Sunday, April 26, 2009
Mark 6:30-44
Minister of Discipleship
This is one of the most well-known of all of Jesus’ miracle stories. It is also one of the few miracle stories that is told in all four of the gospels. There must be a very important discipleship lesson for us to be found in these words! Since this is United Methodist Women’s Sunday, I decided to focus in on our “theme” for this year – “Who’s At Your Table?” and see how that theme might provide a starting point for us to view this scripture passage. The first thing we must see in this passage is that it is about coming together around a “table” with others. In this account, there was not a literal table but we do see Jesus calling the people to come together in groups – perhaps in a large circle – so each group so they could be fed. You might think, “well, that only makes sense to put the people into groups to help facilitate the passing around of food.” But, this actually goes much deeper than just making things “easy to handle.” There is deep theological significance to sitting together and sharing a meal with others. In the Middle East in Jesus’ day, as it still is today, sharing a meal with someone means that you are also sharing in their life. You are making a commitment to “be there for them” – in other words you have become like family sitting down together at that table. So, in asking the people of this large crowd to sit down together in groups, he was asking them to be “family” with each other. He was asking them to be a part of each other’s lives, to look after each other like you look after members of your family, to listen to each other’s stories, to carry each other’s burdens.
Think
for a moment about the last time you were in a large crowd…..did you know all
the people around you? Did you WANT to
know all the people around you?? What
would it be like if you were suddenly asked to sit down with these folks and
get to know them and share in their lives?
Think about what it would mean
to “come to the table” with others beyond our usual “table companions.” I believe that is exactly what Jesus
intended that late afternoon – to bring people together in a new way. Are you ready to see some new faces around
your “table”?
The
next thing that happened once the people were in groups was that the disciples
took inventory of what they had available and offered it to Jesus to help feed
the groups. In John’s version of the
story, it is a young boy who offers up the 5 loaves and 2 fish. No matter where it came from, it certainly didn’t seem like much at all, but
it was offered to help the cause. Jesus
accepts the “small gifts” and gives thanks to God for their availability. And, amazingly, they are enough, enough to
feed all those present that day at that moment in time. Now here’s a valuable lesson for us to
learn…..God doesn’t ask for us to give more than we have. However, God does ask us to give what we do
have to help – even if it seems like it is too small and doesn’t begin to solve
the big problem at hand. Anyone who has
ever worked on a missions trip or a missions project of any kind knows that God
is still in the miracle business! Any
time we are willing to come together in community with others and offer up what
we have, we end up carrying away baskets full of blessings!!
This
is the picture we need to keep in our minds when we hear about the many great
needs in our society and around the world.
Often we see the need and we think we can’t begin to solve that problem
so we just give up – we walk away from the “table” so we won’t have to deal with
the situation. United Methodist Women
have a long history of “coming to the table” and offering up what we can so God
can perform miracles. There are so many
stories of how God has taken the faithfulness of women and men and multiplied
the blessings for all involved. We
would like to share three examples with you this morning and invite you to
consider joining the UMW at these particular “tables.” Outside the sanctuary around in the Great
Hall we have setup a long table which gives you information about these three
missions opportunities. We pray you
will come to the table and see how God might be calling you to offer up your
“loaves and fishes.”
The
first project at our UMW table has been going on since the end of WWII, but
some of our women here at First Church have developed a recent passion for this
cause. Several of us had the marvelous
opportunity back in January to visit the UMCOR (United Methodist Committee On
Relief) warehouse depot in Baldwin, LA.
While we were there we learned about the many ways that UMCOR provides
emergency relief supplies to thousands of families and especially to women and
children in times of need. One of the
ways they offer assistance is by providing layette kits to new mothers who do
not have the basic supplies necessary to look after their newborn babies. Along with food supplies, which are given
out through other programs, the layette kit gives some basic diapers and
clothing to help the child stay safe and warm.
Whether
these children have just survived a hurricane or earthquake or perhaps they are
living in a desert refugee camp, there are many times and places where mothers
and babies need our help. We received
material from UMCOR for us to help sew some of the clothing and blankets they
need. They also provided us with
knitting and crochet patterns to make the simple little sweaters. Our own Thom Whitaker has already come to
this table and currently holds the record for the most sweaters completed!! I have committed to get at least one sweater
done before the end of May. Perhaps you
would be willing to come to this table, do your small part, and see what
miracles God may perform in these new lives.
