Next Person Up

I have to say that the one thing helping to keep me from total despair these days is remarkably the Boston Red Sox.

And, unless you have been a long time fan of the team, you won't appreciate just how ironic that statement is at the beginning of August in baseball season. Usually, right after the All-Star break, is about the time the team begins to take a nose dive.

And, unless you last thought about the Red Sox in late May/early June, then you might think I've totally lost my mind. Because the team stunk...like a dead fish left on the beach in the warm sun for 24 hours.

But something happened about June 25th. And suddenly, the team found its purpose. They started playing together. They took time at the plate and made the opposing pitchers work. And everyone seems to be bought into the idea that winning actually feels good and makes their fan base very, very happy.

By the end of July...they had posted a 25-4 record...the best July this team has ever had in its 125 year history!

What the heck does any of that have to do with the 14th Chapter of Matthew, you ask?

Well...read on and tell me what you think. 

Text: Matthew 14: 13-21

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I love baseball.

And I especially love listening to baseball on the radio when it’s my team…the Boston Red Sox…playing.

Now I know that not everyone shares my same enthusiasm for the team or the sport…but recently…the Red Sox went on the most incredible run.

They won 15 games in a row…the most consecutive wins that team has had in 80 years.

And it almost came to an end at game number 14.

They were playing the Baltimore Orioles… a division rival… who also were on a long winning streak.

The two teams kept going back and forth on the scoring.

It was the bottom of the eighth inning.

The score was tied five to five.

The two guys on the team who had been doing the best at the plate—Wilyer Abreu and Wilson Contreras—had already been at bat and hadn’t made a dent in this tie score.

So now all eyes were on the Red Sox third baseman Caleb Durbin.

Now…earlier in the season…a lot of us fans were not happy with the way Durbin had been playing.

And none of us were excited about the offensive strength of the Red Sox.

They just were…well…not very good…including Durbin.

But just when it seemed as if this game was going into extra innings….bam…Durbin hit a blast that sailed into the bleachers for the go-ahead home run… and the Red Sox were able to hold on to win the game in the ninth inning on a score of six to five.

And there was joy…and happiness… and celebration from Fenway Park… all the way to me sitting at my desk in our home office.

The radio commentators were overcome with emotion.

As one of them said…the Red Sox had become a real team.

When the usual stars don’t come through… the attitude in their dug out was now “next man up”…the average player…the one in a slump… not the big name star…comes up to make the biggest play of the game.

That’s how the best teams make things happen… and win the game.

That’s what I think we hear Jesus saying this morning when he says, “You give them something to eat.”

Essentially…it’s a “next person up” situation.

This story of the feeding of the five thousand appears in all four Gospels…which is like a neon light-flashing clue that this is one of the big Jesus moments so pay close attention.

There are several places we could jump in on this one.

This miracle used to be the central story for gathering the early Christians together for the Eucharistic meal.

It has echoes of the history of Israel…journeying through the wilderness…with doubts in their heads and hearts.

Jesus lifts these provisions of bread and fish to God for a blessing…and like the manna that rained down on the Biblical ancestors during the Exodus from Egypt… God was able to feed five thousand out of just this offering… and still have enough leftovers to go into 12 baskets.

(The twelve baskets represented the 12 tribes of Israel).

This story stands out as one of the best examples affirming God’s Love and desire to see that all… everyone… is fed and given exactly what they need.

It’s also a teaching moment for the disciples that were there with Jesus… and it speaks to us hearing this story two thousand plus years later.

Remember the events that have built up to this moment.

Jesus has already given a pep talk to the disciples.

He’s told them to get out there… go to the towns and talk to their fellow Jews… and do the work of his mission… telling them God’s kingdom has come near.

Heal people.

Liberate them from their doom and gloom.

Cleanse the lepers who society has shunned and pushed aside.

Take all those who have been treated as outsiders and center them in the story of God’s love.

And he’s warned them that none of this work is going to make them popular and could get them into deep trouble with the Empire.

In fact…the story that is told in Matthew’s Gospel right before this one about the feeding of the five thousand is the horrific execution of John the Baptist by Herod.

But despite the terror and the difficulties…Jesus repeats the favorite phrase in all of Scripture: do not be afraid.

So, he’s been teaching them, coaching them, using parables as a type of code language, and preparing them for just a moment as this feeding of the five thousand.

So when they turn to him and say,

“Come on Jesus. It’s getting dark. Tell these people to go away so they can get food.”

Jesus’s response is, “No, I will not tell them to go. YOU give them something to eat.”

A-K-A: Time for the next person to step up.

Those who have been listening and learning and have sat at the feet of Jesus…soaking in all his instructions… must now do the very thing he has been showing them how to do all along.

Feed the sheep.

Feed the lambs.

The disciples look around.

They look at one another.

They’re seeing this throng of people.

And all they have to offer them is a couple of fish and five loaves of bread that they’d been carrying with them.

But even that meager amount…which seems like nothing…is enough for Jesus to give one more demonstration.

He lifts that bread and fish to God…blesses it and breaks it…and gives it back to the disciples so that they can pass it out to everyone.

And through this act…God’s grace is able to feed the crowd because the disciples step up to feed the people.

Their small offering becomes greater with God’s help and their efforts.

That’s the ultimate teamwork…and that is what gets asked of us every day:

To take the things that we have…our smarts…our skills…our goodwill…and put it to work to lift up those around us…help move our society in a direction where all are fed…both with real food and even more importantly…with a real sense that they matter.

We are called on to keep meeting the needs of those we know our hungry for mercy…compassion…and justice….as well as those seemingly smaller tasks of simply treating each other with respect and dignity.

This is the way we reclaim an important element of Christianity that has been lost in the tangled web of our religion being too close to the power structures.

This is how we move intentionally in the direction of Jesus to stand with those who aren’t the most prestigious…and politically connected…and to bring God’s love to those needing real friends.

This is what it means to be on Team Jesus…and be the next person up to meet the matters facing us in this time.

In the Name of Our One Holy and Undivided Trinity.