Mark 6:30-34,
53-56
The text this morning would be a lot
more fun if it were Mark 6:35-52. That text
contains the story of the feeding of the 5,000.
It is one of those great stories shared in each of the Gospels, which in
and of itself is quite remarkable. Only
two of the Gospels have birth narratives and while all four gospels record the
Passion of Christ, each gospel differs with the others in the details. This is not the case with this miracle. Each gospel agrees there were 5,000 men; each
gospel agrees Jesus started with five loaves of bread and two fish; each gospel
agrees everyone got enough to eat. We
could do some amazing stuff with that story and maybe one day we will, but not
this morning. We are stuck with the
book-ends, the scriptures just before and just after the great miracle. What we have are the texts that hold that
great story in place. While they are not
nearly as exciting as the feeding of the 5,000, I do believe they impart some
critical insights about God and perhaps about us.
Jesus and the disciples had put in more
than a few days of hard work. Jesus had been preaching and healing to the point
of exhaustion. The work has been
productive but some well earned relaxation was needed. Jesus turned to the disciples and said,
“Let’s get in the boat, find a deserted place away from the crowds and take a
break.” No one objected.
But a respite was not what they
received. Some folks recognized Jesus as
soon as he came on shore and immediately a crowd began to gather. Despite the disciples exhaustion you know
what happened. The writer of Mark wrote,
“Jesus had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd.” Once again, they were back at work.
Douglas John Hall, a fine biblical
scholar from Canada
claims two fundamental questions are emerging out of our global religious
experience. The first is, “How does your
God view the world?” The second is “How
does your God ask you to view the world?”
Probing Hall’s first question, how would we rate our God’s view of the
world? We need go any further than verse
34 of Mark 6. “Jesus had compassion on
them.” This one word, this intriguing
emotion, seems to have played a major role in all of the ministry of
Jesus. I did my homework. In the Gospel of Mark alone Jesus stopped
what he was doing eight different times and moved in a different direction
because and I quote, “Jesus had compassion on them.” I suspect if I had continued my research I
would have found the other gospels excessively report this quality in Jesus.
I don’t think this is any great
revelation. Few would suggest that the
ministry of Jesus suffered from lack of compassion. But if we compare this “trait” with some of
the other “gods” allegedly active during the time of Jesus, our savior’s response
is nothing short of amazing. Was Zeus
compassionate? How about Jupiter, or Adramelech
or Ra? In Greek, Roman, Persian and
Egyptian literature each of these gods was depicted as wrathful, vengeful,
angry and vindictive. Some folks who
haven’t spent a great deal of time reading the whole Old Testament might even
suggest Yahweh lacked compassion. Let me
suggest something that might shock you.
Who do you think taught Jesus the very essence of compassion?
Abraham Heschel, my favorite Jewish Biblical
scholar wrote, “God is not revealed in abstract absolutes, but in a personal
and intimate relation to the world. God
does not simply command and expect obedience; God is concerned about the world
and shares its fate. Indeed this is the
very moral essence of God. God is willing to be intimately involved in the
history of humanity because God is filled with divine pathos.”
I like the idea of linking compassion
with pathos. My compassion for someone
could easily be misunderstood as pity.
Let’s say I am walking in downtown Charlottesville
and a homeless person is sitting on the sidewalk. A sign resting on his knee informs me that
his family is suffering greatly because he has been out of work. I look at the man and see no evidence of
inebriation. I imagine that he has a
wife looking after one or more children.
I am taken with his plight and out of pity I reach into my wallet and
slip a couple of dollars into his can.
It is not the first or last time I will perform such a deed. Anyway, it only took a second and now I can
be on my way to enjoy a guilt free bagel sandwich at Bodo’s.
Imagine if God were satisfied by just
slipping a couple of bucks our way. The very thought makes me incredible
nervous. Thankfully God’s track record
points in another direction. To borrow
the term introduced by Heschel, the compassion of God is instigated by God’s
pathos or to be more exact, God’s willingness to suffer with us. Heschel believed God’s precondition for
compassion is unconditional solidarity with those upon whom you have
compassion. That is a radical thought
that raises all kinds of discussions on how we treat the poor, how treat our
neighbors and how we respond to folks we don’t particularly like. It also brings us full circle to Hall’s
question, “How does your God ask you to view the world?”
While I enjoy living here in Nelson County,
perhaps one of my favorite places to visit is Washington DC. I have been to all the major attractions and
walked through Arlington during the day and Georgetown at night more
times than I can remember. But I think
my favorite spot is located northeast of DuPont Circle. It is a very eclectic area where the east,
west, north and south of the world seems to converge. For decades well meaning groups have gathered
here to deal with the poverty that seems have taken root in this area of our
capital. I have taken many a youth group
to this community that you might know as Columbia
Heights. There
was one housing project there that seemed to always need work. It had been an old hotel which a group of
well meaning folks had bought and turned into low rent apartments. People would move in and out, always leaving
the place worse than they found it. I
would bring young folks and for a week we would patch walls, clean floors and
do all those things that are a part of inner city ministries. It was quite discouraging because each time I
visited, the condition of the hotel, as well as the spirits of the owners,
seemed to be in an endless downward spiral.
Then one summer, as I was setting up a trip to DC, I called my friends
in Columbia Heights
and asked if they had some work we could do.
As usual they were most gracious and mentioned a number of places that
could use a helping hand. The hotel was
not mentioned. It made me believe the
project had proved too costly and the folks given up. On arriving at one of the work sites, I
carefully inquired about the hotel. The
man smiled and said, “It is going great.
Last year we decided to take a new approach. Instead of running the hotel, we moved into
the hotel. Fifteen families from our
church are living there permanently.
Together we are working with our new neighbors to create a new life.”
Some would call those folks crazy; some
would suggest there actions a bit drastic; and a few might suggest they are
living in unconditional solidarity with those upon whom they have shown
compassion. I believe they comprehend
the radical pathos of God and responded in a way that perhaps only a handful of
folks can fully understand.
Jesus was certainly among that handful. Jesus
saw physical and spiritually hungry people and had compassion on them. Seeing that they were starved for some good
news Jesus sat down among them. Taking two fish and five loaves of bread, he
fed them. That is an incredible miracle,
but so is the miracle of Columbia
Heights. Both
Jesus and the members of The Church of the Savior base their lives on the good
news that God is a compassionate God.
Jesus the obedient servant did not cling to his divinity but emptied himself
for the sake of all humankind. Likewise
we, God’s obedient servants, can live as a manifestation of God’s compassion by
emptying our lives for the sake of another.
This compassion will become the foundation of our faith, the basis of
our hope and the source of our love.
Through our grateful actions, those around us will see a glimpse of
God’s new heaven and new earth. We will
give them a taste of living bread. We will give them a vision that will last
longer than a meal.
To God be the Glory, Amen.
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