God’s grace, peace and mercy be with
you. My sermon title is Come Away, Compassion
and Consume. My focus is Mark 6:30-44. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the
psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they
said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Now that our feet are within your gates, we
rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds
and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most
Holy Trinity. Amen.
Has
anyone ever encouraged you to come away and rest? Has anyone ever asked you to come
on a retreat? Perhaps you attended one for work or as a family or to enhance
your spiritual life. Most districts within the Synod have a spiritual retreat
house that is available for pastors’ conferences, confirmation classes, high
school students or lay groups.
The
word retreat refers to an act or process of withdrawing especially
from what is difficult, dangerous or disagreeable. It comes to us from two
Latin words: re meaning back and trahere meaning
to draw. Retrahere meant to draw back, withdraw or call back. It is
used commonly by military and religious circles.
After
the apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they did and taught, he
said to them, “’Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.’ For
many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. So, they
went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.”[1]
The
deserted place recalls the desert, a place of testing, but also a place of
solitude and retreat from the world for spiritual intimacy with God. Jesus
desired to give them the rest that God promised his people. We read in
Deuteronomy, “When you go over the Jordan and live in the land that
the LORD your God is giving you to inherit, and when he gives you
rest from all your enemies around, so that you live in safety.”[2] God’s people commemorated that
rest every Sabbath, as Hebrews reminds us, “There remains a Sabbath rest for the people
of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works
as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest.”[3]
As
Jesus’ popularity grew, his disciples had no time to rest. Like him, they were
setting aside their personal concerns in order to minister to God’s people. We
all know what it means to set aside personal concerns to minister to others.
Those people may be our children or grandchildren, elderly parents or
grandparents, customers or co-workers, students or soldiers. Yet, we are
tempted to get caught up in the busyness of serving others that we repeatedly
ignore the need for prayer, rest and stillness in God’s presence. When this happens,
we substitute our own agenda for the Lord’s. Now, if Jesus, who was absolutely
intimate with the Father needed to pray, and made time to pray, how much more do
we need to heed his command and the words of Psalm 46:10: Be still and know that I am God.
Jesus
called the Twelve to come away and rest with him because the first order of
business of apostleship found in chapter three is to simply be with Him. We
read, “He appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might
be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out
demons.”[4]
The words – “that they might be with him” – bear repeating. None of us –
pastors, preachers, parents, police officers, public officials, teachers,
coaches – can do Christian ministry apart from Jesus. Don’t believe me? Read
John 15:1-8 or 1st Peter 4:11. Even the prophet Isaiah knew this
when he wrote, “They who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they
shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they
shall walk and not faint.”[5] Before I move to my second
point, compassion, ask yourself what keeps you from heeding Jesus’ words to be
with him. … And so, we move from my first to my second point, compassion.
Compassion
means a feeling of deep sympathy or sorrow for another stricken by misfortune,
accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate suffering. Compassionate people
believe that victims should be treated with care, concern, warmth and love. Its
origin is the Latin word, compassio,
meaning to suffer with. As a child, when I got sick, my compassionate parents
said, “I wish it were me instead of you.” They were willing to suffer with me
in order that I should be well.
Turning
to our passage, we see that the retreat Jesus planned for his apostles is
sabotaged. Jesus, however, was not exasperated; rather, he was moved with
compassion at the sight of the needy crowds. Mark gave us a glimpse into Jesus’
emotion, a deeply felt, gut reaction. Compassion or pity is one of the most distinct
attributes of God. Isaiah, Hosea and the Psalmist remind us that God is
compassionate to us even when we anger him.
Here,
Jesus recognized the crowd as sheep without a shepherd, a phrase that indicated
that they were vulnerable to predatory beasts and likely to wander away because
they lacked leadership. Mark hints that Jesus is the Good Shepherd who
fulfilled God’s promise to care for his people directly.
And
so, rather than first feed them or heal them, he taught them. Today, how often
do we think we know better than God and what comfort He should give us? Yet, He
gives us His word and instruction knowing that is exactly what we need. Jesus’
teaching healed the crowd by liberating them from their captivity to evil.
Earlier in Mark, we read how people marveled at his teaching, exclaiming that
Jesus possessed a new teaching with such authority that even unclean spirits
obeyed him.[6] At the same time, his
teaching is feeding, since by proclaiming the good news of the kingdom Jesus
satisfied their spiritual hunger.[7]
Before
I go to my third point, consume, consider how God has been compassionate to
you. When you wandered away and made yourself vulnerable to predators, how did
God protect you and prevent you from becoming a victim? Have you allowed God to
satisfy your hunger with his teaching? Or do you think the world can satisfy
you more deeply with leadership workshops, seminars, books and so forth? And
so, we move from compassion to consume.
The word
consume means to use economic goods. It also refers to an organism requiring
complex organic compounds for food which it obtains by preying on other
organisms or by eating particles of organic matter. Plants and animals do that
to stay alive.
In
economics, consume means one who uses up goods or articles, one who destroys
the exchangeable value of a commodity by using it. A box of Pampers has a
certain value. Once used, they have no value.
Pampers
is a good example to illustrate the definition of economic consumption. Research
what we consume nationally or worldwide, and you will discover that Americans spend
$7.5 billion a year on greeting cards, $14 billion on denim pants, $21 billion
on kegs of beer, and $1.4 billion a year keeping baby bottoms dry. Annually,
the world consumes 10 million tons of coffee, 5.7 trillion cigarettes,
194 million tons of fish, and 122 thousand tons of bread.
