We’ve Got a Kid with a Lunch Box
by Bishop Chris Giesler
Preaching Text: John 6:1-21
Imagine a congregation’s Board of Trustees has just received word that the lawn service that arrives on Thursday mornings to cut the congregation’s four-acre lawn each week has decided to close up shop. Unfortunately, there does not seem to be another lawn service that can take on the job in the foreseeable future. Folks on the board know that when the lawn service comes, they roll out with four or five guys operating commercial-grade riding mowers, a couple of trimmers, and those backpack blowers to finish off the job. It takes them less than 45 minutes to cut and trim the entire property. But now there is nobody to cut the grass and it’s growing longer every day.
So, one board member who is always the optimist speaks up first. “Perhaps I can organize a group of volunteers to come and do the job.” Another board member, the detail person, speaks up and says, “That’s a great idea, but what will they use to cut the lawn? The church has no equipment.” And to that, the church treasurer, who is always trying to save money, speaks up and says, “I have a pair of fingernail clippers here! And look, it even has a file, you wouldn’t want a rough edge on a blade of grass.”
Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? But let’s look at our Gospel lesson for today. Jesus and his disciples have been quite busy. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell us that this miracle came just after John the Baptist’s execution at the hands of Herod. This would have certainly been a wake-up call for all of the disciples and a good time to get away and make critical decisions. Jesus seems to be wanting to get away for a while so he suggests they get on a boat and go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. But when they arrive at what they had hoped would be a secluded spot, a huge crowd has followed them around the shore. But rather than sending them away, Jesus decides to care for the hungry crowd and, at the same time, teach his disciples a lesson. So Jesus turns to Philip and asks, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” Philip answered, “A half year of pay would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” And then Peter’s brother, Andrew, speaks up and says, “Wait, there’s a kid over here who has a lunch box with five loaves and a couple of fish.” We laughed at a pair of fingernail clippers mowing the church lawn. Imagine feeding a huge crowd with such a meager start.
It is important to note that this is the only miracle performed by Jesus recorded in all four Gospels, the only one. This indicates its importance. The version of the story in John’s Gospel differs in one significant way: It is the only one that tells us about the kid with the lunch box of fish and bread. This is important for John’s Gospel, and it is for us, too.
We often shy away from taking on challenges that seem overwhelming because we feel completely inadequate. For John, the message is clear: Give what you can and let God do the rest. The old saying goes, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
In November of 2019, two category four hurricanes struck the northeast coast of Nicaragua, bringing 150-mile-an-hour winds, a 20-foot storm surge, and over 60 inches of rain. This brought significant flooding far inland, which destroyed homes and church buildings, wiped out crops, and contaminated community wells in both Nicaragua and Honduras. This is an area where the Moravian church has over 80,000 members, well over 300 congregations, and several schools and medical clinics. When we were able to communicate with our provincial leaders in the region, we realized that the task was going to be overwhelming. So, we put the word out to congregations asking for donations to the Board of World Mission’s Disaster Response fund. About two days later, we got a donation of $25. Then another, then another. Then they started pouring in. Soon after, we got larger donations from the Moravian Mission Boards in Europe.
All told, more than $160,000 came from Moravians across North America. But then something even more amazing happened. When larger aid agencies like Habitat for Humanity, Samaritan’s Purse, and Lutheran World Service learned that we were sending these funds to purchase emergency supplies, they, too, jumped on board. Two mission aviation organizations agreed to donate their planes and pilots to fly supplies into remote areas cut off by the floods. Habitat for Humanity provided water filtration kits and cleaning supplies, and Samaritan’s Purse gave us two $10,000 grants to purchase medicines and well-cleaning materials to clean contaminated community wells. And Lutheran World Service gave us over $280,000 in household and school supplies. A shipping company donated space onboard a ship traveling from Florida to Honduras to transport all of it. AMAZING!
What started as a trickle of donations became well over half a million dollars. I would call it a miracle.
Acts of compassion need not be large, though they can be. An act of compassion is a selfless act by one person to show kindness and benefit another.
Examples of simple Acts of Compassion:
- Hold the door open for the person behind you.
- Write a kind note to someone for no reason or to thank them for things they have done in the past.
- Leave a 30% tip for a server if you can afford it.
- Smile at a stranger.
- Help a friend with homework, a project, or chores.
- Compliment someone for their excellent work.
- Treat a friend to dinner or purchase a grocery store gift card for them.
- Give someone a flower.
- Ask someone how they are doing and stop to listen to the answer.
We’ve got this kid over here with a lunch box, and she wants to help feed somebody. Today, ponder what your small gift can be. God will bless it; God will multiply it. Thanks be to God. Amen.
