Seven Baskets Full
You see Jesus does not call the disciples to change their minds about the Gentiles, he doesn’t just want them to have a new way of seeing God, he wants them to see that God’s grace and mercy is for all.
The Bible, which is this collection of material written by people who are articulating their understanding of God in a particular time and place - this library shows how we humans have come to see God over time. It shows how we have changed our minds over time. How we have come to see a new vision of God in which God is not just for some but for all. God is not just for us but for all. God’s mercy is not limited to one group but God’s mercy is all encompassing. There are not exceptions to God’s love.
This passage is often titled “Jesus feeds the 4,000” but that’s not really what happens.
“The disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in the desert to feed so great a crowd?” Jesus asked them, “How many loaves have you?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” Then ordering the crowd to sit down on the ground, he took the seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.
Who actually feeds the crowds? The disciples do.
You see Jesus does not call the disciples to change their minds about the Gentiles, he doesn’t just want them to have a new way of seeing God, he wants them to see that God’s grace and mercy is for all.
Jesus wants the disciples to change their minds about their power and their responsibility to share the message of God’s love with everyone. He wants them to see that they are the ones to reach out to those they once considered outsiders, to those they once considered enemies and offer them bread and a place at the table.
Watch the video used in the sermon.
Read The Full Sermon
So there was no typo...you heard it right, in the passage that was read, Matthew 15, the number of people in the crowd is 4,000...the text says there were '4,000 men there that day not counting women and children,' give me a break by the way not counting women and children please, good thing we are totally over that now and count women the same as men and pay them the same, and…
Anyway, the number is 4,000...so maybe you are like me and the first time I heard this I was like: what? I thought Jesus fed 5,000, that's what I remember learning in Sunday school, Jesus feeds 5,000...so what's the deal with this 4,000 number. Our sermon series is “A Place at the Table”...exactly how many places where there at the table...Was it 5,000 or 4,000...was a preacher counting because if so it was probably recorded as 5,000 but it was actually 4,000…
Here’s the deal, it turns out it’s both. Jesus feeds 5,000 in Matthew 14 and 4,000 in Matthew 15...there are two nearly identical stories back to back, so why would the gospel writer include the same story back to back...was his editor out on vacation or something...?
The stories have the same set up: a lot of people have followed Jesus out of town, they are hungry...the same thing happens with Jesus in both stories: he is moved with compassion for the crowd...Jesus does the same thing in both: he takes what the disciples have; some bread and fish, and he blesses it and gives it back to the disciples and the same miracle happens in both: a small amount of bread and fish becomes enough to feed everybody…
I mean was Jesus just out of clever miracle ideas to do the same one again so soon...or what is really going on here.
So to understand why Matthew would include two nearly identical stories of Jesus feeding the multitudes one right after the other, we have to go back to the Old Testament...and we have to start with this very problematic thing in the Old Testament...there is a heck of a lot of violence in the Old Testament.
And not only that...there is a heck of a lot of violence done by God...God is clearly on one side, with one group, and God inflicts violence on those who are on the other side, in the other group, there is clearly an ‘us’ and ‘them’ in the Old Testament and the message that is communicated through the text is that God is for ‘us’ and God destroys ‘them’ on our behalf...
There is some really brutal stuff in the Old Testament, like in Deuteronomy 7 where God commands Joshua to slaughter the seven Canaanite nations. It’s like God says: no mercy for them.
So what do we do with that? Now some folks who read the Bible literally will say well it’s in there and so it must be true that God favors one group over another and God blesses one group over another and even condones or commands violence in some cases.
But that doesn’t work for me, doesn’t work for my experience of God in the world, and it’s just flat out not morally acceptable today...so there’s this major point to be made here about the Bible.
The thing about the Bible is it teaches us a lot about what human beings who wrote the Bible thought about God at a certain time…
So we can clearly see through these texts that in the ancient world, many people sincerely believed that God takes sides and that God was on their side.
We see that kind of thinking infused throughout the Bible...God is on our side...and let’s just say it right here, that kind of thinking still exists today…
We are so divided and the ideology on both sides is: we are right and they are wrong…so we can empathize, we can understand why the ancient writers wrote these texts in the way they did, in their thinking, God protected ‘us’ by harming ‘them’…but there is another way to see God, a better vision...
So follow me here, on the screen.
Deuteronomy 7. God commands Joshua to slaughter the 7 Canaanite nations.
Joshua is the leader of the Israelites; God is clearly on the side of the Israelites. God has no compassion for the Canaanites. God has no mercy for them.
Matthew 14:13-33. The feeding of the 5,000 in Bethsaida, near the Sea of Galilee.
