God’s grace, peace and
mercy be with you. … My sermon is entitled Meals, Mercy and Ministry. My focus
is on Matthew (14:13-21). 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.
A friend of mine would
always bring to work a meal that looked like it was prepared by a gourmet chef.
He packed it in his lunchbox. One day I praised his wife for preparing such
splendid meals. He replied, “Some people eat to live. I live to eat.” … Meals.
Ancient Israelites ate two meals a day, a light meal in the morning or midday
and a more substantial meal around sunset. In ancient Palestine, the
normal diet included bread, grains, wine, cheese, figs, dates, raisins, beans
and other foods. People reserved sheep and goats, the main sources of meat, for
special occasions, feasts or sacrifices. Poultry, eggs and fish became common
later in Israel’s history.
Meals were more than
occasions for satisfying hunger. People who ate and drank together bound one
another through friendship and mutual obligation. Eating before the Lord, when
one brought sacrifices and offerings, reflected the view that through sacred
meals humans could commune with God.
Festive meals marked
weddings or the return of an absent family member. Appointed feasts prescribed
by the Torah or tradition included Purim and Passover and celebrated God’s
goodness to his people.
New Testament banquets
given by the well-to-do required guests to wear proper clothing. They obligated
hosts to greet guests with a kiss and provide for the washing of their feet.
Hosts seated guests according to rank.
At formal meals in
Jesus’ day, the Greco-Roman custom of reclining on couches around a large table
was widespread. One reclined on his left elbow, ate with his right hand, while
his feet dangled from the couch. This explains how the woman anointed Jesus
feet, how Jesus washed his disciples’ feet while they ate, and how John
reclined at Jesus’ breast.
Jesus’ table
fellowship with his followers was an important feature of His ministry. It symbolized
the blessing of joyous communion, which drew criticism from detractors for
eating with tax collectors and sinners. Labeling Him as a glutton and drunkard
suggested that, unlike John the Baptist, Jesus took pleasure in eating and
drinking. I could say more about meals, but this is a sermon, not a theology
lecture; hence, my second point, mercy.
The primary definition
of mercy is compassion shown especially to an offender or to one subject to
one's power. It also means compassionate treatment of those in distress.
English speakers
derived the term in the late 12th century from the French
word merci. Its Latin root is mercedem meaning
reward or wages. In the 6th century, the Church applied the
word to the heavenly reward of those who showed kindness to the helpless.
In our Gospel today,
we see that Jesus showed kindness or compassionate treatment to the helpless
and distressed. Most English versions of Matthew 14:14 read that Jesus had
compassion on the crowds and healed their sick. How He felt towards them gives
us a rare glimpse into His inner life. Other than compassion, the only other
feelings Matthew described were Jesus’ amazement at the centurion’s faith and
anguish and distress in Gethsemane.
The verb “had
compassion” revealed not only Jesus’ feeling, but also what he was about to do.
At the end of chapter 9, Jesus had compassion for the crowds because they were
harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He responded
compassionately by calling twelve disciples and sending them out with authority
to cast out unclean spirits and heal people’s diseases and afflictions.
Likewise, in the parable that follows His instruction to Peter to forgive
seventy-seven times, we hear that the master released and forgave the servant
who owed him ten thousand talents. It teaches that God responds with divine
compassion to spiritual needs (forgiveness of sin) and physical needs (sickness
and hunger). In chapter 15, we read, “Then Jesus called his
disciples to him and said, ‘I have compassion on the crowd because they have
been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send
them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.’”
Jesus’ compassionate
response tells us that the reign of God in the world was concerned with
spiritual needs as well as physical ones. In Christ, God reestablishes His rule
over creation, and desires to restore everything that is broken, twisted, amiss
or dying.
The scene then
transitions to the “feeding of the 5,000.” The day is waning and the logical act
would have been for Jesus to dismiss the crowds and let them fend for
themselves, and that is exactly what the disciples asked Jesus to do either
because they thought He could not do anything or did not want to have anything
to do with the crowds and their need for food.
Refusing to dismiss
the crowds, Jesus emphatically told his disciples to do something about the
problem. Yet, they did not understand that He could provide.
Now, fade out the
disciples and focus on Jesus. Methodically, He prepared the crowd, took the
loaves and fish, pronounced a blessing and gave the food to the disciples. With
this story, we are familiar, but often overlook the phrase, “they
all ate and were satisfied.” Not only did all 5,000 men eat, but
also the women and children. Not only were all were satisfied, there were
abundant leftovers.
Strangely, there is no
response or mention of astonishment or amazement from the crowd. Nothing. Yet,
Jesus continued to feed, nourish, heal and teach. Today, Christ works through
His Word and the Sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist. They relate to our body
and soul. In Baptism, we die and rise with Christ. In Holy Communion, we kneel
in repentant faith before we receive His Body and Blood, which preserves our
bodies and souls to life everlasting. During that time, do we ponder God’s
compassion and mercy for His people and their needs that arise from brokenness
and sin that still trouble our world?
