Now when Jesus heard [of the beheading of John the Baptist], he withdrew from there 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
My sermon from the 10th Sunday after Pentecost Sunday (July 26 2026) on Matthew 14:13-21.
So I’m curious: what’s your favorite part of a meal?
I’ll admit on most days, I don’t eat many meals. I consume a lot of my food while standing in the kitchen or staring at some kind of screen. My eating is primarily focused on staying alive and avoiding all that comes with caffeine withdrawal. But one of the gifts God has given me are lots of family members and friends who know how satisfying meals can be. They are the ones who live to eat and know how to cook, craft, and embrace the magic that happens when we gather with our friends and our loved ones around a table. Meals happen in restaurants filled with foods we can’t even pronounce as well as in backyards with only a few hamburgers, grilled corn, and ice cream. Meals include a lot of eating but also extend into the planning, cooking, and cleaning that’s required to make them happen. A meal is how we get to know who people truly are and become a foretaste of what our future together might be. Some of the best meals we’ll ever had cost hundreds of dollars and involved traveling far from home. Yet some of the most memorable include only a few neighbors and whatever change we find under the couch cushions. Meals change who we are in ways we don’t always immediately recognize or understand. So I’m curious: what’s your favorite part of a meal?
Now one of the very fun things about Jesus is that he rarely ever turned down a meal. He regularly gathered with friends, strangers, and even those who didn’t like him to eat, drink, and talk. One of the main complaints leveled against Jesus was the fact he broke bread with people the religious, spiritual, and faithful pushed aside. And when Jesus reclined at the table with the people he shouldn’t, the crowds and as well as his disciples didn’t always know how to handle it. The meals Jesus participated in didn’t always include a physical table and our reading today from the gospel according to Matthew began in a place where the supplies for any kind of dinner party were very far away. Jesus, we’re told, retreated to a deserted place after learning his friend John the Baptist was executed by those in power. Jesus’ public ministry began, according to Matthew, when John was arrested after speaking out against political leaders who cared only about themselves. Their corruption and greed compelled them to harm the most vulnerable and fragile in the community. Some supported these leaders because they valued the status quo or wanted their leaders to harm those they couldn’t stand. Others, though, supported John and his popularity kept increasing even while behind bars. Those in charge, then, decided it was time to end his story once and for all. And so Jesus, in response, got on a boat to find a place where he could be alone. I imagine he, at the time, was very concerned about his own safety and the safety of those around him. He also needed time to mourn the death of his friend. The eating Jesus planned to do, I assume, was focussed primarily on trying to survive since a biblical wilderness doesn’t have any of the things we build for our own safety and comfort. Word, however, soon spread about what Jesus was up to and his retreat from the world became everyone else’s destination. Matthew doesn’t tell us why people tracked Jesus down and it’s possible some came thinking they could help keep Jesus safe. Others, though, had heard from their family and friends what Jesus was all about and they came seeking that wholeness for themselves or for the person they carried to him. Jesus, who wanted to be alone, was greeted by people who needed help. And so he gave everything he had to a crowd full of fragile and vulnerable people.
We don’t know how long Jesus spent showing others compassion but I assume the need kept growing. When darkness drew near, the disciples urged Jesus to call it a day because asking people who were suffering to spend a night in the desert without food or shelter wasn’t a very loving thing to do. For Jesus’ friends, the most merciful thing they could do was encourage the crowd to turn around while the sun was still in the sky. Jesus, though, doesn’t believe mercy should ever be delayed since those who are in pain shouldn’t have to wait for other people’s intervention to come. And this, I think, is the moment when we also discover the part of the meal Jesus loved the most. Jesus does choose to immediately respond to the needs of those around him by making sure they have something to eat. But he also knew that meals mattered too. In the words of Professor Matthew Skinner, “we would have a different story if Jesus …[instructed] the crowds to come forward and take their loaves and fish from a central distribution point. More different still if a full plate magically materialized in front of each person.” The giving of food is vital for those who are hungry. Yet Jesus knows that a future full of life, wellness, and hope rely on the connections and relationships at the heart of the kingdom of God. Jesus, in Matthew, doesn’t do everything himself. He invites those who follow him to “[look] again and again into hopeful and delighted eyes as they move from one hungry body to the next.” The moments they shared with each person wouldn’t be the same since I’m sure some would be quiet, others would talk, and still more wouldn’t believe what they were being given. Some of those who were fed would be able to reach their hands out to grab what the disciples gave. But many would need the disciples to bend down and feed those without the strength or ability to do it themselves. And what the disciples shared in the midst of all the silence, awe, wonder, and words was more than enough to help them through whatever came next.
So when it comes to the meals, maybe it’s the eating, the cooking, or who you’re with that’s your favorite part. Maybe it’s the stories, jokes, and words that make that meal what it’s supposed to be. Meals can be so loud that we can’t even hear ourselves think. But they can also be extremely quiet since being together might be the only thing that needs to be said. Our favorite meals might involve coming home with twelve tupperwares full of leftovers we consume before they go bad. And they’re also the experiences that remind us we truly belong during those moments in life when the night feels way too long. Meals are how we make care and compassion real in our lives and in our world. And since we – through baptism and in faith – have been brought to the eternal meal Jesus has already set for us, we get to show our families, friends, neighbors, and even strangers the welcome, grace, and love that makes us who Jesus knows we can be.
Amen.