The crowds gathered that day were all Israelites. This is the region they occupied, Jesus is moved with compassion to feed the Israelites...this is consistent, God is on the side of the Israelites so of course Jesus, God with us, would be moved with compassion for the Israelites and take care of their hunger.
After the feeding of the 5,000 Jesus leaves that region and heads into Gentile territory...
Matthew 15: 21-28. A Canaanite woman asks Jesus for mercy for her daughter.
Isn’t it interesting that Matthew identifies the woman to be a Canaanite woman...at the time there were no Canaanites left in the area, so Matthew is doing something really clever here, he is responding directly to the text from Deuteronomy 7...the way of thinking about God has changed since then and he wants to offer another vision of God...so:
Matthew 15: 21-28. A Canaanite woman asks Jesus for mercy for her daughter. Jesus says yes and the daughter is healed.
Jesus gives mercy to the Canaanite woman. What Matthew is saying is: God’s mercy knows no sides. God is on the side of mercy...the new way is mercy for all.
Jesus goes on to heal people from that area who are not members of his religion, they are not part of his tribe, he heals them all...the new way is mercy for all.
And then comes our text today.
Matthew 15:32-39. The feeding of the 4,000 in the region of the Gerasenes.
The region of the Gerasenes is the region of them, they are the Gentiles, they are the outsiders...and Jesus is moved with compassion for them in the same way he is moved with compassion for his fellow Jews.
Jesus repeats the same miracle for all those who are considered outsiders.
So you see why even though the disciples have already seen the miracle of the loaves and fishes once, they would have been shocked to see it again, to see Jesus offer it to the Gentiles too...up until this point, they thought Jesus’ mission was only for the Israelites, only for those who had the same religion and culture as they did...
They thought their work as Jesus’ disciples, their mission and message of God’s love was exclusive, that it was only for the people who were just like them...no...no, Jesus makes it clear: God’s mercy is for everybody. Everybody is welcome to the table. There is a place at the table for everybody.
You see, the disciples have to change their minds, they have to change their way of seeing God and their way of seeing their calling to serve God, they are to be servants of all, extending God’s love and mercy to all, welcoming all to the table.
So do you see how the Bible, which is this library, this collection of material written by people who are articulating their understanding of God in a particular time and place, how this library shows how we humans have come to see God over time…
How we have changed our minds over time...how we have come to see a new vision of God in which God is not just for some but for all, God is not just for us but for all, God’s mercy is not limited to one group but God’s mercy is all-encompassing...there are no exceptions to God’s love.
This passage is often titled “Jesus feeds the 4,000” but that’s not really what happens. Let’s take a look at verses 33 to 36:
“The disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in the desert to feed so great a crowd?” Jesus asked them, “How many loaves have you?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” Then ordering the crowd to sit down on the ground, he took the seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.
Who actually feeds the crowds? The disciples do.
Jesus could have fed the crowds but he doesn’t do that. He could have said, “Give me those fish and that bread and I will feed them.” He could have said: I am the one who will feed the Gentiles, y’all can take five. I am the one who will show compassion and mercy, y’all don’t have to, I know it’s hard for you to change your minds about them. He could have said, I am the one who has the power, I got this.
No: Jesus gives the bread and fish back to the disciples and they feed the crowds.
You see Jesus does not just call the disciples to change their minds about the Gentiles, he doesn’t just want them to have a new way of seeing God, to see that God’s grace and mercy is for all…
Jesus also wants the disciples to change their minds about their power and their responsibility to share the message of God’s love with everyone...he wants them to see they are the ones to reach out to those they once considered outsiders, to those they once considered enemies and offer them bread and a place at the table.
We have the power and the responsibility to share the message of God’s love with everyone...which may mean changing our minds about someone or whole groups of people and changing our actions, we are the ones to reach out and offer mercy to all in the name of Jesus the Christ, who gives mercy to all and calls us to do the same in his name.
Speaking of call, I want to share this video sponsored by Verizon, they worked with PFLAG to connect families who had not spoken in years…
What you are about to see is the feeding of the 4,000 today in which families change their minds about their LGBTQ+ child and reach out to offer them a place at the table again and welcome them back into the family.
Let’s watch:
https://vimeo.com/340500513?fbclid=IwAR1hDCy2WMrojar-yj2MESwxNCbMF1jWr1adEKjyYsX89THaCbOzSieHJ9Q
Did you hear what she said at the end?
Speaking of her mom, she said with tears in her eyes: she just wanted to call and tell me she loved me and that she’s proud to have me as her daughter.
If you haven’t heard that from a parent, I want you to hear it today from Jesus the Christ who says to each of us: I love you and I am proud to have you as my daughter; I love you and I am proud to have you as my son.
