a brief moment of capitalistic inspiration. Sell the Bibles! O I know that’s no novel groundbreaking idea. Religious entrepreneurs continue to churn out enough new versions of our sacred texts to keep the profits rising. There’s the Leadership Bible; the Encouragement Bible; the New Spirit Filled Bible; the Bibleman Bible; the Starting Point Bible; the Wide Margin Bible: the Journey Bible; the Baptist Study Edition Bible (uh huh); the Serenity New Testament; The Extreme Teen Bible; the Pastor’s Field Manual Bible to make it easier to apply God’s Word in every situation. There’s the Complete Jewish Bible; The Women’s Bible; the Couple’s Bible; the Kid’s Life Application Bible; the Extreme Word U.S.A. edition Bible wrapped, of course, in the stars and stripes; and yes, for all you bargain shoppers, there is even the Value Bible.

No, my entrepreneurial imagination does not reach quite that far. Yet, I am sure my idea will be a great hit. You see, I have these two old, worn Bibles that I am not using now. I’ll admit that their tattered state is at least as much the result of being jostled around in a book bag, as it is the result of rigorous study. But worn they are. The binding has fallen off; a few of the pages have come loose; the effects of heat and sun have made brittle the genuine imitation leather. In selective places, the ink has become smudged because of use during rainy graveside services, although I’m sure you could convince someone that the smudges were caused by tears of emotion.

You know, I believe used Bibles such as these could bring a good price, because in our culture it’s not so much that we want to read the Bible as it is that we want people to think we have read the Bible. When a church asks its members what they want, they’ll always say, “We want Bible Study.” But then when the Bible Studies are offered the crowds are disappointingly thin.

A friend told me about a gifted and faithful colleague who each week, year after year, has unfailingly offered this great Bible study. The initial rush of registrations having waned, the faithful remnant of participants has required less and less space, meeting these days in a small room not far from the fellowship hall where a huge group has started gathering for a weekly line dancing class. And so now, our friend has to near shout to be heard over the foot-stomping, nasal-twanging, wall-vibrating Boot, Scoot, and Boogie. What’s wrong with this picture? Shouldn’t it be the Bible Study that is filling the church hall to overflowing instead of Shania Twain?

In our culture, it’s not so much that we want to live the life of faith as much as it is that we want to offer the appearance that we live the life of faith. Yes, I think these Bibles will sell. “Buy it old! Display it bold!”

I came up with this grand inspiration when reading an article by Barbara Brown Taylor in The Christian Century about a trip she took to Nantucket, the one-time whaling port that is now a chic tourist destination. She noticed numbers of people wearing canvas clothing in a peculiar shade of pink. Men wore trousers of it, women wore jumpers, and [she] even saw a baby in a stroller wearing a pair of bib overalls made of it. When [she] asked [her] innkeeper what she was seeing, she sent her to Murray’s Toggery Shop down on Main Street, where she learned all about ‘Nantucket Reds.’”

This material was originally red sailcloth from France. “After years in the sun and salt water, the red faded to that peculiar pink - a.k.a. Nantucket Red - which became emblematic of the island. Eventually Mr. Murray had the idea of making clothes out of it, but rather than wait for the weather to fade the cloth, he weathered it ahead of time, so that people who had just stepped off the ferry could walk into his shop looking like landlubbers and walk out again looking like old-time sailors for just under 50 bucks apiece.”

O how American. As we put on our pre-washed, pre-faded, pre-frayed Levis, we confess that we don’t want to work and toil and sweat out where the deer and the antelope play, we just want to look like we work and toil and sweat outside our home on the range. Did you know that you can purchase a pre-stained cowboy hat in a western wear store? The ad says, “Have the look without all of the long hours on the range.” A pre-stained cowboy hat. Sounds kind of gross to me. But it’s a seller.

The pre-distressed Disciple’s Bible. “Have the look without the long hours of labor under the lamp.” It is a seller.

The problem, like Taylor suggests, “is that a pre-stained cowboy hat does not teach you how to ride a horse, any more than a Nantucket Red [pair of shorts] helps you know when the wind calls for a spinnaker instead of a storm jib. Those things take time - at least as much time as it takes canvas to fade from red to pink.” Those who mistake the appearance for the experience have missed so much.

