Mark 6:30-44
“Motives and Means of Ministry”
By: Rev. Ken Sauer, Pastor of East Ridge United Methodist Church, Chattanooga, TN
As we look at our Scripture passage for this morning, one thing which is apparent is that ministry is not necessarily convenient.
It’s not neat and tidy and wrapped up in a little box.
It’s not something we can put away for a rainy day.
It is before us all the time!
Earlier on in Chapter 6 Jesus had sent out the twelve disciples--two by two in order to preach and heal people.
Apparently their mission was a success, and so when they returned to Jesus they “gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught.”
No doubt they were excited, but they were also tired and hungry.
They had gone on their mission trip…
…now it was time to rest, relax and do something for themselves…
…and there is nothing wrong with this.
It is good and healthy actually…
…but that just wasn’t what they had in store for them that day.
They headed with Jesus to a solitary place, but…
…a large crowd “ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.”
And, “When Jesus landed, he had compassion on [these people] because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.”
Talk about an inconvenient situation!
The disciples were tired and hungry.
They had already taken on their fair share of the world‘s pain.
It was time to relax and leave the cares of the world behind.
So the disciples came to Jesus and tried to talk Jesus into shooing the people away!
But Jesus would do nothing of the kind.
The word used here for compassion can also be translated to read that Jesus “was moved to the depths of his being with pity for them”…even though they were invading His space!!!
How would you react if you were disturbed in this way?
How would I react?
Many of us would be intensely annoyed to say the least!
We may feel only resentment…but compassion? Pity?…
…I don’t know.
It’s hard to see Jesus’ response to this crowd without asking ourselves some soul-searching questions.
Which comes most naturally for us?:
Irritation or compassion?
It is so easy to lose our patience with people who get in our way and block our plans.
Just look how easily we can become angry at a driver who is going too fast or too slow.
Or what about when the phone rings while you are at the dinner table or watching your favorite tv show?
Are we able, with Jesus, to empathize with others…no matter who they are or what they look like…
…no matter what hour of the day or night they come needing our help?
It’s so easy to just want to do ministry on our own terms…
…during our free time…
…when we have nothing else on the calendar…
But this is not the way God operates.
Jesus had compassion on the folks who interrupted his lunch plans!
He looked upon them as a people who were like sheep without a shepherd.
What exactly does that mean?
A sheep without a shepherd cannot find its way.
Life can be so bewildering.
There are so many different voices beckoning…
…come this way; go here; stop there, try this, take that.
Just think of the multitude of people surrounding this church…surrounding our homes…
…who stand at a crossroad and do not know which way to go!
What a desperate and dangerous place that is to be.
So many take the wrong road…
…and once you begin to go down the wrong road, it can be difficult--if not impossible--to turn around…
…to stop the train and get off!!!
The people in the crowd needed direction.
They were desperate for help!
They were in trouble.
Jesus was motivated by compassion.
What motivates you and I?
Why do we do ministry?
Is it because we really, really care?
Is it because we are moved to the depths of our being when we see someone who is lost, hungry, down and out, beaten up by the world--and we can’t help but do our best to help them out?
A sheep without a shepherd has nothing to defend it when danger looms.
A sheep can’t defend itself against robbers nor from wild animals.
If life has taught us one thing, it must be that we cannot defend ourselves alone!
Who among us has a sure defense--on our own--against the temptations which come our way, and attack us from every angle?
Only through a daily walk with Jesus Christ can we walk in this world and through this life without being eaten up by sin, desperation and despair!!!
Without Christ, we all stand utterly defenseless!!!
If it weren’t for the grace and love of God there would be absolutely no hope!!!
But there are so many people who have neither heard this nor seen it in other people.
As Christ’s disciples--what are we to do?
Is our compassion strong enough to wash away our irritation?
Can we forgive and love as we have been forgiven?
I’m pretty sure that the disciples were at their wit’s end when they saw this hungry mob…
…this crazy mish-mash of humanity…
…this motley crew!!!
So they ran up to Jesus and said, “it’s already very late. Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
What a wonderful excuse to get rid of some irritating folk!
“They need to get out of here so they can help themselves! Poor things look hungry. Jesus, tell them to go home and eat somewhere else…then, then we can have some peace and quite for ourselves!”
“We can enjoy our meal with no more interruptions.”
But Jesus doesn’t think this way.
And thank God!!!
Thank God that Jesus doesn’t turn anyone away…
…no matter how inconvenient it might be!!!
Compassion trumps for Christ!
Does it trump for you?
Does it trump for me?
Jesus answered the disciples’ plea with: “You give them something to eat.”
And that answer from Christ is directed at us just as much as it was directed at the original twelve!
When some lost soul, some sheep without a shepherd comes to us…
…we may be tempted to say, “We can’t do anything about it. Be on your way. I’ll pray for you.”
Jesus says, “Feed them. Care for them. Take care of them! Go out of your way! Do whatever it takes. Nothing is more important!”
Still the disciples tried to convince Jesus otherwise.
Give them something to eat?
“That would take eight months wages! Are we going to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”
It’s so easy to avert our eyes away from this desperate and hurting world with the excuse: “The need is too great. Our resources are too small. Anything we’ve got is of no use at all!”
But Jesus’ calm and confident answer to you and to me is: “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.”
And when we return with only five loaves of bread and two small fish…
…well, that is enough for God!!!
In the hands of God, little is always much.
We may think that we have little or no talent to give for the building of God’s Kingdom.
We might be afraid to spend for fear that we will run out.
But if we put ourselves--all we are and all we have--into the hands of Jesus, there is no telling what He can and will do with us and through us!
It’s an interesting fact that no miracle seems to have made such an impact on the disciples as the feeding of the 5,000.
Because this is the only miracle of Jesus that is written down in all four Gospels!!!
Even the way it is told…
…it is written so dramatically and with such detail that it is most definitely an eyewitness account!
Jesus directed the people to sit in groups on the green grass.
They sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties.
And at the end, the disciples
picked up twelve basketfuls of
“broken pieces of bread and fish.”
It reads like a newspaper story or a live shot on the news!
You can just about imagine what it was like to be there!
Good thing the disciples were not allowed to shoo the people away.
Just think of the majestic and life-changing miracle they would have missed!
And that’s often how it happens, is it not?
When we feel as if we have nothing left to give…
…when we are feeling the least generous or compassionate…
…Jesus sends someone our way, and if we follow His advice…
…if we follow Christ’s motives and means of doing ministry…
…the most amazing things will happen, indeed!
I think that, through this Gospel experience, God is telling us: “Never think that you do not have what it takes for miracles to take place before your eyes.
Never turn anyone away, no matter how busy, or tired, or worn out you think you may be.
Never stop doing ministry.
Never stop having compassion.
And never, never ever stop acting on the compassion which comes only from Christ as a gift to the world!!!”
East Ridge United Methodist Church never mind what seems impossible!
Keep in mind what is possible through faith in God.
What resources do we have to offer this community that so desperately needs to know the love of Christ?
Look and see!
Let’s turn our resources over to Christ…
…and do not be surprised if there isn’t more than enough to save this community, this world, the multitudes, the sea of people who are lost and helpless like sheep without a shepherd!!!