Do we ponder God’s
compassion and mercy for His people and their needs that arise from brokenness
and sin that still trouble our world? Folks, permit me to move to my third
point, from mercy to ministry.
On January 6, 2014,
our first grandchild, Emma, was born in Anderson, Indiana. At the time, my
wife, Cindy, and I lived in Edmond, Oklahoma. The travel time between our house
and Emma’s hospital was 12 hours … under normal circumstances. We left Oklahoma
at 6:00 a.m. planning to arrive in Indiana by suppertime. Instead, we hit one
of the worst blizzards in Illinois. We made Effingham by evening where traffic
came to a standstill. We spent our first night at the Effingham Performance
Arts Center on cots with 200 other travelers. Truckers, parents, infants and
toddlers all crammed into one open space on cots. Cindy and I got no sleep that
night.
The next morning, I
learned that we would not be able to continue our trip and make Anderson by
nightfall. We did not want to spend another night at the Performing Arts
Center. So, being a Lutheran pastor, I looked up the Lutheran Church in
Effingham. We called St. John’s Church. I explained to the secretary our
plight. A few minutes later, the church president called and offered us a place
to sleep. He met us and we followed him to his home. He then invited us to
lunch. After lunch, we returned to his home, showered and napped. A few hours
later, he asked if we would like to go to dinner with some friends. We agreed.
The next morning, we headed out. We avoided the interstate and kept to state
roads. We arrived in Anderson that afternoon. There and then, we saw and held
our first granddaughter.
I preface my third
point with this story because we experienced Christian hospitality firsthand
from the president of a Lutheran congregation in Effingham, Illinois.
Hospitality is who we are as Christians. Hospitality is our ministry.
Several years ago,
when my younger brother died, I contacted my friend, Mark Spaziani, co-owner of
Vesuvio’s Restaurant in Center Township. I asked Mark to accommodate 20
people between the funeral home viewings at his restaurant. He arranged for us a
room and dedicated servers. Around 4:30 p.m., we arrived, sat, ate and returned
to the funeral home for the 7:00 p.m. viewing. Although we paid for the meal,
time and convenience, Mark provided a ministry or service for us.
Simply defined,
ministry is the service, function or profession of a minister of religion.
Ministry is from the Greek word diakoneo, meaning to serve. In the
New Testament, ministry is service to God and to other people in His name.
Jesus provided the pattern for Christian ministry: He came, not to receive
service, but to give it. We read in Matthew, “As the Son of Man came
not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” The
epitome of Jesus’ service is John 13, where He washed his disciples’ feet.
Christians should
minister by meeting people's needs with love and humility on Christ's behalf.
In Matthew, we read, “It shall not be so among you. Whoever would be
great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must
be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and
to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Paul opened Romans
with these words: “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an
apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.”
In short, Christians
minister to others out of their devotion to Christ and their love for others,
whether the other people are believers or unbelievers. Ministry to others
should be impartial and unconditional, always seeking to help others as Jesus
would.
Ministry in our day
has taken on more of a vocational meaning as we call pastors
"ministers" to full-time service. Pastors spend their lives in the
ministry. They minister to others and rightly are designated as ministers, but
pastors are not the only ones involved in ministry. From the early New
Testament churches to the churches of our day, each Christian should be in the
ministry of helping others.
To the Romans, Paul
wrote, “By the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to
think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober
judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as
in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same
function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members
one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us,
let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our
serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his
exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with
zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”
Ministry prioritizes
spiritual things, not just practical things. It emphasizes sharing the Gospel
of Jesus Christ with others so they can come to know Him and receive Him as
personal Savior, experience Him as Lord, and know Christ as the essence of
their Life. Ministry can, and should, include ministering to the physical,
emotional, mental, vocational, and financial needs of others. Jesus did, and so
should we!
That said, I close
with a few words of a former boss, Mark Walter of My Chef Catering in
Naperville, Illinois. I asked Mark to tell me how his work is ministry. He
wrote, “I have been thinking about your sermon. I feel that My Chef
helps people celebrate life through our food and services, starting with baby
showers through birthdays, graduations, weddings and mournings. Through our
services, we help people relax and enjoy their day. A lot of these events we
set up, serve and clean up so that our clients are able to be a part of their
celebration. Through our food, we help conversation by giving people a common
talking point. I also feel that though great food comes comfort, joy and peace.
Food helps calm the soul.
[My Chef also delivers
a lot of meals to corporations, and] on the corporate side, we help nourish the
body and mind. Also, it gives the employees’ minds a break and allows
them to talk about something other than work.”
Friends, whether you
offer Christian hospitality to others professionally or personally, as a
professional chef or president of your congregation, wherever you live and work,
do it in the spirit of Christ. Follow the lead of my friend, Mark Spaziani, or
my boss, Mark Walter, and help people mourn or celebrate life through food and
service. In order to do so, Jesus must not only be my chef, he must also be my
Lord and Savior. When you recognize Jesus as such and serve others as He did,
the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will keep your heart and mind
in Christ Jesus. Amen.