I list
those products we consume to keep our bellies full and bottoms dry. How do we
spend our time? Recently, the Bureau of
Labor Statistics released its American Time Use Survey.[8] It reveals that we spend most
of our time working. We work full-time and part-time jobs throughout the week
and on weekends. Apart from work, 84 percent of women and 68 percent of men
spent some time doing household activities such as housework, cooking, lawn
care, or financial and other household management.
Nearly
everyone is engaged in some sort of leisure activity, such as watching TV,
socializing, or exercising. We spend three hours a day watching TV, an hour or
two providing childcare, and less than an hour a day socializing. We spend no
more than 15 minutes a day on religious and spiritual activities. There are
many more statistics, but I want to focus on that last one because it relates to
our gospel. We spend no more than 15 minutes a day on religious and spiritual
activities.
The
thousands who consumed the bread and fish that Jesus and his apostles provided
also consumed a day listening to him teach them many things about the Kingdom
of God. The Feeding of the Five Thousand is one of the most memorable events in
Jesus’ public ministry. It is the only miracle attested in all four gospels.
For Mark, this not only feeds people, it also reveals to them and us, Jesus’
identity and messianic mission. In contrast the opulent feast of Herod we heard
last Sunday, which ended in a death, here Jesus feeds ordinary people with a
very simple fare which leads to life.
We
know that the people were in a deserted place and that the disciples begged
Jesus to send them away to buy something to eat, and that he instructed them to
give them something themselves, starting with the fish and bread. They
responded with astonishment and sarcasm, to which Jesus simply instructed them
to bring what little they have.
The
groupings of hundreds and fifties on the green grass is no accidental detail
but an allusion to the Good shepherd leading them to rich pastures and God
feeding the Israelites in the wilderness. Jesus fed them with a new bread from
heaven. The blessing and setting food before the people symbolized his
hospitality, contrasted with his disciples’ desire to send them away.
Unlike
the other miracles Jesus performed, this one passed silently and modestly.
There was no exclamation of amazement and wonder. People simply ate and were
satisfied. Just like the manna in the desert, there was more than enough here
for everyone. As the Psalmist proclaimed, “You open your hand; you satisfy the desire
of every living thing.”[9] By providing abundantly
for his people, Jesus took on the role of God himself. Feeding people with
bread and fish with 12 leftover baskets was an outward sign of a physical
feasting that God alone can satisfy the human heart.[10]
The
early Church recognized in the miracle of loaves a symbolic anticipation of the
Eucharist when Jesus would share both word and food with his people. When God
feeds his people, there is always more than enough to satisfy all. How could it
be otherwise since the gift is God himself?[11]
If what God gives us is himself in word and
food, and there is always plenty to satisfy all, why is it then that we, 21st
century Americans, think that we can spend as little as 15 minutes a day in
prayer, religious reading, Bible study and worship and expect to be satisfied
or able to do pastoral ministry? Here’s a challenge for you to take upon
yourself. Ask your pastor, your elders, your church leaders and volunteers,
your spouse and parents how much time they set aside for prayer, Bible reading,
spiritual reading and worship. You will be shocked to hear how many of them
express the desire to spend more time simply being with God, as I was when I
asked them. Pastors who don’t pray?! Elders who don’t read the Bible daily?!
Church leaders whose days don’t include devotional time?! This in a church
where Martin Luther said, “I have so much
to do that I shall have to spend the first three hours in prayer.”
Friends,
you may not have Luther’s time to spend in prayer. I am not asking you to spend
more time praying, but I don’t want you to check off prayer from your to-do list,
like mowing the lawn, feeding the pets or preparing a grocery list. Rather,
deepen your relationship with God.
You
can find all sorts of ways to deepen your relationship with God. People are
always posting and publishing two, four, six, eight, ten steps to reach that
goal. I am going to suggest one way that has worked for centuries across all
denominations: memorize and meditate. It’s how we learned our catechism as we
prepared for confirmation and communion, and when many felt closest to God.
When
we memorize anything and meditate on it, we excel. Whether we are learning the
answers to a catechism, notes on a musical instrument, movements for an
exercise or athletic play or how to repair an engine, appliance, a broken arm
or a damaged heart, we will eventually excel at our craft. Likewise, we will
deepen our relationship with God when we memorize and meditate on Scripture,
the Creeds, your catechism, hymns, poems, prose or prayers. Spend a week on a praying
over a particular passage. Seek the deeper meaning of a parable that inspires
or irks you. Ponder the words of a poem or a prayer. Beginning today, we who
intend to live eternally in God’s Kingdom can start by building the
relationship with God that He desires for us. Jesus instructed his disciples:
Give God what little you have. Ask and expect God to multiply your time and talent
and make it part of his superabundant provision for the needs of his people, and
when you do, may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep your
hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
[1]
Mark 6:30-32.
[2]
Deuteronomy 12:10.
[3]
Hebrews 4:9-11.
[4]
Mark 3:14-15.
[5]
Isaiah 40:31.
[6]
Mark 1:27.
[7]
Mary Healy, 125f.
[8] AMERICAN
TIME USE SURVEY — 2017 RESULTS. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/atus.pdf
[9]
Psalm 145:16.
[10]
Healy, 129.
[11]
Healy, 129.
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