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Exodus 16:2-21 Acts 2:41-47 St. John 6:1-15 March 19, 2023 +INJ+ Amen. “Our Father who art in heaven…Give us this day our daily bread.” Could you also add some butter and jam? Bread is kinda dry. Or some cheese and eggs? Over easy or scrambled, I’m fine with either, really. But you know what, it’s Sunday: heavenly Father, can my daily bread be a tall stack of French toast with Maple syrup? Please and thank you. Amen. How often do we pray the Lord’s Prayer without ever thinking? Have you ever sat down to eat, pray, then realize you forgot a fork, and when you get back to the table, you fold your hands again and have to think if you already prayed or not? Of course, that’s assuming families gather around a dinner table, and that assumes you make a regular habit of mealtime prayer. Both of those are increasingly, and sadly, uncommon. But to return to the Lord’s Prayer, how often do you pray without thinking? At face value, do you ever pray for bread? Bread is such an unimpressive and lackluster thing. Why do we pray for it? Why is bread a miracle? Bread appears in all three readings today. The Israelites received the same bread every day for forty years in a row (Exodus 16). Can you imagine that? It would get pretty stale pretty fast. But that’s what they did. They had manna every day. You all know a little bit of Hebrew: “Manna” is a contracted Hebrew word that means “What is this?” Think about that as we sing our first communion hymn today. In our second reading from Acts 2, the disciples gathered, prayed, learned, and broke bread. Finally, our Gospel reading from John 6 recounted the miraculous feeding of the 5,000 with bread and fish. Remember: St. John specifies 5,000 men, not counting women and children. Altogether, it could have been as many as 20,000 people fed with bread that single day. But again, why is bread a miracle? Why is today focused on such a mundane thing? Perhaps that’s the point. In both Exodus and John’s Gospel, people are unable to provide even this most mundane thing and they’re drawn back to God for this basic necessity. Beggars can’t be choosers. Even dry bread is sweet for a beggar. Our Gospel reading opens with Jesus, healing and teaching large crowds. But He notices they’re hungry and far away from any food source. On top of basic survival, there’s a spiritual aspect here. We’re told the Passover is at hand (John 6:4). In Exodus 13, God commanded that part of Passover was the Feast of Unleavened Bread. How could these people feast and keep this central religious holiday with no bread? How could they remember their salvation from slavery in Egypt while missing this central ingredient? Jesus posed the question to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” (John 6:5). Philip answered, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little” (John 6:6). Now, one denarius was one day’s wage. In our currency, at $40,000/year, 200 denarii would equal roughly $30,000. Could you feed a crowd of 20,000 hungry, starving, famished people with $30,000? Each person might get a Snickers bar. Fun sized. Hardly a feast, let alone spiritual. Philip saw no real options for their situation. Andrew brought forward a little boy with a little bread and fish, but what was so little for so many? As you know, though, God used that little gift. Jesus took those five barley loaves and those two fish, gave thanks, and distributed it to all those thousands of people. What does this mean? First, it means ‘Don’t let perfect ruin good.’ This boy, and even Andrew for that matter, could not feed everyone. They didn’t have the perfect gift that would satisfy every belly. This boy could have held onto his meager offering because it wasn’t enough. But he did offer it, and it was a good gift. Too often we get caught up by the ‘perfect’ so we don’t even offer the ‘good.’ I don’t know enough about the Bible, so I’m not going to go to Bible study. I don’t have enough money to balance the budget, so I won’t even bother with a few bucks in the offering plate today. I don’t know how to begin leading my family in devotions, so we won’t even pray the Lord’s Prayer before lunch or even bedtime. We get distracted by the ‘perfect’, so we don’t even do the ‘good.’ I’m not arguing for works righteousness here, that we somehow earn God’s grace by the little things. But God does call us Christians to faithfulness, even if we don’t have everything perfectly figured out. The little boy had seen Jesus’ miracles of healing. Even though his gift was not enough for everyone, his gift was perfect for Jesus to use. Jesus used the boy’s offering to feed the masses. It is a strange miracle. The other miracles were, well, actually miraculous. Jesus walked on water through a storm (John 6:16-21). Jesus gave sight to a man blind from birth (cf. John 9). Jesus raised the dead (cf. John 11). But lunch? All these folks had eaten before and they all ate again. Is lunch really a miracle? The true wonder this morning is that any of you are still listening and not just daydreaming about French toast. Its easy to discredit a miracle based on the outcome. How many of you had lunch yesterday? How many of you are going to eat lunch again today? How many of you will give thanks to God for the food on your plate? It truly is a miracle that God continues to provide daily everything we need to support this body and life. It’s a miracle that God does this for people who believe in Him and who reject Him. It’s a miracle that God shows this grace to mankind, to animals, and even plants. It’s a miracle that God gives. Don’t discredit or belittle a miracle based on the outcome. Rather, judge the miracle based on the Giver. What makes the feeding of the 5,000 miraculous is that Jesus provides bread and fish. Jesus does this miracle for people who didn’t even ask for it. Jesus simply saw their need and took care of them. But then the people did what so many people do. They misplaced their priorities. They wanted more free lunches. The crowds became a mob. They wanted to make Jesus their bread king. They wanted Jesus to become nothing more than a divine vending machine that they could access anytime they were hungry. They wanted Jesus at the head of a welfare state where they had to do no work for their daily bread. But they forgot the curse of sin, the curse that God placed onto Adam in Genesis 3:19: “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread.” It was not time for Jesus to be king. Eventually, Jesus did let the mobs take Him by force. Eventually, Jesus did let them make Him king. Eventually, Jesus did become a king who provides bread that requires no work from you. But that took Jesus to the cross. This is interesting. God cursed Adam for Adam’s sin, but the Bible never says that Adam sweated after Genesis 3. Even for all the walking through the wilderness that the Israelites did, the Bible never says they sweated for their Manna. In fact, there is only one person in the entire Bible who sweats. On Maundy Thursday, Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling to the ground” (Luke 22:44). In our Lord’s Passion, His sweat fell to the dust of the ground so that you may eat bread. Jesus took the curse of Adam upon Himself and suffered for Adam’s sin. Jesus did not only sweat, but He also bled as the mobs made Him king, crowning Him with thorns and crucifying Him on the tree. Adam was cursed because he ate from the forbidden tree. God removed Adam from the Tree of Life. But today, because Jesus has taken your curse upon Himself, you are invited to do what Adam could not. You are invited to eat from the Tree of Life, from the cross. And what form does it take? Bread. Such a mundane, ordinary thing. But don’t judge this miracle only based on the outcome. You’ll only get a little piece of bread; its almost like Philip was prophetic about the Lord’s Supper. You’ll have a fuller stomach after your French toast lunch today. So don’t judge this miracle based on the outcome. Instead, judge it based on the Giver. Receive this bread. This daily bread. Pray for it! Why? Because God gives it. It’s not like any other bread, in this respect. With this bread Jesus gives His very own body. He gives what He accomplished on the cross. He gives what He secured by His passion, His death, and His resurrection, so that by the sweat of His face you may eat bread. In this bread, you receive more than a full belly. You receive forgiveness, life, and eternal salvation. “Our Father, who art in heaven…Give us this day our daily bread.” +INJ+ Amen. Pastor Schultz Trinity Lutheran Church Paola, Kansas Return to Top \| Return to Sermons \| Home \| Email Church Office

