[AI translation] There is no other story in all of Scripture that the apostles wrote down as many times as the story of the miracle of the loaves. All four evangelists mention it, and Matthew and Mark tell it in two versions, making a total of six times in the Gospels. This is obviously because the evangelists considered this event so important for faith in Christ! They must have said it many times in the spoken word to strengthen people's faith. If only our faith in Christ could be strengthened as we deal with this story!But the first problem that comes up in a lot of people's minds is precisely, is this story authentic? Can we believe that it really happened? Because the fact that 5,000 people were fed on five small loaves of bread and two fish, obviously not very big, and even filled 12 baskets with the leftovers: that is certainly staggering and unbelievable, even if the five loaves and two fish were of whatever size! Here we are at about 400. Imagine that there were more than ten times as many people around Jesus on the lakeshore... Five loaves and two fish for so many people...! No way! That's really impossible! But beware, my brothers: what happened here is no more incredible and impossible than Jesus rising from the grave on Easter morning! Let us not forget that Jesus acted here! Let me tell you: I do not doubt for a moment the authenticity of this story. Not only because it was written by all four evangelists, not only because there were many witnesses, because it was not done in secret, in private, like the vague visions, but in public, in the presence of 5 000 people! But simply because Jesus acted! He could have done such a mighty deed not only with a little bread and five fish, but even with stones! This story is only stumbling blocks if we separate it from Jesus, if we take it out of the context of the Gospel and put it on the dissecting table of the natural science laboratory as a singular event in itself, and measure it by the yardstick we use to measure our own actions and potential. We have become very accustomed to the fact that what man cannot do, what he cannot do, he says in short, it is impossible! Well, it is certain that neither you nor I would be able to do such a thing, nor would the most refined chemist, or the most scientific physicist, or the most clever economist be able to feed so many people with so much food! It is really impossible! But! But here we are talking about someone with whom the kingdom of God, the rule of God, has broken into this world. And in the kingdom of God, there are very different laws and rules, and very different forces at work than we humans can imagine and implement. Jesus, though he looked like us in his walk on earth, was a very different man! In him, the mercy, the love, the power of God was embodied in human flesh! This, however much the world may smile at it, is the basic tenet of our whole Christian faith. A fundamental conviction! Jesus must be seen and treated in a very different way from everyone else. Differently, that is: in faith! It is precisely the joy, precisely the gospel, the good news in this story, that Jesus presents us with new facts, new possibilities, which no human being is capable of. And it is precisely the first great question of this Word to us: can we believe in Jesus as one who is above our possibilities, as one whose power is other than human power?! Or can we only believe in Jesus who fits into our little brains, who we can fit into our little brains?! This Word tells us that what is impossible with man is possible with God! Do not be afraid to believe in Him!
Then it also teaches you to dare to believe in Jesus as Lord of the earthly, material side of life! I want to emphasize this very much because our faith in Jesus often becomes one-sided, in two senses: either it is one-sidedly focused on the body, or it is one-sidedly focused on the soul. One of the one-sidedness is that the believer in Jesus sees him only as the satisfaction of bodily needs. The miracle worker who can heal me of sickness, the helper who can solve my problems, but one does not see in Him the Saviour who cleanses me from sin by His blood, who regenerates and sanctifies me by His Spirit... But there is another one-sidedness, that is, one sees in Him so much only the Saviour of the spiritual life that one forgets the body and its needs. As if that did not belong to Jesus. The things of salvation, yes, only Jesus can sort out, that is His business, that is His business, but not the affairs and things of earthly life, that is my business! Of course, the solution of spiritual problems is His business, but my breadwinner, my purse, my job, the many affairs of my worldly occupation: that is not Jesus' business. These are worldly things, worries! Let's go on: the problem of hunger, the fate of colonial peoples, the question of the well-being of mankind, the economic problem of thousands and millions of backward peoples, the political situation, the question of averting the nuclear threat, the question of war and peace... oh, these are all profane things that do not belong to Jesus! Jesus is salvation, eternal life, the kingdom of heaven, the Saviour of the spiritual life! How could His holy and pure being get involved in such often dirty, everyday, material and political matters?
This may have been the thought of the disciples when they suggested to Jesus, seeing that time was falling on the crowd, that he should dismiss them, let them buy themselves bread, let them take care of themselves, for they are hungry... They felt that it was no longer Jesus' business, hunger, it was a physical, e-material problem, it was a material need, let the people solve it as they could, without Jesus! Well, Jesus taught, He gave spiritual nourishment to people, and that's right, that's what we should expect from Jesus, but now it's not His business to get physical nourishment!
Well, it is against this one-sidedness that the Word warns. Well, Jesus is very interested in what this crowd is going to eat. It is precisely the fact that God in heaven is not only concerned about the souls of men, but also about their stomachs! Because man is body and soul. Not just one. It is also a spiritual reality and a material reality! Not only one! And Jesus is Lord and Savior of both, not just one. Jesus is the Savior of the whole man! Man, in his physical-spiritual reality, with his spiritual-material needs. Let us not, therefore, try to take out of God's sovereignty the e-material side of life, the problem of bread!
