I rarely watch sports these days, but last week I watched in horror as Rex Sox pitcher Matt Clement took a line drive off the side of his head.  He was knocked unconscious by a baseball going about 120 mph, and amazingly wasn't hurt.  In fact, when he woke up, he said he wanted to pitch again in 3 days.  Newscasters replayed that nasty hit often, too often for me.  But it made me wonder how people react when they get knocked down.  What do you do when life hits you with a fastball?  How do you react when troubles knock you flat?

          In 1980, while registering for classes at Concordia Seminary, seminarian Steve Lee found his money had run out.  His wife had unexpected medical expenses and they had nothing left to pay his tuition.  The Sem office said he could register, but he had two weeks to come up with $800 or he'd have to withdraw.  Driving home, he began praying about this when a woman rear-ended his car at a stop sign.  "Great - that's just what I need," he muttered as he surveyed the damage.  "I'm broke, I owe $800, and now I my car's wrecked."

          That night Steve received a call from the woman's insurance agent.  "Do you think $300 will fix your car?" the agent asked.  Steve said he didn't know because he'd had no estimate.  The agent continued, "How about $600?"  Steve hesitated.  The agent persisted, "$800, and you know your car isn't worth that much."  Steve accepted the offer.  Three days later the $800 check came and he paid his tuition.  A day after that his mother called saying she'd bought a new car and was bringing them her old car.  Two days later, a fellow seminarian bought his wrecked car for parts for $300.  His prayers were answered!  In one week his tuition was paid, he had a better car, plus $300 in the bank.  Once again he learned that truly, the Lord does provide!

          Every generation and every Christian needs to learn this lesson.  The Lord does provide!  He does it because He can and because He loves us.  The Lord does provide because He knows we need Him, and we need to learn that He's the provider.

          The "Feeding of the Five Thousand" is one of the few miracle stories contained in all four Gospels.  John's account tells us the loaves and fishes were from a boy's lunch, perhaps one his mother had sent along.  The boy must have overheard the disciples say they needed something to eat, so he offered them his lunch, and his became the most famous sacklunch in history.  With it, Christ our Lord fed five to six thousand people.  But note the conversation leading up to it.  "The Disciples said, 'The people are hungry.'  Jesus said, 'You feed them.'  They said, 'All we have is a boy's lunch.'  He said, 'Bring it here to me.'  Thousands fed with a boy's lunch!  Incredible but true - the Lord does provide!

          Today there are hungry people all over, but their hunger is not for lunch.  They're hungry for substance.  They're hungry for meaning and purpose.  They're hungry for life, and many are starving for eternal life.  Twenty people in Baghdad killed by a man starved for meaning in life.  Twenty prostitutes working Colfax Avenue, starved for meaning in life.  Twenty couples in Castle Rock getting a divorce, starved for meaning in life.  They're all around us in jobs, neighborhoods, among our friends.  They're also all around our church, in all the new homes we see as we drive up to Epiphany.  And our Lord wants us to feed them.

          We, His modern-day disciples, see their starvation, so we ask God to feed them, to bring them salvation.  We say, "Lord, let the Good News be preached all over!"  Jesus says, "You feed them."  We say, "But all we have is our two hands and feet."  Jesus says, "All right, then bring them here to me."  And if we let Him, He will do a powerful miracle and feed thousands with the Gospel of Jesus.  But we have to feed them.  Jesus won't do this miracle alone.

          In 1999 Carol and I saw where Jesus probably fed those 5,000, on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee where lush grass grows up the sloping hillside.  St. Luke's record says the people sat down in groups of 50 and 100, like when Moses grouped the Israelites in the desert.  Back then God provided their earthly needs in a wilderness of rocks.  Today, Jesus provides for our eternal needs in a wilderness of concrete and asphalt.

          As our congregation grows externally in numbers, may it also grow internally on God's Word.  And may we remember our Lord's command to feed the people, including our neighborhood.

          Our church needs vision and action to do the Lord's work.  If we have vision but no action, we're a bunch of daydreamers.  If we have action but no vision, we have confusion.

