Participatory Miracle

A Sermon for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

August 2, 2026

The Rev. Robin Teasley

 

Jesus withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.    Matthew 14:13-21

 

 

 

 

“We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” I don’t know about you, but at our house someone often says something similar, like - There’s nothing to eat around here! When are you going to the grocery store? What are we going to do about dinner? I’m starving! This is true whether the people in your house are eight or eighty. Feeding the children is not optional, and we can hardly keep up with their hunger. They are like baby birds, always wanting something to eat. They are teenagers, emptying the fridge and the pantry like a swarm of locusts. And those of us who are older know that we need to eat but may not have much of an appetite, which may make us indecisive, and if we have less energy, we may find it difficult to prepare a meal. Even so, the common denominator at every age is that we need to be fed.  

 

Needing to be fed becomes a metaphor for more than food, doesn’t it? We long to be cared for, cared about, nurtured, and loved. We need a place to live, a place to work, a way to share our gifts, a time of rest, a sense of safety. When these basic human needs are not met, we instinctively become anxious, fearful. The challenges of life can overwhelm us; challenges of parenting or aging, schedules overfilled with events, or an unexpected medical diagnosis. In our hunger for safety and normalcy, we don’t always see a way out of the anxiety and the fear of not having enough or not being enough. What's making you anxious these days?

 

This is not unlike what is going on in our Gospel reading today. Jesus has just heard the horrifying news that his cousin, John the Baptist, has been beheaded. He attempts to take time away and grieve, but there is no time. The crowds press in, tracking down Jesus relentlessly. They have so many needs, these people. They are sick, they are oppressed, and they long for redemption from the Roman system. Life has become so hard for them and there seems to be no hope. They are hungry for change, for new life.  

 

The crowds have followed Jesus because there is something Jesus has that they do not have.  Something inside of them is telling them that Jesus is their hope. They are so intent that they follow Jesus on foot, even to deserted places, and they do not give a thought to food or hunger.  They are hungry for Jesus.

 

But the disciples who are with Jesus - they are hungry, and tired, and frustrated. They are ready to wrap up this day and go home. They want to process and grieve what has happened to their friend, John the Baptist. They are fearful and anxious about what lies ahead in their future, because it’s looking ominous.

 

Jesus, on the other hand, is consumed with compassion. He’s caring for the crowd, curing the sick, and when the disciples bring to his attention that the hour is late, it’s time to go home for dinner, and that he needs to send the crowds away, Jesus says, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” For you English majors, this is an intensifier pronoun and an imperative verb – you, you give them something to eat!  All of you!  Right now!  Do it! Jesus calls the disciples to stop listening to the good news passively and start living it actively.

 

And in very human fashion, the disciples reply, almost whining as we do, when there is nothing to eat in the fridge or the pantry. “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” They see no possibility in five loaves and two fish, they see nothing. 

 

But Jesus, whose compassion never runs out, takes what they bring him. He looks up to heaven, and blesses what is offered. He breaks the loaves, and gives them to the disciples. Notice those verbs - take, bless, break, give. If they sound familiar that’s because we hear them every week in our Eucharistic prayer. Notice also that Jesus does not feed the crowd himself but asks the disciples to do it. This is a participatory miracle and if we get caught up in the mechanics of the miracle, overly concerned about how that small amount of food fed that large crowd, we miss what Jesus was trying to teach them, and us. The crowd that day, found themselves in the presence of the holy. They could not help but recall another feeding in another deserted place, when the manna rained down from heaven.  

 

Jesus looked first to God and then he asked the disciples to help. The disciples could not do what Jesus asked them to do on their own. They depended on God and on one another. 

 

Whether we are dealing with how dinners get on the table, or with the more serious challenges of life, we can look to the example Jesus gave us. The baptismal covenant, which we will renew in a few minutes, reminds us that as we continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of the bread, and in the prayers, with God’s help, that we will be strengthened to help one another bear life’s burdens, proclaim the good news, love our neighbors, and strive for justice, peace, and dignity for every human being.

 

This is the Body of Christ we call the Church. It is a participatory miracle! Today we will welcome Harper and Leo into the household of God, where they will be cared for with the compassion of Jesus, as we feed them, teach them, and love them. They will come to know that here in this place, they will be loved and supported in all the challenges and joys of their lives. Leo and Harper will hear the teachings of Jesus and be strengthened to follow them. They will come to believe that that they are enough, and that they have all that they need to endure the challenges of life, with God’s help. 

 

Come to the table and participate in the miracle. Receive the bread of heaven. Take, bless, break, give. See what God will do with nothing! Look how many Jesus fed with five loaves and two fish. Each time we face what seems to be impossible, listen for the words Jesus will say to us – “You, you give them something to eat!”

Amen.