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Exodus 16:2-21

Acts 2:41-47

St. John 6:1-15

March 19, 2023

+INJ+

Amen.

“Our Father who art in heaven…Give us this day our daily bread.” Could you also add some butter and jam? Bread is kinda dry. Or some cheese and eggs? Over easy or scrambled, I’m fine with either, really. But you know what, it’s Sunday: heavenly Father, can my daily bread be a tall stack of French toast with Maple syrup? Please and thank you. Amen.

How often do we pray the Lord’s Prayer without ever thinking? Have you ever sat down to eat, pray, then realize you forgot a fork, and when you get back to the table, you fold your hands again and have to think if you already prayed or not? Of course, that’s assuming families gather around a dinner table, and that assumes you make a regular habit of mealtime prayer. Both of those are increasingly, and sadly, uncommon.

But to return to the Lord’s Prayer, how often do you pray without thinking? At face value, do you ever pray for bread? Bread is such an unimpressive and lackluster thing. Why do we pray for it? Why is bread a miracle?

Bread appears in all three readings today. The Israelites received the same bread every day for forty years in a row (Exodus 16). Can you imagine that? It would get pretty stale pretty fast. But that’s what they did. They had manna every day. You all know a little bit of Hebrew: “Manna” is a contracted Hebrew word that means “What is this?” Think about that as we sing our first communion hymn today. In our second reading from Acts 2, the disciples gathered, prayed, learned, and broke bread. Finally, our Gospel reading from John 6 recounted the miraculous feeding of the 5,000 with bread and fish. Remember: St. John specifies 5,000 men, not counting women and children. Altogether, it could have been as many as 20,000 people fed with bread that single day.

But again, why is bread a miracle? Why is today focused on such a mundane thing? Perhaps that’s the point. In both Exodus and John’s Gospel, people are unable to provide even this most mundane thing and they’re drawn back to God for this basic necessity. Beggars can’t be choosers. Even dry bread is sweet for a beggar.

Our Gospel reading opens with Jesus, healing and teaching large crowds. But He notices they’re hungry and far away from any food source. On top of basic survival, there’s a spiritual aspect here. We’re told the Passover is at hand (John 6:4). In Exodus 13, God commanded that part of Passover was the Feast of Unleavened Bread. How could these people feast and keep this central religious holiday with no bread? How could they remember their salvation from slavery in Egypt while missing this central ingredient?

Jesus posed the question to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” (John 6:5). Philip answered, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little” (John 6:6). Now, one denarius was one day’s wage. In our currency, at $40,000/year, 200 denarii would equal roughly $30,000. Could you feed a crowd of 20,000 hungry, starving, famished people with $30,000? Each person might get a Snickers bar. Fun sized. Hardly a feast, let alone spiritual.