When the disciples wanted to send the crowd away, Jesus said, "You give them something to eat! With these words, Jesus put the social problems of mankind on the hearts of His brothers and sisters in this world forever! As if to say: do not shake off your responsibility for what thousands, millions of people eat, how they live! That is why the Church of Christ has always tried in the past to feed the hungry, to clothe the poor, to care for the sick, to look after the refugees - this parish of ours has also used your donations to heat cold rooms, to pay back rents, to fill empty plates... But this saying of Jesus, "You shall feed them", now calls us to a more far-reaching task than the occasional charity. Today, the Church of Christ must bear a strong and unmistakable witness against all the powers that are the cause of the hungry, cold, desperate, frightened, intimidated people who are always on earth. The Church of Christ must therefore take up the fight against the spirit of Mammon, which is such a brutal tyrant in this world; against the power of sensuality, which corrupts and destroys family life; and, most topical today, against the spiritual power of Moloch, which is constantly inciting to war... Indeed: today, this last issue, that of peace, is the greatest and most urgent problem facing millions of people, and it is the issue on which the whole world is once again focusing its attention these days. It is precisely this matter of war and peace that the Scriptures warn us is not one that has escaped Jesus' attention - it is a matter that is very much his concern! It is a matter of the heart of our Lord!
But what can we do about it? Well, we can serve with what we have! We have, we can: prayer! We can ask that the powers of God's peace may rule the negotiations, the people, the world! Yes, a very modest, small thing. But even the five loaves and two fish were so little that the disciples said, with a sigh: what is this for so many people? But the miracle is that even from the feeble strength of a few, incredible great things can come - in the hands of Jesus! Our weak, powerless prayer, and Jesus, can do so much! Great things! Miracles! And are we not already at the point where only a divine miracle can save this world?! Well, Jesus holds you responsible for it! Your faith, your testimony, your prayer! Put it in His hands and He will use it... He will increase it. He will make it effective! For the benefit of thousands, millions! For such is the Lord our Christ!
But let us now turn our gaze from the great, universal questions of humanity back to our own individual, everyday material problems, for there too this Word has an encouraging message. The concern for our daily bread is with us throughout our lives. It demands our thoughts, it occupies our energies. Every housewife knows this when she thinks about shopping to set the table for her family. Every family man knows this when he tries to manage his monthly income in a way that he can afford everything he needs... And oh, how quickly the calculation is upset! But it has to be calculated and allocated very well... And it is undoubtedly important that all economic questions are preceded by careful human calculation. The students did the math: the amount needed was more than 200 denarii... It was also immediately noted that the available stock was low. And all this is important: a sober calculation. It is not good to be in the clouds. One should really stretch as far as one's blanket will go... But: But again! Jesus turns on another factor: the power of God! He doesn't tell you not to count money, but to count God. Just as with sickness: he is not telling you not to buy doctors and medicines, but to remember God, the giver of all healing. So do the calculation, honestly, carefully, but: with serene trust in the God who is the giver of every good gift. Without His blessing, too much is never enough, and with His blessing, too little is always enough! The miracle of bread can be repeated today!
There are two secrets to this miracle. One is to put what you have into the hands of Jesus. For in His hands, the little is miraculously multiplied. I know very well how little a month's earnings can be. How much of it must go towards everything. For food, for clothes, for a little fun, for the glory of God, for the church... But how? Well: try to put it in Jesus' hands and talk to Him. Trust Him to distribute it! Miraculously, when Jesus distributes, He always has enough for everything! Not through human skill, but through the miracle of God's grace and omnipotence. As soon as I put my bread problem in Jesus' hands, a whole new math suddenly comes into play, the exact opposite of ours! According to ours, if we distribute something, it becomes less and so we never have enough for all that we need. What Jesus distributes, multiplies in his hands. He has enough for everything! So that's one of the secrets of the miracle: putting it in Jesus' hands.
The other is to give thanks for the little! Look: when Jesus took the two little fishes and five loaves of bread into his hands, he did not complain, "Oh, this is not enough, give me more", but "lifted up his eyes to heaven and gave thanks". So for what little you have, give thanks! For even a little is a gift from God. He who cannot give thanks for the little is a wretched man! For him, even much is never enough! Jesus gave thanks for the little and broke it... And behold, the little became the much, the enough. It ran in great abundance. The bread for which you gave thanks is better nourished, enough for more people... You see: the true blessing on the table has a national economic significance!
So let us learn from this stumbling and wonderful story to have more faith in our Lord, who has the power to provide for our earthly needs, to solve the bread problem. For He is also Lord of the material side of life!
And all who truly belong to Him can count on His helping power. So let us seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and the other things, the material necessities of life, will be given to us!
Amen!
Date: 8 July 1962.
Lesson
Jn 6,48-51