LAETARE
22 March Anno + Domini 2009
"The Lord Providesâ€
Exod. 16:2-21; Gal. 4:21-31; John 6:1-15
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
They grumbled. They were not satisfied. They had been led out of bondage in Egypt. Their God, Yahweh, had done miraculous things to make that happen. He sent ten plagues upon the land of Egypt to convince stubborn Pharaoh to let them go. He raised up a leader among them, Moses, to speak on their behalf and arrange for their deliverance. And when the time came for them to leave, He secured their freedom by miraculously leading them through the Red Sea, destroying the Egyptians who had balked on the deal and were pursuing them. And, as if that weren't enough, Yahweh led them in their journey to Sinai as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. He did miracle after miracle in their presence to bring them to freedom. And what was their response? They grumbled. They were not satisfied.
"Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, where we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger,†they said. What an ungrateful, faithless people! After all that the Lord had done for them, this is their response? Did they really not understand that the Lord would provide for them? What more could He have done to get that through to them? It is quite amazing when you think about it.
But, what is even more amazing is the Lord's response to them. He should abandon this ungrateful, faithless people. He should just leave them to die in that wilderness. He would be justified in doing so, wouldn't He? But, He doesn't. He provides for them. That's His way. Where His people are faithless, He is faithful to His promises. He promised to lead them to the Promised Land and He will not fail to keep His promise.
So, the Lord provides. He sends them quail to satisfy their hunger and rains down upon them miraculous bread from heaven to sustain them in their journey. But, guess what? These people, true to form, eventually get sick of this, too, and grumble once again. They become dissatisfied with the Manna from heaven and want something more. It is not enough for them that the Lord feeds and sustains them - they want more.
Some things never change. Some 1500 years later, the same Lord who led the Israelites out of Egypt and into the Promised Land, despite their grumblings and ungratefulness, stands in the Flesh before a large crowd that is hungry and beginning to grumble. In order to test His disciples, He asks Philip, "Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?†Philip fails the test. So does Andrew. All the disciples do. The correct response would have been, "Lord, you can and will provide for the people.†But, instead, their response is, "You're crazy, Lord! What you ask is impossible. Even if we had the money, we could not buy enough bread to feed this people. All we have is five loaves of bread and a couple of fish. Send the people away, Lord. Let them fend for themselves.â€
No doubt Jesus was thinking, "You guys are no different than your fathers I led out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. Like them, you fail to trust in Me. Like them, you fail to realize that I am the Lord who provides!†He should cast them away and find some new disciples. But, He doesn't. He is patient with them. He loves them. So, He tells them to have the people sit down. He's got it. Then, He took the loaves, and when He had given thanks, He distributed them through His faithless disciples to the people. The Lord provided. That's His way. That's what He does.
This must have been a sight to see. As the disciples grabbed their little bit of bread and fish, they must have thought their Lord had lost it. But, imagine their amazement when they discovered that no matter how often they reached into their baskets, there was more bread and more fish to distribute to the people. They must have looked back at their Lord in astonishment only to find Him smiling at them, as if to say, "I told you I would provide. Trust in Me, fellas. Stop disbelieving; believe!â€
But, what of the crowds? What of those for whom the Lord provided that day? They, too, must have been amazed at what was transpiring before their very eyes. How in the world could so much bread and fish fit into those baskets? Something strange - something miraculous - was happening here. Indeed, we're told that when the people saw this sign - this miraculous multiplication of the bread and fish - they said, "This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!†They rightly identified Jesus as the Messiah, the One who had been promised to them, the One who would provide for all their needs.
And yet, how soon these people would forget. Just a couple days later, when Jesus began teaching them how He would continue to provide for His people throughout the ages by multiplying Himself and feeding His people His Flesh and Blood, most of these same people departed from Him. They could not abide His teaching. "Your Flesh is real food and Your Blood is real drink? That's it, we've heard enough. Thanks for Your time, we're leaving now.â€
Some things never change. The beat goes on. The Lord continues to provide for His people and His people continue to grumble and complain that what He provides is not enough. Just look at the story of the Israelites, dear friends. It's your story. Just like them, you were miraculously rescued from bondage in Egypt, that is, Hell, set free from Hell's pharaoh, Satan. How? You were brought through the Red Sea of the Baptismal font, where your enemies of sin, death, and the devil were drowned, allowing you to emerge free and clean. And now, the Lord leads you through the wilderness of this dead and dying world, promising you that He will provide for you, sustain you, and keep you His until He brings you into the Promised Land of His eternal kingdom. And yet, just like the Israelites, you grumble and complain. You want more. The more that you want you can only answer for yourselves, but that is the discipline of this Lenten season, isn't it, that we look at ourselves and examine what "more†we want and how futile we are in trusting in just what the Lord provides. And this is true of all God's people, of all who claim to be Christian. None of us are as satisfied as we should be. All of us at times, and far too often, want more. The Holy Word and Sacraments, these are the precious means of grace, the miracles, the signs, that our Lord continues to do among His people, providing for them, sustaining them in the faith, preserving them to get through the wilderness of this sinful world and into His Promised Land, and they're not enough for us. We want more. We want to feel it. We want to experience something, some spiritual high that simply can't come from water, words, bread and wine.
Repent. That is the call. Repent, and begin to trust in your Lord. He will provide. In fact, He has provided for all of your wants and desires, all of your needs, spiritually. Jesus was sent into this world to do what faithless Israel, and what you, the new Israel, often just as faithless, failed to do. For, you see, He never grumbled and complained. He was always satisfied with what His Father provided. He never looked for something more, but was content with what God had given Him. He didn't even complain that He was born in a stinking manger, laid in a feeding trough for animals. He didn't complain throughout His earthly ministry when He had nowhere to lay His head. He didn't grumble when the soldiers, led by Judas, came into the Garden to take Him away. He didn't even grumble and complain when they were beating Him so severely, and not even when they pierced Him with the nails on the cross. Jesus didn't grumble and complain. He begged for your forgiveness. Jesus came to do that which you fail to do. Trust in Him, dear friends. He will provide. He has provided. He will continue to provide for you.
That doesn't mean, though, that you simply say, "I believe in Jesus,†and then go on grumbling and complaining. Learn the lesson of the Israelites. They grumbled and complained, the Lord provided for them; they grumbled and complained, the Lord provided for them . . . but, eventually those who continued to grumble and complain were not allowed to enter the Promised Land. So it is for all of those who continue to spurn the means of grace the Lord provides, who continue to grumble and complain to no end, failing to repent of that grumbling and complaining, and failing to trust in Jesus, who alone has atoned for that sin.
Heed the Word of the Lord. He does provide. He is here this morning to provide for you repentant believers once again. And, it is just as though we are back in that wilderness and He is on the mountainside giving us the miraculous Bread from heaven. For, dear friends, there is no coincidence here. What happens in the miraculous feeding of the five thousand foreshadows what happens here every time we gather for Divine Service. For here, dear friends, a miracle takes place before your very eyes. Jesus multiplies Himself upon that altar, giving unto you His very, real Flesh and Blood. He gives it to you for your forgiveness, and to strengthen and provide for you, to preserve you as you journey through this wilderness, so that you, too, may enter one day the Promised Land of His Eternal Kingdom. Stop disbelieving; believe. He does provide. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Now the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, unto life everlasting. Amen.