Now, who needs to hear that message through you today?
The disciples didn’t think the crowd that day was worthy of a place at the table but Jesus changes their minds about that. The disciples didn’t think they had anything to offer but Jesus changes their minds about that, too.
He took the seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.And all of them ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full.
Seven baskets full. Seven. Seven days of creation, the beginning when all was as it should be. Seven, the number that represents completeness.
We will not be complete until all are welcome at the table. So may it ever be.
Podcast: A Place At The Table w/ Eric Markinson
Pastor Blair Thompson-White sits down with Chaplain and Grace UMC Member Eric Markinson to talk about what it means to be LGBTQ+ and a Methodist.
Pastor Blair Thompson-White sits down with Chaplain and Grace UMC Member Eric Markinson to talk about what it means to be LGBTQ+ and a Methodist.
The Table Is Set
Love is the currency in an economy of grace
Love is the currency in an economy of grace
Be Present At Our Table Lord
The table is the doorway to grace. When we sit down with someone and share a meal at a table with them, we open ourselves up to experience the very presence of God with us.
The table is the doorway to grace. When we sit down with someone and share a meal at a table with them, we open ourselves up to experience the very presence of God with us. The lesson is: open up your table, and not just to people you are comfortable with, not just to people you are familiar with, not just those in your same social standing—Invite the stranger, invite the outsider, invite the refugee who is passing through, invite the loner, invite those who see things a little differently than you, yes even those who interpret scripture differently than you, invite them to your table and invite Christ to your table.
Trinity Sunday Testimonies
On Sunday, June 16 (Trinity Sunday) we had three testimonies from Kenton Self, Rev. Sungmoon Lee and Aaron Manes. Each of these testimonies begin with a scripture read by Rev. Blair Thompson-White.
On Sunday, June 16 (Trinity Sunday) we had three testimonies from Kenton Self, Rev. Sungmoon Lee and Aaron Manes. Each of these testimonies begin with a scripture read by Rev. Blair Thompson-White.
Eco-Spirituality and Electric Vehicles with Aaron Manes
Pastor Blair sits down with Aaron Manes, Arapaho UMC’s Communications Director to talk Eco-spirituality, life experiments and what it is like to drive an electric car.
Pastor Blair sits down with Aaron Manes, Arapaho UMC’s Communications Director to talk Eco-spirituality, life experiments and what it is like to drive an electric car.
How To Listen:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/arapaho-umc/id1391205091
Google Play: http://bit.ly/AUMC-On-GooglePlay
Spotify: http://bit.ly/AUMC-On-Spotify
Pollution is a Spiritual Problem Too
Our world is so desperate to breathe in the divine presence, we are suffocating here with injustice and hatred and conflict in our world, we so need the spirit to breathe into us and bring us back to life again.
Our world is so desperate to breathe in the divine presence, we are suffocating here with injustice and hatred and conflict in our world, we so need the spirit to breathe into us and bring us back to life again—
To bring our world back to life with this divine energy that brings us together as kin, as divinely connected but no matter how desperate we are for a breath of fresh air, for the breath of God to breathe into us and renew us...
The reality is the air is polluted, and if the air is polluted, if human beings can’t take a breath of fresh air, the spirit is restricted, the spirit cannot work as well in us and through us…
Now is the time for us as followers of Jesus to lead the way in working to end pollution so that all people throughout the world can breathe fresh air, so that all may receive the spirit of God, the breathe of God, deep into their lungs, so all may revived by God’s spirit again and again and again…
So today as we breathe in and breathe out we know what is ours to do: we are the ones to work to end pollution, so that means very plainly we have to take steps to reduce our carbon footprint.
Watch This Video From The Service.
Christ Has No Body But Yours
We are NOT the center of God's creation, we are not at the top to rule and do whatever we want to the earth, our purpose is to serve the earth. I will say it again this way: it is not about what is in our own self-interest...it is about what is in the best interest of the earth. This is driven home by the word "keep" which means "to preserve" or "to protect." We are responsible for the garden now and into the future.
We were not created for ourselves. We are created to till and keep the garden.
The word till is better translated as 'to serve' or ' to be a slave of.' Think about that, does that change things or what?
When I think of 'till' I think work the land, you know, there's that physical image of using a steel hoe to break up the soil which gives you the impression that we are in charge and use and work the land for our purposes...but that is not what we are talking about...the word till means to serve, we are servants of the earth.
