The Anonymous Hero
John 6: 1-14
Who doesn’t love superheroes? Every child grows up watching shows about superheroes, people who were able to do more and be more than the rest of us. In ancient times, you had the heroes of Greek mythology. Then it was King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and Robin Hood. In early American culture, there were heroes like Paul Bunyan, Wild Bill Hickok, Annie Rogers, Calamity Jane and Billy the Kid. In our lifetime, there were The Lone Ranger, Batman, Nancy Drew, Harry Potter and Katniss Everdeen. Every generation has its heroes whose stories are told in story, print or blockbuster movies. Why do we love stories about superheroes? It is about way more than entertainment. There is something deeper going on. Grant Morrison writes in Relevant Magazine, “Superheroes deal with the interior elements of humanity; they are colorful incarnations of the human soul. In this way, we put our hopes, fears, dreams, emotions and all the unspeakable facets of human nature into physical form and loose them in fantastical worlds to see what we may learn from them.” In other words, our heroes teach us not only about our deepest longings but also lessons of life and faith which can guide our lives.
Our Scripture today is the only miracle of Jesus that appears in all four Gospels. It was thus the most significant miracle in the early church. The setting is that Jesus has just crossed over the Sea of Galilee to the other side by boat. He sat down with the disciples on a side of the hill. Far off in the distance, they see the crowds have followed Jesus on foot. And thus begins another teaching opportunity. There were more 5000 gathered that day and the Greek specifies that number was males. Matthew further emphasizes the point by adding, “Besides women and children.” Many Bible scholars believe the actual number fed that day could have been 15,000 to 20,000 people. What makes our hero today unique from the others we’ll look at in this series is that he is the youngest of the heroes. That leads us to the first lesson of life and faith which is you’re never too young to be a hero. Kids and youth, did you hear me? You’re never too young to be a hero. Lucas Prestenbach is a member of Bayou Blue UMC in Houma. He was given an assignment in his 8th grade English class called the “20% Project.” Lucas thought about his two passions: his love of humanitarian action and eating.” So Lucas decided to feed the homeless. He went to his church and asked for help. The church Board bought into it and together they partnered with House of Hope, a local faith-based distribution center. Lucas’ project was to prepare hot lunches to be served at House of Hope to the homeless on two separate days. The church wanted to call it Project Lucas but Lucas instead named it “Lunches of Love” based on 1 Cor. 13 “So faith, hope and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” He gathered volunteers from the church and together they touched lives. One child received a bag lunch and said, “Thank you. I love you.” That has prompted Bayou Blue to begin exploring new possibilities with House of Hope. And Lucas? He’s considering attending seminary and serving in ministry. You’re never too young to become a hero.
We don’t know much about this child in the Feeding of the 5000, just that he was a young boy and he had his sack lunch with him. Andrew goes to him under the direction of Jesus and we discover that he has 5 barley loaves and two fish in his lunch box. Every meal in your culture requires several loaves of bread. Bread serves as eating utensils because there are no spoons or forks. Barley bread was the cheapest bread available in Jesus’ day, the least satisfying and a last resort for most people. If you had even a little money available, you would choose wheat bread instead. So more than likely, this boy comes from a poor family. He is not alone, as 90% of the people living in first-century Israel were poor. Most poor people were involved in either farming or shepherding. Since Herod the Great’s extended family controlled 2/3 of the land in first-century Israel, many families were by necessity sharecroppers working the land and tending vineyards or crops owned by someone else. As a result, most families were one paycheck or drought away from disaster. This boy would have come from a small town nearby. Most people, unless you are a shepherd, never travelled more than a mile from home in their lifetime except to go to Jerusalem to participate in one of the major festivals, like the Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles.
Second, many heroes are anonymous. Your name is everything in this culture. Naming children was highly significant and a sacred and solemn task. Your father will most likely give you a name that is rich with meaning, a name that comes with a history and a legacy. Often times the name chosen by your father reflects something about God and your parent’s hopes and dreams for your life. One of the expectations is that you will grow into your name. It becomes your destiny. As important as names are in Jesus’ day, the Gospels record no name for the young boy. It says something about the role and status of children in Jesus’ day. They were meant to be present but they were to be quiet and obedient as well. This boy is anonymous reminding us that we don’t serve God to make a name for ourselves but to make a name for God, And that sometimes those who remain nameless or anonymous are the greatest heroes.
In Washington, D.C., on October 2, 2010 there were pounding rains up and down the Eastern Seaboard. The streets were flooding. Bernice Clark was driving on Rhode Island Avenue with her great-grandson when her car was stopped dead by flooding. Water surged into the the car. Her great-grandson, Davonte Williams, pushed open his door and leapt out but Bernice was stuck in the driver's seat. Her great-grandson tried to fight his way back to pull her out. But, as the water rose higher each second, it pulled him away from the car and put so much pressure on Bernice’s door so that his frail, great-grandmother struggled to open it. "When the water was at the steering wheel…(she said) I knew that was it." A passerby, who saw her great grandson straining to reach his great-grandmother, stripped off his clothes and dove into the cold, grimy, churning waters and saved Bernice Clark." And then, the man just disappeared. He didn't stay around to receive congratulations, or join Bernice Clark and her great-grandson for some hot soup, or to receive their tearful thanks for saving their lives. He just left, an anonymous hero who saved a life. Sometimes anonymous heroes have the greatest impact.
