Text: Mark 6:34-44
This week, all of our lives changed.
I’m not just talking about this congregation…. Or people of faith… but everyone… everywhere.
Our lives were turned upside down.
We have had to stop.
Stay home.
Make adjustments.
For some, these are minor inconveniences.
For others, the impact of the coronavirus threatens their physical or financial wellbeing.
While our leadership here at the church has been busy putting into action plans that will help us to connect and care for one another, I’ve also been doing a lot of praying for our neighbors.
I’ve been thinking about people who don’t have a community of faith to encourage them or check in or point to hope during this time.
Our vision as a church is to be out there in the world, loving, serving, and praying, so that all who hunger might be fed by God’s grace.
So I’ve been asking… where is there hunger in our world right now?
How might we be called to respond?
In Mark’s gospel, Jesus looks out upon the crowds… the multitudes… the neighbors and strangers all huddled together and has compassion on them.
He aches in his very core for these people who are hungry for a word, a touch, a glimpse of something new.
So he stops everything he was about to do and teaches them.
Spends time with them.
Connects with them.
You know… he does what Jesus does.
After a while, the disciples start to notice their own stomachs growling.
It had been a long day.
Their own hunger and exhaustion and stress and concern was all they could think about.
“Send the people away,” the disciples urged.
“Let them figure something out for themselves.”
“That way we can figure out what to do for ourselves.”
It makes sense, right?
We’ve all been told to put on our own oxygen mask before we put one on someone else if we are flying.
We’ve all been told that we can’t continue to keep giving and giving and not take time to stop and refill our cup, too.
After all, this whole story begins with Jesus and the apostles in a worn out tired place.
They had just gone out to do a whole lot of ministry and had just returned.
In verse 30, it says that so many people were coming and going that they had no time to eat!
So Jesus invites them away to a quiet place to rest for a bit.
Only… when they get there, that’s when they get overwhelmed again by the crowds.
What is a weary disciple to do?
Jesus answer surprises us: Look at what you have.
Look at who you are.
Take stock of it all.
You already have everything you need.
Or rather… what you need, is what they need.
You are not different from them, or separate from them.
There is no “them” at all.
It’s just all of us.
Right here.
All stuck in the same place with the same needs.
So whatever we have to take care of ourselves, it’s good enough to share with everyone else.
What is the hunger of the world right now?
What are the needs in our community?
What are people longing for?
Well… what do you need?
Because… honestly… they are probably the same.
On a normal day… all we really want is to feel loved, accepted and comfortable in our churches. We want to grow in our faith.
In these kinds of times… those things are mostly true, too, but we also have some other needs.
Peace in the midst of anxiety.
Groceries in a time a social distancing.
Connection when all around us is isolation.
Stability when everything feels uncertain.
And what are the resources we have to meet those needs?
Well, we have words of comfort in scripture… but also things like prayer and breathing deep and the ability to turn off the news and watch the birds sing.
Some of us have the ability to go out and shop or order things online.
We have phones and cards and computers to build connection in new ways.
We have a firm foundation in God that we lean on in times of stress.
Those are our loaves of bread and fish.
And we could use them all to take care of ourselves… which we’ll do…
But what would it look like to place them in God’s hands and let these small simply things abundantly multiply and spill over and feed not only our bodies and minds and souls, but that of our neighbors as well?
In our study and prayers around “Unbinding Your Heart” and “Unbinding the Gospel” the fourth chapter and week is all about what people outside of our churches need.
And it’s really simple.
They want to know that they are loved by God and that the church loves them.
That’s it.
And most people, our book tells us, are open to becoming part of a faith community during a time of change in their lives.
At a time when they were seeking and open for something different.
A time… maybe not unlike now.
It’s why the crowds of people had gathered there in that deserted place to meet Jesus.
They were already looking…
Already seeking…
Already longing…
Already hungry…
As we take stock of our resources and check in with one another and build new online connections, I think that the very things we are going to be doing and starting are exactly the kinds of things that our neighbors outside the church are looking for, too.
I kept thinking about how we are putting together church groups so that we might connect and care for one another over the coming weeks and months.
And about the online opportunities we are starting.
And I realized that my neighbors, Cheryl and Ann, probably need the exact same thing.
They are an older couple and don’t get out much anyways and already experiences some isolation.
So I just walked over to their house and left them my phone number.
I told them that if they need someone to pick up groceries, to give me a call.
If they feel stuck inside, give me a call.
And maybe next week, if I get braver, I’ll invite them to join us online for worship.
We already have everything we need to share with others during this time.
We’ve got the love of God in our heart.
We’ve got a peace that passes all understanding.
We’ve got phones and computers and cards and pen and crayons to make connection.
We’ve got time… blessed time… to work on our relationships.
All we need… all that any of us hunger for… is to know that we are loved.
That we are not alone.
That someone is thinking about us.
Watching over us.
What a better way for us to go out there and be the church…
To let loose the good news of God on this world.
To share it with everyone.