          The bread Jesus fed them was central to life.  John says they were barley loaves, the bread of poor folks.  Any bread back then was a gift from God, and even scraps were eaten.  Today we're told too much bread is bad for us.  Fresh bread is bad for us - think of it!  I think the joy fresh bread can bring more than makes up for a few calories.  Bread is good for us - you health nuts get used to it!

          Jesus taught us to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread."  Martin Luther wrote, "Daily bread includes everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body."  Daily bread covers just about everything.  It is what we need for life.  It may not be all we want in life, but it is all we need.  And God always gives us what we need - food, clothing and shelter in life - and in Christ He gives us heaven.  But our greatest need is not for more bread, but for the "Bread of Life," Jesus.  Like Christ gave the crowd bread and fish through His disciples, so today He gives people the Gospel through us, His modern-day disciples.

          Outreach is a fundamental purpose of the church.  Jesus said, "Go and make disciples, and baptize them and teach them all I have commanded you."  The Disciples saw hungry people, and Jesus said, "Give them something to eat."  There are thousands of spiritually hungry people around us, and so Jesus tells us, "Give them the Gospel."  We share our food - that we see a need for - and also we ought to share our faith.  That's outreach - it's what we're called to do.

          During my early pastoral days I found myself $500 in debt and was plenty worried how to pay it.  One day I got a letter saying "Your Certificate of Deposit has earned interest."  What CD?  I had no CD!  I called Dad and he said my Aunt Emma had given given it us to to buy something special.  "$500," he said.  I paid my debt with other funds, cashed in the CD, bought a bedroom set, and 37 years later we're still using it.  Now that's a great story of how the Lord provides.  But it's not that great compared to other needs, real needs, eternal needs.

          Jesus didn't come to give us earthly needs - the Father already does that.  He came for eternal needs.  He shed His precious blood on the cross, and He forgives all who have faith.  He lived the perfect life we couldn't, and now whoever trusts Him has eternal life.  That's the Gospel and people need to know about it!  And God has called us to feed them!

          But to do so, you and I must first realize that our needs, our personal problems, may not be the most important things.  We self-centered people are so inclined to think our needs, our problems, are the greatest and the most important.  We to often believe the world revolves around us.  But others have needs also, and I believe God has put us here to help others receive their needs.  Week after week you and I hear how we should be sharing the Gospel with others.  But do we do that?  Have we ever shared Jesus with someone else?  Do we see the unchurched as being in need?  And if we do, what are we doing about it?

          Christ came to this world to fix its REAL problem, the problem of SIN.  The worst thing is not starvation for bread - it's starvation for the Bread of Life.  Bills or stress are bad, but hell is a whole lot worse.  Pain and troubles are nothing compared with eternal separation from God.  In hell, you're forever in crisis, and life never gets better.  And for many, that's life right now!  We need Jesus and we need to share Jesus.  He is our Savior.  There IS hope in this crazy mixed-up world!  The Lord does provide and He does satisfy.  And when you know that, you can't keep it to yourself.  Share your bread with the hungry for eternal life.

          Being part of a church is good for us.  Did you know that?  In a recent study, when asked, "Why did you join this church?" 90% said they joined because of the pastor.  But when asked, "What if the pastor leaves - will you also leave?" 90% said, "No, I have friends here."  Note the shift.  The more friends a person has in a congregation, the less likely he is to become inactive or leave.  A person does not need to know everyone in a church to feel part of it.  The average church member knows 70 people, whether it's a church of 400 or 4000.  You and I don't have to know everyone to feel part of a church, but we do need to know some.  And we should take it upon ourselves to invite others to be part of that fellowship which gives us Jesus, the Bread of Life.

          The Lord provides for individual people and He provides for a church.  A young pastor received just what he needed.  A seminarian received more than he needed.  The disciples thought feeding 5,000 was impossible, but the Lord provided.  How about you?  How has God fed you?  How has He blessed you through your trouble?  What's your story?  We all have one, and outreach is merely telling your story of what God has done for you.  May God help us trust Him for our needs, and then help us share with others in need.  Amen.

Copyright © 2005 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.