Fearing that people would never sign up if they knew what the Christian life was all about, we tend to reduce faith to make it palatable. “Just believe, and God will do the rest.” “In this way, divine grace becomes the gift of a pre-stained hat instead of the gift of a life that may produce such a hat. . . Where faith is concerned, there are no pink clothes for sale - just free red ones, and a life worth living under the sun.”

Here, in one of Scripture’s greatest miracle stories we clearly see the free and abundant grace of a God who provides for our needs. Yet, that gift comes with the invitation to join him in his work; to allow our spiritual clothes to have that desired faded look, not because we paid extra for them but because of our toil with the Son in the sun.

This story, written in a patriarchal time, is most often called the feeding of the five thousand. But the more appropriate and more amazing name should be the feeding of the 18-20,000 if we are to count the women and children present on that special day in the desert.

Jesus had just heard the news that John, his cousin and the human with whom he was most closely identified - the one who had proclaimed his coming when everyone else just thought Jesus was that nice, smart boy of Mary and Joseph’s, the one who had baptized him - had just been killed by Herod.

It is no wonder that he wanted to draw apart to be by himself and it is no wonder that the crowds who had witnessed his signs would not allow for that, following him out into the wilderness.

The scene of Jesus responding to the throng that pressed upon him is such a contrast to the insulation demanded by those who perform amazing feats today. Did you know that Tiger Woods has three to four Nike clad security types walking with him down the fairway whose job it is to ensure that no pesky cameras in the gallery are brought out as he prepares to swing?

But Matthew tells us that Jesus “had compassion on them, and healed their sick.”

Well, it was getting to be late in the day and Jesus disciples started anxiously fretting over whether Jesus had given any thought to the logistics of crowd control and food service, almost humorously demonstrating our tendency to fear that even our Lord’s wisdom is not quite up to speed with our own. How much of our lives do we spend nervously grumbling about what we think everyone else including God ought to be doing? “Jesus, we have some concerns.” (I can just see Jesus rolling his eyes at that comment.) Can’t you hear the patronizing tone of their voices? Can you hear your own patronizing voice joining the chorus? Surely, the most popular human hobby of all time is telling everyone else, even if it’s God, what we think they ought to be doing.

“Jesus, now it is getting late. We’re out here in the middle of nowhere. You need to send the crowds away so that they can go into town and grab a pack of Nabs or go to the Pizza Hut.”

They have told the Lord what they think He needs to do, and looking out at a world in need, our voices echo their requests. And isn’t it curious that it is always someone else’s responsibility?

I love Jesus’ response here to their concerns. It is one of the clearest calls to discipleship in all of Scripture. “They need not go away. You give them something to eat.” (repeat)

In this congregation; in this denomination; in your family; in this nation; in this world are you going to be part of the problem or are you going to be part of the solution?

We know the rest of this wonderful story? They bring what they say are their meager gifts using the excuse we always use. “Jesus, we really don’t have that much to offer. Someone else really should do this. I don’t think it’s my place to do this.” But Jesus takes those small gifts that we sometimes almost begrudgingly offer - five loaves and two fish - and Jesus transforms them into something truly amazing. “...He looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied.”

“The world is in disarray,” we cry. “Morals are lacking.” “Ethics are confused.” “The people we respected and invested in are being arrested for fraud. “Where are those who will lift us out of this mess, instilling and demonstrating values once again?” They need not go away. You give them something to eat.

Millions starve and millions more go hungry in a world where food has been given plentifully and I’m on a diet. They need not go away. You give them something to eat.

There are church school classes to be led. Children to nurture, fulfilling baptismal promises. Families to be welcomed with the grace of Christ. What is the church doing about this? About that? They need not go away. You give them something to eat.

Are you going to be a part of the problem or a part of the solution?

Now I can sell you a well-worn Bible that can give the appearance of a faith diligently followed or you can get a new one and watch it become gloriously faded as you join with the Son in the sun, offering your simple gifts and watching our Lord transform them into something truly miraculous. God’s grace is sufficient. “They need not go away. You give them something to eat.” Amen.

Resources:

Barbara Brown Taylor, The Christian Century