We are NOT the center of God's creation, we are not at the top to rule and do whatever we want to the earth, our purpose is to serve the earth. I will say it again this way: it is not about what is in our own self-interest...it is about what is in the best interest of the earth. This is driven home by the word "keep" which means "to preserve" or "to protect." We are responsible for the garden now and into the future.
We are the ones to preserve and protect the earth, that is our purpose--that is what on earth we are here for.
Vineyards and Vegetable Gardens
Dominion and subdue. Those two words are bound to come up when talking about how people of faith should view creation. The words sound almost warlike. What do they mean? How are we to receive and care for gifts from God, especially the gift of creation.
Dominion and subdue. Those two words are bound to come up when talking about how people of faith should view creation. The words sound almost warlike. What do they mean? How are we to receive and care for gifts from God, especially the gift of creation.
Seeing Christ In Everyone and Everything
It is all Christ, Christ is all in all, every material, every physical thing is Christ and that includes you and that includes every person and plant and species on this planet. My favorite definition of a Christian is this: A Christian is one who can recognize Christ in every one and everything.
It is all Christ, Christ is all in all, every material, every physical thing is Christ and that includes you and that includes every person and plant and species on this planet. My favorite definition of a Christian is this:
A Christian is one who can recognize Christ in every one and everything.
I don’t know that I am always a Christian under that definition but I want to be, don’t you, I want to recognize Christ in people with whom I disagree or who are different than me, and I want to recognize Christ in every aspect of creation...
She Poured Out Her Soul To God
You talk to God from right where you are: you pour out your heart like Hannah did, you dump it all on God, the good, the bad, the ugly, because think about the people you are closest with
People ask me how to pray and when I ask them a little more about that what I usually discover is they think they have to get it together before coming to God in prayer...but what do you do when you can’t get it together…
You talk to God from right where you are: you pour out your heart like Hannah did, you dump it all on God, the good, the bad, the ugly, because think about the people you are closest with...
They are the people you talk honestly to. Talk honestly to God and get closer to God, talk honestly with God and discover what the deepest spiritual people will tell you...God hears you and God can handle it...let God handle it.
Women In The Bible with Rabbi Elana Zelony
Go deeper into the Grace and Grit/Women In The Bible series as Pastor Blair Thompson-White sips tea with Rabbi Elana Zelony on a stormy morning and talks about the women of scripture.
Women In The Bible with Rabbi Elana Zelony
Go deeper into the Grace and Grit/Women In The Bible series as Pastor Blair Thompson-White sips tea with Rabbi Elana Zelony on a stormy morning and talks about the women of scripture.
How To Listen:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/arapaho-umc/id1391205091
Google Play: http://bit.ly/AUMC-On-GooglePlay
Spotify: http://bit.ly/AUMC-On-Spotify
About Rabbi Elana Zelony
Rabbi Zelony’s rabbinate emphasizes pluralism, inclusion, interfaith work, spirituality and involvement with the community.
She is a member of the Richardson Interfaith Alliance and an alumna of Leadership Richardson—a program that builds leaders for the city. She is a member of Rabbis Without Borders—a network that emphasizes pluralism, innovation and service in the rabbinate.
She is the first female rabbi in the Conservative Movement to lead a synagogue in the state of Texas. Prior to moving to Richardson, she worked as the Director of Congregational Learning at Congregation Beth Sholom in San Francisco. She also served as an Assistant Rabbi at Shearith Israel in Atlanta where she advocated for ending domestic abuse by working with the Faith Advisory Team of the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
Rabbi Zelony received ordination from the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in 2009. She also holds a Master’s Degree from American Jewish University’s Graduate Center for Jewish Education.
Rabbi Zelony was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. She makes her home with her husband Adiv and their two children, Nesya and Magen. She is an avid reader of poetry and enjoys keeping healthy by running, practicing yoga, and creating healthy meals for her family and friends.
That Time When A Woman Changed Jesus' Mind
The question this passage answers is not just: Can Jesus learn but also: Can we? Can we learn like Jesus to become more embracing, more loving by listening to outsiders?
Because tribalism so easily leads to dehumanization, you start seeing the other as other than human, you start name calling them and excluding them from equal rights and access to resources because they aren’t human to you anymore.
And I have said but it bears repeating again, what we do is we “It” people--we treat them as “It” instead of as children of God, we treat them as “It” instead of as “beloved” we treat them as object instead of as human beings made in the image of God and this is all very human of us…
But so is our ability to be changed by the people we encounter...like Jesus was…so the question this passage answers is not just: Can Jesus learn but also: Can we? Can we learn like Jesus to become more embracing, more loving by listening to outsiders?
That is what Jesus does...Jesus learns by listening.
