{"id":757,"date":"2021-06-01T08:33:10","date_gmt":"2021-06-01T12:33:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=757"},"modified":"2021-06-01T08:33:10","modified_gmt":"2021-06-01T12:33:10","slug":"happy-meals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2021\/06\/01\/happy-meals\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy Meals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Several years ago I read about a megachurch that presented \u201cFeed the 5,000 Day.\u201d 

The first 5,000 people who showed up on a particular Sunday morning received a free fish sandwich \u2013 bread and fish, get it? \u2013 passed out by Ronald McDonald himself.  Large American congregations are nothing if not inventive in their efforts to keep crowds of spiritual inquirers coming.  

It goes without saying that such efforts are made in the name of Jesus.  The ironic thing is that nobody knew how to alienate a crowd of spiritual inquirers faster than Jesus. 

That\u2019s evident in the original event that filled more than 5,000 empty stomachs on a Judean hillside.   

It\u2019s the only miracle (apart from the resurrection) reported in all four biographies of Jesus \u2013 Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  It appears to have happened at a time when Jesus\u2019 Messianic approval rating was soaring.  People were hanging on his words, hopeful that at any moment he might reveal himself to be God\u2019s long-expected conquering hero \u2013 the one who would put his foot on the neck of the Roman Empire and restore Israel to its ancient glory.  Here\u2019s how John records the event: 

\u201cWhen Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, \u2018Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?\u2019 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. Philip answered him, \u2018Eight months\u2019 wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!\u2019  Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter\u2019s brother, spoke up, \u2018Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?\u2019<\/em>

\u201cJesus said, \u2018Have the people sit down.\u2019  There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them.  Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted.  He did the same with the fish.\u201d (John 6:5-11)<\/em>

What\u2019s interesting about this text is the number of numbers. 

First, there\u2019s the number of those in the crowd.  As far as we know, this is the largest crowd that ever heard Jesus speak.  The text tells us, \u201cthe men<\/em> sat down, about 5,000 of them.\u201d  The other gospels point out that this total did not include the women and children who were present.  Thus there may have been as many as 15-20,000 people in the crowd.  It\u2019s worth noting that while the gospel writers didn\u2019t count the women and children, Jesus did.  He fed them all.

The other numbers concern limitations.  Philip gasps, \u201cIt would take eight months\u2019 wages to pick up the check for this outdoor picnic.\u201d  The disciples likewise count, with absolute precision, what they have in hand.  \u201cWe have seven items, Lord: five loaves and two fish.  That is the boundary of our resources.  What exactly do you plan to do with seven items?\u201d 

This, however, turns out to be the day they discover that followers of Jesus must learn to count to eight.  Jesus himself is the greater Reality that overshadows all our limitations.

Check out the crowd\u2019s response following this astonishing provision of food:  \u201cAfter the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, \u2018Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.\u2019  Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.\u201d  (6:14-15)

During the first century a number of rabbis were teaching that when the Messiah finally came he would restore the daily provision of manna that God had provided for forty years during the time of Moses.  When the Messiah arrived on earth, it would be free lunches for everybody.

So the crowd stalks Jesus.  They catch up with him the next day.  Look how he responds:  \u201cI tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.\u201d (John 6:26)

He exposes their motives.  They don\u2019t want him<\/em>.  But they would love another trip to buffet table.  

There is a huge difference between those options.  Isn\u2019t this where we often find ourselves?  In our prayers we may say, \u201cLord, give me the strength to do what you<\/u><\/em> want,\u201d but in our hearts we\u2019re actually sighing, \u201cLord, please make sure I get what I<\/u><\/em> want.\u201d

Jesus ups the ante:  \u201cI am the Bread of Life.  The one who comes to me will never go hungry, and the one who believes in me will never be thirsty.\u201d (6:35)

Here we need to pause and ask why he simply doesn\u2019t yield to their request.  After all, he\u2019s got them literally eating out of his hand.  Why doesn\u2019t Jesus just blow everybody\u2019s mind day after day with multiple miracles?  These folks would never let him out of their sight.   

But Jesus\u2019 agenda is not to open a divine catering service.  He doesn\u2019t want to become somebody\u2019s meal ticket. 

God\u2019s love is always persuasive.  It is never coercive.  His intention is to capitalize on the reality of the crowd\u2019s hunger and to say, \u201cI know what you really want.  The only thing that will ultimately satisfy you is trusting me.  I am the Bread of Life.  I am not a side dish.  I am not dessert.  I am life\u2019s main course<\/em>.\u201d 

The crowd\u2019s response comes in verse 41:  \u201cAt this they began to grumble about him because he said, \u2018I am the bread that came down from heaven.\u2019  They said, \u2018Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?  How can he now say, \u2018I came down from heaven\u2019?\u201d  All these years they\u2019ve been waiting for God\u2019s Chosen One, and when he finally shows up he\u2019s the kid from down the street whose mother became pregnant under suspicious circumstances, and who grew up to be a blue-collar worker in the construction industry.  How can this be the Messiah?

But Jesus doubles down.  He insists that he<\/em> is the Real Meal. 

\u201cYou can\u2019t leave me on the outside of your life.  You\u2019ve got to take me in.\u201d

And with that, the crowd has had enough.  Look at verse 60:  \u201cOn hearing it, many of his disciples said, \u2018This is a hard teaching.  Who can accept it?\u2019\u201d  Notice the word \u201cdisciple.\u201d  These aren\u2019t just casual hangers-on, but folks who have self-enrolled as Jesus\u2019 apprentices.  The word \u201chard\u201d here, by the way, doesn\u2019t mean hard to understand.  The crowd knows exactly what Jesus is claiming.  This is simply outrageously hard to accept.

It\u2019s hard for us, too.  Most of the messages that pervade our culture promise an easier life.  Jesus, however, seems to go out of his way to make things harder. 

Our never-ending challenge is to trust Jesus alone<\/u><\/em> to be the meaning of our lives, instead of counting on our money, our looks, our public approval, or our job to see us through.  Those who experienced the miracle that day \u2013 the ones who ate the loaves and fishes \u2013 were forced to answer two questions:  What kind of kingdom are we waiting for?  And what kind of king do we really want? 

We have to answer the same two questions.

It\u2019s hard to read verse 66 without feeling a twinge of pain:  \u201cFrom this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.\u201d  Jesus clears out the crowd.  With all the power of the universe at his fingertips, he refuses to pass out Happy Meals.  

The next verse is poignant:  \u201c’You do not want to leave too, do you?\u2019 Jesus asked the Twelve.  Simon Peter answered him, \u2018Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.\u2019\u201d

To which we can only say, \u201cWay to go, Peter<\/em>.\u201d  The disciple who so often inserts his foot into his mouth gets this moment exactly right.

You can follow the crowd.  Or you can make your own choice.

It all depends what you’re hungry for.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Several years ago I read about a megachurch that presented \u201cFeed the 5,000 Day.\u201d  The first 5,000 people who showed up on a particular Sunday morning received a free fish sandwich \u2013 bread and fish, get it? \u2013 passed out by Ronald McDonald himself.  Large American congregations are nothing if not inventive in their efforts to keep crowds of spiritual… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":758,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[93,11],"class_list":["post-757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-commitment","tag-miracles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=757"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":759,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/757\/revisions\/759"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}