9th Sunday after Pentecost “A Feast of Compassion”
July 21, 2024 Mark 6:30-44
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Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,
We just heard the gospel reading from Mark 6. A number of things were going on in this event; I wonder what you think is the thing that stands-out the most. Is it that the disciples returned from being sent out ‘two-by-two’ all excited in serving the Kingdom? After all, Jesus sent them out to call people to repent before God, and they were enabled to cast out demons & heal many sick people. That was a pretty big deal.
It is also notable that Jesus’ next job for them was R&R, rest & relaxation. It’s not that they had ‘earned it,’ but things around Jesus were getting so busy, so popular, that they were challenged even to sleep or eat. So Jesus directs them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.’ For the servants of God’s kingdom, preventing burnout can be a pretty big deal. Those are a couple of things going on in this event.
But are either of those the thing that stands-out the most? Maybe it’s when Jesus was teaching so many things about the kingdom of God that it made time fly-by. The disciples became concerned; they were in a desolate place, so these thousands of people were soon going to be ‘hangry’ = as they say: (so hungry as to be angry). 5,000 hungry men could become a problem (most wives know that one hungry man can be a problem!). Jesus agrees with them; altho they disagree on what the solution to that problem should be.
Our bulletin cover picture, showing 5 bread rolls & 2 fish, suggests what is the most common stand-out-thing in this event: the miracle. Jesus takes 5 small loaves & 2 fish, gives a blessing, divides the food, and has everyone eat. They are all satisfied, and 12 tupperware-baskets of leftovers are gathered up. Yes, the feeding of 5,000 men, was a stand-out thing for all of them that day. But how satisfying is that to you, 2,000 yrs later? The Son of God is a miracle-worker, that’s important; but is that the most important thing?
I want to suggest that the thing that stands-out the most in this event, as well as in many other events, is Jesus’ compassion on the people. Because, more than the meal that day,
His compassion goes on & on, and is for you & me, for our neighbor, & for the whole world. Jesus’ compassion feeds us, both our body and our soul, continually. And that’s what anyone needs the most.
So, as we heard: the disciples had just returned from the Galilean towns & countryside testifying that they were followers of Jesus of Nazareth, preaching what He taught about the kingdom of God, casting out demons & healing sick people. They give Jesus a report of their many activities; Jesus says that they need some rest, so they get into a boat to sail to a quiet place on the shores of Leech Lake == I mean, the Sea of Galilee.
But the crowds of people had a different idea. They didn’t know they would be fed; they were hungry to be with Jesus, and thirsty to hear more about the kingdom of God.
They knew the Sea & surrounding shoreline; they could see how the wind would push Jesus’ boat. At least some of the people head-out on foot, spreading the news in the towns they ran thru. Before the boat even gets to shore, this reconstituted crowd is already waiting for Jesus.
And vs.34 says, “When [Jesus] went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.” Compassion. The Greek word means – His ‘innards were moved.’
Even tho opposition to His ministry is growing, and recently having received the sad news that John the Baptist had been unjustly & shamefully beheaded by King Herod, Jesus feels compassion for the crowd – to His divine core. Compassion is the force that -thankfully- drives God’s will, from all the way back to the fall of our first parents, Adam & Eve. That’s what ultimately puts grace & love in the driver’s seat for mankind’s salvation; it’s not the Law or God’s sovereignty. Compassion saves us; grace; ‘for God so loved the world that He gave…’
This is not the ol’ ‘I feel your pain’ thing. Like in the parable of The Good Samaritan, both the priest & the Levite felt sorry for the beaten victim lying in the road, but they passed by on the other side. The Samaritan offered care. Compassion is sympathy moved to action, in order to actually relieve the person from their distress, trouble, or suffering. And here, behind the glitz of multiplying loaves & fish, we see our Savior, who is never too busy to take care of sinful people = us. That’s what stands-out in ALL of His actions.
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So, what compassion does Jesus give? Shepherding, for one. King Herod certainly wasn’t shepherding God’s people; not when he could pathetically cave-in to a little peer-pressure, and order the murder of God’s prophet, John. The Pharisees, Sadducees, & teachers of the Law also were not shepherding God’s people to green, protected pastures of God’s promised mercy.
They only made an outward show of prayers & holiness. They shunned the poor – because the poor had no money to give to benefit the treasury they lived off of; they despised the sick & disabled – because they were useless parishioners who couldn’t do any good works to benefit the temple & leaders, or the kingdom of God. ‘Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!’ –declares the Lord. Jesus lamented that their teachings were simply ‘rules taught by men,’ and gave no comfort for their sin, and no strength to live in their saving faith in God. This crowd was so thirsty for the Word of the Lord that they walked around the Sea for it. Jesus looked at them & saw a flock of wandering sheep, easy prey for the enemy. No wonder Jesus felt compassion to the depths of His soul.
