Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

‍Jesus experiences real sadness and grief as he hears about the murder of his cousin, John the Baptist, carried out on the order of Herod and his wife Herodias at a banquet to celebrate Herod’s birthday.  Their spite and anger at John’s judgement of their improper relationship had brought John to his death.  Herod had been unable to resist Herodias’ demands for John’s death with his reckless extravagant promises of rewards at the banquet.  John’s disciples came to tell Jesus the terrible news after they had collected his body and buried him. This part of the story is in the verses before we start our Gospel reading in Matthew 14:13-21 for this Sunday.

Jesus wanted time to himself, to grieve, to think about how this would raise the likelihood of his own death, and to pray to God, so he withdrew by boat to find a quiet place to be on his own.  But the crowd were persistent and followed him on foot to meet him when he came ashore, so Jesus chose to stay and be with them and we’re told Jesus had ‘compassion for them and cured their sick’.

The Greek word used in Matthew’s Gospel for compassion, ‘esplanchnisthe’ is a description that is located in the guts, not in the mind.  Compassion or pity are almost too polite as a translation.   This is a word for what happens inside your body when something feels too big and we react physically.  Matthew used this word after Jesus tried to withdraw from the crowd after hearing about John, and as the crowd refuses to leave Jesus alone to grieve.

The timing is important, because it’s worth thinking about the meaning of ‘compassion’, which is shared, made visible and real, by truly ‘seeing’ the person, the ‘other’ whom we have encountered, listening when they speak, hearing their story, and so understanding their circumstances which are different to ours.  And rather than remaining sympathetic, compassion encourages us to imagine ourselves in the ‘other’s shoes’, which is what empathy invites, and Jesus at this point, then took direct action, with words of healing, and deeds of restoration, providing hope, food and comfort, all at some cost to himself while he grieved for his cousin and friend.  Compassion is hearing, understanding and acting.

Such compassion for others is a complete contrast to the selfishness and offence taken by Herod and his wife who thought only of themselves, who enjoyed a banquet to celebrate his birthday and ended up murdering a man. The difference is stark as we think about an elite being fed by empire in the halls of power; and the hunger of thousands, who would be far too familiar with the desperation of hunger, the scarcity of food and the perilous nature of survival when you’re poor.  Yet we are told, because of Jesus’ compassion for those in the wilderness: ‘all ate and were filled’!

Have you noticed, though, it is the disciples who generate the miracle.  Jesus says to them: ‘You give them something to eat!’  It’s the same verb used in the fourth beatitude, where those who hunger and thirst for righteousness ‘will be filled’ (5:6).  This choice of word feels intentional, because the disciples have just pointed out, they have nothing to give the crowd except five loaves and two fish.

The arithmetic is clear and Jesus doesn’t dispute their findings.  He just tells them to feed the 5,000 men besides the women and children, who all have empty bellies that are frequently not full.  Its noticeable Matthew only counts the men, while mentioning the women and children in passing and Mark’s Gospel only counts the men when he tells the story. (Mark 6:44) 

Whoever is counted, we know the crowd was substantial, and the contrast of location and scarcity with Herod’s wealth and abundance was obvious. The politics of food scarcity would not have escaped the notice of those listening to Jesus.  The two meals sit side by side, one meal consumes a person, the other multiplies the bread and fish.

Jesus rejects the disciples’ assessment of what resources they have, and puts the responsibility back on them.  The miracle is accomplished by those who have declared the situation impossible.  As we think about our own gospel ministries of sharing – Mark’s Pantry, St Mark’s Winter Shelter, feeding, sheltering, and having compassion, which is made visible and acted upon with all our other ministries through all our volunteers, MU, pastoral care, homework club, worship, music and singing – across all our parishes, we must remember Jesus calls us to have faith and trust God’s abundance and God will provide.

Jesus then repeats his actions at the start of any meal, of taking up the bread, those two small loaves, blessing, breaking and sharing loaves and fishes, as we notice we are being reminded of how we too should gather, bless, thank God and share.  The Lord’s supper in Matthew’s story means food is shared with hungry people in a deserted place and there is always enough and they will be filled. 

We take a moment to remember feeding is never a neutral action.  We know what happens to prophetic figures who gather crowds in the wilderness, outside of approved spaces: it is as political an act as possible, and food and hunger is a weapon used to control, marginalise and kill people.  Modern parallels are everywhere – groups which feed people without shelter, or migrants who have been harassed, fined, restricted and often arrested, the hungry, homeless, out of work, stretched with cost of living and poor wages. 

Authorities choose to make feeding people political; and we know it doesn’t need to be like this. God’s creation provides sufficient for all of us in abundance.  Human greed, poor stewardship and theft of the common goods while raising up wealth for a few and impoverishing the rest, mean ‘feeding’ with compassion is always dangerous and provocative. Feeding until someone is filled is especially challenging.  There will always be neighbours who complain, and the rich who do not want to be reminded of their greed and selfishness, who have the marginalised moved on to other wildernesses and places where they do not offend.

This is a remarkable story on so many levels.  We as Jesus’ followers are called to feed, and fill, to have compassion, to act and share, to see God’s abundance and give thanks for having full bellies.    The Lord be with you.