Over
two decades before UMCOR was ever formed there were Methodist women right here
in Oklahoma who saw a need to help provide simple, safe housing for the most
desperate families in our state. These
women opened “Wesley House” in Oklahoma City.
And, it is still in operation today almost 90 years after those women
first had their vision. Later when the
Dust Bowl ravaged Oklahoma and the Great Depression devastated the nation,
Methodist women in Oklahoma again saw a great need and opened The Bethlehem
Center to provide health care services, nutritional counseling and hand-made
infant clothing for families in poverty.
These
two programs merged in the late 1960’s and formed Neighborhood Services
Organization. Today NSO has four
facilities that provide housing or transitional living for people with special
needs including: single adults with mental illness, single males between 18-22,
pregnant women or women with a child under 5 years old, and needy families with
2 or more children. Along with these
housing facilities NSO also provides free or low cost Health services and
rental assistance (when funds are available).
Can you imagine what it must be like for these individuals or families
to have a safe, clean place to live and get back on their feet? Last year the Oklahoma UMW provided over
$20,000 in gift cards to help these people have something to put on their
tables or in their closets --- that’s a lot of loaves and fish!!
Another
place that is close to the heart of many UMW here in Oklahoma and especially to
several of us here at FUMC is the Cookson Hills Center. This mission is located just outside Tallequah,
OK and ministers primarily to the Native American People in rural
Oklahoma. Consider this for just a
moment. The people being served by this
important mission were first forced away from their “tables”/homes and moved to
this land known then as the Indian Territory.
Then when settlers wanted that land, these people were forced to move
again farther into the territory. Now
today the land that was given to them has become a most expensive place to live
because the area around Lake Tenkiller has become a resort area. As you well know if you have ever vacationed
in a resort area, the food and local supply stores have inflated prices meant
for the tourists. However, when you
live in that area on a fixed income or very limited funds, you are also forced to
pay these high prices.
Cookson
Hills provides a thrift store, food pantry, as well as craft and gardening
co-ops (with the supplies/seeds provided) to help the local people earn a
little money to support their families.
They also provide educational and vocational training
opportunities. Imagine if you can being
a mother with young children and no way to feed or clothe them. Then you hear about Cookson Hills. They meet new mothers like this every
day. One story that really touched my
heart was the day a mother arrived at Cookson Hills because she had heard that
she could get school supplies for her children. While she was there she happened to see the food pantry. When she was told she could use the pantry
to get a few things, her young daughter began to cry with joy because she was
so excited to have a meal that day. The
previous night they had had salad dressing for dinner!! Salad dressing for dinner….surely if we all
bring what we have to the table everyone will have more than that to eat!!
I
would like to close with the famous table parable you may have heard before,
but I never tire of the message it brings.
Once upon a time a man (I’m going to make it a woman since it is UMW
Sunday!) died. She was met by St. Peter
who told her she had a choice to make about where she wanted to spend
eternity. First, he led her to a door
and as they entered the room she smelled the most wonderfully fragrant
stew. She noticed that the stew pot was
sitting in the middle of a big table but all around the table were pale, hungry
looking folks. They each had a spoon
with a very long handle to reach into the pot.
She asked St. Peter, “why are these people so sad and so malnourished with
such a lovely stew sitting before them?”
He replied, “well, you see, this is hell. And, all these people are
hungry because their spoons will reach into the pot, but they only consider
trying to feed themselves. The spoons
are too long to reach back into their own mouths. So, they are all hungry and unsatisfied.” The woman cried, “I don’t want to stay
here. Is there another place?”
Next
St. Peter took her to another door and as he opened the door she could hear
laughter and singing. She again smelled
the wonderful stew and saw the stew pot sitting in the middle of a big table. These people also had long handled
spoons. But, they had learned to dip
their spoon into the pot and then feed someone else sitting across the table
from them. Everyone was feeding and
being fed. “This,” said St. Peter, “is
heaven!”
Heaven or hell – it’s all about how you approach the table. What will it be for you? Are you ready to join others at the table – even those you don’t know yet? Are you ready to bring whatever you have to that table and share it so God can work a miracle?? I’m hungry for that kind of meal myself….how about you?