They didn’t need a miracle, an outward ‘sign’ of God’s attention; they needed God’s actual attention. So, Jesus “began to teach them many things.” With His ordinary voice,
by His Word & Spirit, God-in-the-flesh moves in their souls with His own forgiveness of sin, hope for life, & peace. This is how man’s salvation comes, & how souls are saved: thru the real presence & word of Jesus Christ; He alone is the promised sheepgate for the helpless sheep. And their salvation has to be Him alone; the Shepherd saves, because the weak & poor, the too-young & too-old & disabled sheep are not able to work & earn that eternal green pasture & still waters.
In His flesh & blood, the anointed Good Shepherd is still landing on our shores, finding wandering sheep and giving His compassion. By design, God’s saving compassion is given thru some common, ordinary means: thru Baptism, Absolution, the Supper, the written & preached Word. These are what He uses to create in us faith in His promises, and to generate trust to follow Christ, and to obey His holy ways. He is still present to convince us that He covers us with God’s compassion.
The disciples were still learning this. They thought the Lord’s compassionate Words were good, but there was a problem. It was getting late & people were hungry. Their solution is very practical: send the crowds away so that these sheep can take care of ‘themselves.’
Jesus has a different solution: ‘YOU take care of them!’ The disciples respond, ‘our budget can’t handle that! Even 6 month’s wages wouldn’t be enough to feed this many people bread! To which Jesus says, ‘well, then how many loaves do you have? Go and see.’ After some search, the disciples scraped up five loaves & two fish; ol’ mother-Hubbard’s cupboard was bare.
Yet, with those simple gifts, Jesus’ compassion finds its way to the crowd yet again. All 5,000 men are fed; the loaves & fish never ran out. The Lord-of-food gave beyond what was needed; it was a desert feast.
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It’s a most basic necessity for all humans: food. And the eternal Son of God takes the time & effort to satisfy that basic need. The very Son of God in human flesh, will die on the cross to relieve sin’s eternal damage to the human soul; but His death also relieves sin’s impact of all other parts of our lives, including – disease, hunger, thirst, nakedness, danger, & sword.
It’s true that our spiritual problems are the most vital, because they are eternal. Thru Jesus, our sins are forgiven & our guilt is removed; our conscience is cleared. But us sheep should always remember that as the Lord has also given us our body; so He provides for & cares for our body. As soul & body are one whole human person, so He doesn’t separate those when He fulfills His saving work.
Jesus is the compassionate Lord over soul and body. After arranging this congregation of needy ‘sheep-le’ (sheep-people) in orderly groups on green grass, Jesus takes the bread & fish, looks up to heaven, says a blessing, breaks the bread, and has His disciples distribute it to the crowd. It’s not a coincidence that this sounds familiar to our ears. …
…. “Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to the disciples and said: ‘Take, eat; this is my body, which is given for you.’ and in the same way also he took the cup after supper…’
What we might call ‘foreshadowing’, we can also call ‘prophetic.’ When Jesus takes, blesses, breaks, and gives to the crowd, that action becomes a much larger feast when He institutes the Lord’s Supper.
And because Jesus is no ordinary Host, the Words He uses for His Meal create & deliver the extra-ordinary. His Meal is no mere ‘reminder’ of Him with bread & wine. ‘This is my body,’ He says; ‘this is my blood.’ This Meal is the very compassion of Christ’s cross being in your mouth, to satisfy your soul; which also sustains your body = which is living in this faith, blessed under His compassion. We confess the Meal’s blessing with Luther’s Small Catechism: ‘where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also LIFE and salvation.’
Our Good Shepherd has promised to sustain us, soul & body so that we can live out the life of faith He’s assigned to us. For our bodily life, He gives general earthly gifts of food & drink, clothing & shelter. He also gives each of us more specific gifts of being male or female; a child, a mother or a father; an employee or employer; laborer or management.
And in compassion, He keeps track of us all. We are no longer sheep without a shepherd; He is with us to lead us in paths of righteousness for His names sake. His Supper & real presence is a special pledge & promise, that with His divine forgiveness, He gives us earthly strength to live in this faith, both soul & body. It’s a gift that will sustain us until death, when we will rest in His promise of sharing in His Easter resurrection of our bodies, and then live with Him -as a whole person- in the glory of His kingdom.
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Each week here at Immanuel, we live in this pattern of Mark 6. We come around the ‘lakes’ to meet with our Teacher, our Shepherd & Lord in a dress rehearsal for the feast that is coming, beginning on the Last Day. Here, we do not worry that we’re in a fallen world, in a culture, that is like a ‘desolate place.’ There is no better place to be than to be where our Lord Jesus is present. Wherever He is, we will be able to receive His compassion & gifts thru His means of grace: His word & sacrament ministry for us. He has given to us the confidence that we will always eat & be satisfied; there will always be enough – and more, because that’s how God provides.
Five loaves & two fish feed five thousand men. What’s most amazing is not the miracle. It’s possible that most of the big crowd that day didn’t even realize there was a miracle. But if they did, it was only a ‘sign’ that the Son of God had such deep compassion for them that He would do whatever it took to care for them.
That’s the thing that stands out the most. And that’s what is able to satisfy you & me, and our neighbor = even 2,000 yrs after that day by the Sea. Jesus continues to be present for us to give us a feast of compassion. He forgives, He cares, He sustains us – soul and body.
Amen.