Third, heroes give as an act of faith. This boy doesn’t have much, just 5 loaves of barley bread and two small fish, enough to feed just himself. And yet, he is provided an opportunity to share and give the only thing he has. The world in which this boy lived had three core values he was taught which impacted and guided this act of faith. First, the community is always more important than the individual. You always put the needs of others ahead of your own. Therefore each of you is willing to sacrifice your personal rights for the greater benefit of the family, the clan and the village. What matters is not what’s best for you but for the community as a whole. One word you never hear or use is the word, “I”. You always use the word ‘we’ because it’s a communal society. Heroes always focus on the greater good and place others first ahead of themselves. Second is mandatory hospitality. If a stranger shows up at your village, you must show them complete hospitality. If you don’t, your village is shamed. This is true even if a visitor shows up at midnight. As part of maintaining the honor of your village, you not only need to feed your guest(s), but you must put more food before them than they could possibly eat, including fresh whole loaves of bread. Third is an honor and shame. You would never do anything to bring dishonor or shame to your family, clan or village. That would be the ultimate disgrace. Because of that, you always do what is right and best for your family and community.
All of this is taken into account as this boy is asked to share all of his lunch. Most likely, many of his extended family members were in the crowd as well. When they heard the rabbi and miracle worker Jesus was beginning to teach, they would have dropped what they were doing and come to hear him, especially as word of his miracles spread. So more than likely some of this boy’s extended family is there and watching what he would do. Will he shame or honor the family? With all of this at play, this boy is asked for one of his two meals that he will eat that day and he freely and willingly gives it over to Andrew that Jesus might be able to use it.
What an act of faith! John wants us to compare and contrast that with the disciples who find themselves in a remote place with Jesus and 1000’s of people. Dinnertime is approaching and Jesus says to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” Did you hear that? Do you hear the absurdity of the disciple’s statement? They’re following the one who came to save the lost sheep of Israel, to announce the Good News that the Kingdom of God is at hand and to give people life so that they might have life abundantly. They had seen him turn water into wine and not just a bottle or two but 850 gallons! They watched as Jesus healed the Official’s son, not by laying hands on him but by healing through the spoken word far removed from where this child lay. They saw him heal the man laying beside the Pool of Bethsaida in Jerusalem, a man who had been crippled for 38 years. And after all of this, they still doubted that Jesus could take five loaves and two fish and feed 5000 men and their families. But not this child! He willingly gives what meager food he has and trusts that Jesus will be able to do great things with it. Heroes give of themselves and what they have as an act of faith.
Fourth, heroes surrender to God. God chose to use the young boy’s gift. Jesus gets the loaves and fishes and blesses them and not only did the people eat by “They had as much as they wanted…and…were all satisfied.” Remember what they disciples said about the five small loaves and small fish: “But what are they among so many people?” When we are willing to offer our their lives sacrificially, relinquishing our hold on whatever God has given us, whether that be time, money, talents, etc., God will use these ordinary things to do the extraordinary. We must never believe our resources are too little to serve God or be used by God to do great things. God delights in taking a humble, seemingly insignificant child and using his or her insignificant gifts for His glory. But for that to happen, we must surrender what we have and who we are for God to work through us. Many have wondered why Jesus didn’t just speak the food into being just he healed the boy with his spoken word. Did Jesus really need the little boy’s fishes and loaves to feed the people?
Ellen White reflects on this: “Did He need that little boy's sacrificial lunch? If the child had refused to give it, could Jesus have fed that multitude? Thereupon in our discussion, we split. Most said, “Yes, He could have brought manna down from heaven!” I asked, “Suppose we individually refuse to do our duty in telling the world the gospel message, can the Lord use someone else?” “Yes,” was the immediate response; “He'll use the angels; they'll finish the work!” To me that sounded like a dangerous cop-out. Why bother to answer the Holy Spirit's convictions of duty? Reach for your remote and flip on the TV. The angels will finish God's work! I maintained that the Lord Jesus needed that little boy's gift of his lunch. Yes, He could have brought down manna from heaven, but He would not any more than He would change those stones in the wilderness into bread”(Matt. 4). And then she writes,“I believe that little boy was tremendously important that day. Jesus really did need him…(and) He really needs you too. In reality, God doesn’t need our help at all. But He has chosen to base His plan of salvation on the humble strategy of relying on feeble human beings like us.”
We, too, can be nameless heroes who share ourselves and what we have and God will use it to do great things in the lives around us and in the world. All we need to do is surrender all that we have and all that we are to Jesus. Amen.