Philip saw no real options for their situation. Andrew brought forward a little boy with a little bread and fish, but what was so little for so many? As you know, though, God used that little gift. Jesus took those five barley loaves and those two fish, gave thanks, and distributed it to all those thousands of people. What does this mean?

First, it means ‘Don’t let perfect ruin good.’ This boy, and even Andrew for that matter, could not feed everyone. They didn’t have the perfect gift that would satisfy every belly. This boy could have held onto his meager offering because it wasn’t enough. But he did offer it, and it was a good gift. Too often we get caught up by the ‘perfect’ so we don’t even offer the ‘good.’ I don’t know enough about the Bible, so I’m not going to go to Bible study. I don’t have enough money to balance the budget, so I won’t even bother with a few bucks in the offering plate today. I don’t know how to begin leading my family in devotions, so we won’t even pray the Lord’s Prayer before lunch or even bedtime. We get distracted by the ‘perfect’, so we don’t even do the ‘good.’ I’m not arguing for works righteousness here, that we somehow earn God’s grace by the little things. But God does call us Christians to faithfulness, even if we don’t have everything perfectly figured out. The little boy had seen Jesus’ miracles of healing. Even though his gift was not enough for everyone, his gift was perfect for Jesus to use.

Jesus used the boy’s offering to feed the masses. It is a strange miracle. The other miracles were, well, actually miraculous. Jesus walked on water through a storm (John 6:16-21). Jesus gave sight to a man blind from birth (cf. John 9). Jesus raised the dead (cf. John 11). But lunch? All these folks had eaten before and they all ate again. Is lunch really a miracle? The true wonder this morning is that any of you are still listening and not just daydreaming about French toast.

Its easy to discredit a miracle based on the outcome. How many of you had lunch yesterday? How many of you are going to eat lunch again today? How many of you will give thanks to God for the food on your plate? It truly is a miracle that God continues to provide daily everything we need to support this body and life. It’s a miracle that God does this for people who believe in Him and who reject Him. It’s a miracle that God shows this grace to mankind, to animals, and even plants. It’s a miracle that God gives. Don’t discredit or belittle a miracle based on the outcome. Rather, judge the miracle based on the Giver. What makes the feeding of the 5,000 miraculous is that Jesus provides bread and fish. Jesus does this miracle for people who didn’t even ask for it. Jesus simply saw their need and took care of them.

But then the people did what so many people do. They misplaced their priorities. They wanted more free lunches. The crowds became a mob. They wanted to make Jesus their bread king. They wanted Jesus to become nothing more than a divine vending machine that they could access anytime they were hungry. They wanted Jesus at the head of a welfare state where they had to do no work for their daily bread. But they forgot the curse of sin, the curse that God placed onto Adam in Genesis 3:19: “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread.”

It was not time for Jesus to be king. Eventually, Jesus did let the mobs take Him by force. Eventually, Jesus did let them make Him king. Eventually, Jesus did become a king who provides bread that requires no work from you. But that took Jesus to the cross.

This is interesting. God cursed Adam for Adam’s sin, but the Bible never says that Adam sweated after Genesis 3. Even for all the walking through the wilderness that the Israelites did, the Bible never says they sweated for their Manna. In fact, there is only one person in the entire Bible who sweats. On Maundy Thursday, Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling to the ground” (Luke 22:44). In our Lord’s Passion, His sweat fell to the dust of the ground so that you may eat bread. Jesus took the curse of Adam upon Himself and suffered for Adam’s sin. Jesus did not only sweat, but He also bled as the mobs made Him king, crowning Him with thorns and crucifying Him on the tree.

Adam was cursed because he ate from the forbidden tree. God removed Adam from the Tree of Life. But today, because Jesus has taken your curse upon Himself, you are invited to do what Adam could not. You are invited to eat from the Tree of Life, from the cross. And what form does it take? Bread. Such a mundane, ordinary thing. But don’t judge this miracle only based on the outcome. You’ll only get a little piece of bread; its almost like Philip was prophetic about the Lord’s Supper. You’ll have a fuller stomach after your French toast lunch today. So don’t judge this miracle based on the outcome. Instead, judge it based on the Giver. Receive this bread. This daily bread. Pray for it! Why? Because God gives it. It’s not like any other bread, in this respect. With this bread Jesus gives His very own body. He gives what He accomplished on the cross. He gives what He secured by His passion, His death, and His resurrection, so that by the sweat of His face you may eat bread. In this bread, you receive more than a full belly. You receive forgiveness, life, and eternal salvation.

“Our Father, who art in heaven…Give us this day our daily bread.”

+INJ+

Amen.

Pastor Schultz
Trinity Lutheran Church
Paola, Kansas

Return to Top | Return to Sermons | Home | Email Church Office

Pastor Schultz Trinity Lutheran Church Paola, Kansas

Pastor Schultz
Trinity Lutheran Church
Paola, Kansas