When She Leads, Everyone Wins
Dr. Sheron Patterson, pastor of Hamilton Park UMC, begins our series “Grace and Grit” - Two characteristics of three women in the Bible who show us how to live and lead faithfully in the midst of difficult situations. Experience the stories of Deborah, the Syrophoenician woman, and Hannah in our worship series Grace and Grit.
Dr. Sheron Patterson, pastor of Hamilton Park UMC, begins our series “Grace and Grit.”
Two characteristics of three women in the Bible who show us how to live and lead faithfully in the midst of difficult situations. Experience the stories of Deborah, the Syrophoenician woman, and Hannah in our worship series Grace and Grit.
Tidying Up The Tomb
Jesus has overcome death, he has overcome the death-dealing things of this world...and so death no longer fills the space of our lives, it no longer clutters our vision or our thinking and being in this world, Jesus has tidied it up, he's made a path through it for us so that we can go from life through death to life again just like he did.
Jesus has tidied up death for us.
He hasn’t discarded it, death is still there, but what he has done is make it possible for us to see it clearly, to know its purpose, to know death is not something to dread, or something to fear.
Because he has overcome death, he has overcome the death-dealing things of this world...and so death no longer fills the space of our lives, it no longer clutters our vision or our thinking and being in this world, Jesus has tidied it up, he's made a path through it for us so that we can go from life through death to life again just like he did.
life – death – life
Jesus shows us this path of life, that in this cycle of life, death, and life all things start in life and all things end in life--and like him we start in God and end in God; death is just part of the journey, death is just part of our aliveness.
So that we don't have to run away from the hard things anymore, we can face the tombs in our lives, the tombs in our world with confidence knowing that like Jesus, will get through it, knowing that here is this path of loss and renewal that we go through throughout our lives that helps us to grow and to heal and to become more and more who we were made to be.
Tidying Up The Theology Of Holy Week
Have you ever asked the question of why did Jesus die on the cross? Maybe this is something that you have let go of in your deconstruction or maybe you haven’t ever given it much thought. Pastor Blair sits down with Dr. Gary Fox to talk through the differing atonement theologies and how they play out in our lives in this episode of “Practicing The Presence.”
Have you ever asked the question of why did Jesus die on the cross? Maybe this is something that you have let go of in your deconstruction or maybe you haven’t ever given it much thought. Pastor Blair sits down with Dr. Gary Fox to talk through the differing atonement theologies and how they play out in our lives in this episode of “Practicing The Presence.”
Things The Spark Joy
Jesus says: focus on loving God and loving others and your joy will be complete. The Greek root of the word joy is the same as grace--joy is a gift from God, joy is a gift of knowing you are connected to the divine and this connection is not something you earn or win…it is always present with you, if you will just see it, in moments of stress, see your connection with God and with others and your joy will be complete. Joy comes in, fear goes out when we see ourselves as connected.
Jesus says: focus on loving God and loving others and your joy will be complete. The Greek root of the word joy is the same as grace--joy is a gift from God, joy is the gift of knowing you are connected to the divine and this connection is not something you earn or win…it is always present with you, if you will just see it, in moments of stress, see your connection with God and with others and your joy will be complete. Joy comes in, fear goes out when we see ourselves as connected.
Tidying Up: Putting Your House In Order
When we carry around the clutter from our past, the past wounds we have inflicted...we cannot move freely, we cannot live freely, and it gets in the way of everything, it gets in the way of our relationships with others and with God, and God doesn’t want that for us.
When we carry around the clutter from our past, the past wounds we have inflicted...we cannot move freely, we cannot live freely, and it gets in the way of everything, it gets in the way of our relationships with others and with God, and God doesn’t want that for us.
Jesus says: there is a way to be released from this burden and it is the way of forgiveness. Don’t wait. Make amends now. Don’t let another day pass, make amends now. Deal with the clutter from your past today so you can free today.
Tidying Up our Tradition
When the teachings of the church are cutting off people from doing the ministry God has clearly gifted and called them to do, we must question those teachings, we must rethink those teachings, we must tidy up those traditions, now is the time for tidying up, church.
Tidying Up Tradition
When the teachings of the church are cutting off people from doing the ministry God has clearly gifted and called them to do, we must question those teachings, we must rethink those teachings, we must tidy up those traditions, now is the time for tidying up, church.
There have been throughout the years groups of people who seek to gain power through excluding others...they have used doctrine and scripture to justify this harm; but take heart....
There have also been every step of the way, people who have stood up and said: no. They have questioned and researched and written and argued and protested and participated in civil disobedience to stand up for the excluded and marginalized and those without voice…and you know what they’ve been called? Well I’m sure they’ve been called a lot of things but here’s one:
They are the people called Methodists.