Proper 13 :: Isaiah 55: 1–5 / Psalm 17: 1–7, 16 / Romans
9: 1–5 / Matthew 14: 13–21
This is the homily given at St. John’s, Huntingdon,
Pennsylvania by Fr. Gene Tucker on Sunday, August 2, 2020.
“HELPLESSNESS, THEN
SURRENDER”
(Homily text: Matthew
14: 13-21)
Let’s take
a somewhat unusual approach to our understanding of the miracle of the feeding
of the crowd of 5,000 persons, heard in our Gospel text this morning. (Notice
that Matthew includes in the total number only the men, 5,000, but tells us
that there were women and children present, as well … so perhaps the entire
crowd could have numbered over 10,000.) This is an event that is recorded in
all four Gospel accounts. (Matthew and Mark also record another miraculous
feeding, of a crowd of 4,000 persons.
In our
approach to this event, let’s look at the circumstances that the members of this
large crowd, and also Jesus’ disciples, faced: They are in a deserted place,
the numbers of people present are large, and it’s getting late in the day. All
of these things make for difficulty.
The
solution which seems to make the most sense isn’t an especially workable one:
Sending them away into neighboring towns to find something to eat. For it’s
likely that the neighboring towns may have been some distance away (recall that
they are in a deserted place), and it’s also possible that the resources that
were available in those towns wouldn’t have been sufficient to take care of the
needs of so many.
There must’ve
been a sense of helplessness among the Lord’s disciples. Perhaps some members
of the crowd also sensed the growing urgency of the situation, we don’t know.
What we do
know is that the disciples notice the problem, and that they bring that problem
to the Lord for a solution.
Under the
circumstances, the disciples are helpless. So is the crowd, in a very real way.
Which
brings us to the point of our consideration of this miracle: In the face of a
difficult situation, one which presents us with our helplessness and our
hopelessness, we must surrender ourselves to a solution that is beyond
ourselves, that is, we must surrender ourselves to God for a solution. Put
another way, what we must say to God is, “We can’t, but you can.”
“I (we)
can’t, but you can,” captures the essential meaning of baptism, for the meaning
of our entry into the waters of baptism signifies a death to our former life,
our life of estrangement from God, and our helplessness in the face of our
condition. Spiritually, we are in a wilderness, a deserted place absent from
God. We cannot help ourselves to bridge the gap between God and ourselves, but
God can bridge that gap for us.
As we
emerge from the waters of baptism, at critical junctures in our earthly walk,
we will encounter, time and again, occasions to pray the prayer, “I can’t, but
you can.” Without the surrender that this prayer embodies, we have exercised
the best solution to any of our dilemmas and problems.
Total and
complete surrender is the beginning place of our walk with God. We willfully
surrender ourselves in baptism, and we continue to do so, if we are to be
spiritually healthy, again and again. It is a zero-sum reality.
Our Lord’s
response to the problem of feeding that large crowd can remind us that,
ultimately, we are dependent upon God in each and every circumstance that life
will bring our way. When confronted with a challenge or a problem, we might
emulate the disciples’ decision to bring our problems to the Lord.
AMEN.
