Trapped by a Belief in Scarcity

WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
July 23rd 2006
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“Trapped by a Belief in Scarcity”
Mark 6:30-44

The loss of electrical power this week certainly changed many people’s routine. Many people continue to live without power. In the face of such disruption, and pain for many people I am able to give thanks for a couple of things. I am thankful that we finally got to meet some of our neighbors. It is amazing how, so often, we can go about our daily lives ignoring people who live on our block simply because we are too busy. I am also thankful for the ways in which the storm brought people together. This was particularly evident in public spaces which had power. Instead of passing by fellow human beings, people actually talked with one another. So this weeks change of pace or disruption in our lives is not entirely without benefits.
Now I know that this week has been hard for many and I am not ignoring those realities. I am also aware of how tensions often rose because of the frustrations natural to this sort of crisis. After all, I saw a lot of people at traffic intersections waving at each other with only one finger. There is real wisdom in making sure traffic lights are high on the priority list for repairs. However, reflecting on this experience reminds me how we do not take the time to step back, turn off the busyness of our lives and reflect. Hopefully it does not always take devastating storms to remind us of this need. When Jesus invites the disciples off to rest, he is teaching them the importance of rest and reflection in life.
After returning from sharing the good news, healing people, and casting out demons, the disciples are worn out. As a result, Jesus invites them to rest in a deserted place. It was meant to be a time of reflection and recharging of their batteries. It was also Jesus’ way of teaching them a valuable lesson. The life of discipleship must include times of rest and reflection as well as action. No matter how much work needs to be done no one can continue to work without times of rest and reflection.
Just as Jesus and the disciples reach a place of rest, the crowds interrupt them. Despite their interruption of Jesus’ planed rest, he does not rebuke them. Instead, he has compassion on them. He is so moved that he begins teaching and does not complain that the planned rest has to be postponed.
While it is recorded that Jesus teaches many things the scripture is light on details. In fact, there is nothing recorded from his period of teaching. It appears that the most important lesson in this passage has little to do with Jesus’ words. The heart of his teaching is embodied in his actions.
The day is drawing to a close and the disciples are ready to go on their planned retreat. They instruct Jesus to send the crowds away so that the crowds can go and buy food. The disciples expect that Jesus will send them away so the crowd can fend for itself. Jesus responds bluntly; You give them something to eat. The disciples are shocked. They do not have the resources. Money is tight. This is ridiculous Jesus. How are we to do this?
Jesus does not engage them in debate. He does not go into a long winded lecture. Instead, Jesus simply teaches them how to feed. The disciples are directed to organize the crowd in groups of fifty and one hundred. Then, he asks: How many loves have you? It is a simple question that reframes the entire scene. Instead of focusing on what they do not have or focusing on their shortcomings or their lack of resources, Jesus invites them to begin with what they do have.
It really makes good sense. After all, the disciples are focused on what they do not have. As long as they stay in that mindset, there will never be enough. As long as they continue to believe there will never be enough or focus only on their shortcomings or lack of resources, they will always have a problem. In this wilderness meal, Jesus shows the disciples, of all ages, that God does not operate in a world of scarcity. Jesus shows that another way is possible.
Jesus takes the food which the disciples have brought. Once the food is collected, it turns out there is enough for the disciples to eat and be satisfied. Without saying a word, the disciples have been shown how to share their resources. In like manner the disciples show the crowd how to do the same. This crowd of more than five thousand has most likely brought food to the wilderness. However, in order that all are fed this crowd must be shown by the disciples how to share their resources.
This is not all that difficult. In fact, it is a simple lesson that we try to teach our children from a very early age. Share what you have. However, they often hear a different message from our society and even from our actions. The message is this: Hoard as many things for yourself as possible. Is it any wonder why it is so hard to teach our children this lesson when we in our society are not willing to practice what we preach?
The text of the Gospel of Mark goes out of its way to show what happens is not a miracle. It is a simple story where the disciples learn how to share and learn how to show others how to do the same. However, for those of us living in a society built on scarcity and inequality, it is a miracle. It is a miracle because our actions show that: We believe that some people will always starve. We believe that some lives are worth more than others. We believe that people should have to fend for themselves. We believe that there will never be enough. However, the stories of our faith show us that these beliefs are not biblical. The stories of our faith teach us that there is enough, that there is another way.
However, if that is not enough, if the stories of our faith seem to proclaim a reality which is just not possible or too simple minded we don’t have take the bible’s word for it. Economist Jeffery Sachs of Columbia University in New York City has written a book called The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time. In his book he lays out a clear, tested plan, to end extreme poverty in our world by the year 2025. For the first time in the history of the world, we have the technology and capability to end poverty in our world. It is no longer wishful thinking. Now, it is only a matter of will. Unfortunately, it appears that those with the power to act are not interested.
The faith we profess in Jesus Christ, is part of a deep biblical tradition which proclaims that there is enough for everyone. It proclaims that God’s will is that hungry people be fed and that no one will live in extreme poverty. As often as this story has been told it has been dismissed as idealistic, ignorant, and other worldly. But now, that is no longer true. It appears that economists are telling us what we already know.
So our passage this morning lays out the plan. Stop expecting miracles, instead begin where we are. Focus on what we are able to do. Do not worry about our lack of numbers, or lack of resources, or the issues of scarcity. Let us begin in simple ways by sharing what we have and who we are. Following this pattern, we might just end up feeding over five thousand people. (Yes, we will actually count the women and children too.)
When faced with the issues of inequality of our world it is easy to become overwhelmed or believe we cannot make a difference. To that I want to answer with some timely words from Robert Kennedy – the same words that Jeffery Sachs uses to end his book. He said:
Let no one be discouraged by the belief that there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world’s ills – against misery and ignorance, injustice and violence… Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each one of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation…
Friends, our faith teaches us, in this passage, and many others, that the great sea change can begin with us. So let us do just this. Jesus says to the disciples – to us – You feed them. And remember… forget what we haven’t got and stay focused on what we have to share. Amen.