At the end of July in Year B of the Lectionary Cycle of assigned readings we read the story of Jesus feeding the multitude. And then, for the next four weeks we have gospel lessons on the meaning of the story, each with a more nuanced version of the “Bread of Life” than the week before. So what better way to enter this season of bread then by telling you the six worst jokes about baked dough you will ever hear in your life!
Q: Why doesn’t bread like hot weather?
A: Because things get Toasty!
Q: Why are bread jokes always funny?
A: Because they never get mold!
Q: What does bread do after it is done baking?
A: It loafs around.
Q: What is bread’s favorite ride at the amusement park?
A: The roller toaster.
Q: Why
did the loaf live at the zoo?
A: Because
it was bread in captivity.
A passenger tries to sneak an elephant
through airport security by sticking a slice of bread in each of its ears. The security officer looks at him and says, “Good
morning sir, anything to declare?” The
man answers, “No, nothing.” “Well, what
about that?” the office says, pointing to the elephant. The passenger responds, “Look mister, what I
put on my sandwich is not your concern!”
We read just two verses from the Old Testament’s 2nd
Book of Kings in this morning’s first lesson.
They tell the story of one of the prophet Elisha’ early miracles after
taking up the role of his mentor Elijah.
It comes at a time of widespread drought, famine, and scarcity. People are hungry – really hungry – and there
is little or nothing for them to eat. Many
blame the drought on Elisha, but the author of 2nd Kings makes it
clear the fault lies with the king and his idolatrous practices.
The account begins with an unnamed person coming from a
place identified as Baal-shalishah to present Elisha with the offering of his
first fruits. Notice a couple of things
about this introduction. First, the
person making the offering is not named.
He, like the overwhelming majority of faithful people down through the
ages – including us – does what he does out of simple devotion to God. He is not in it for the credit or for
publicity.
He is making what is known as a ‘first fruits’
offering. This takes place at the
beginning of the harvest and, as the name implies, involves produce and product
from the initial crop. Think about this
for a second. It has been a long time
since the last harvest. Whatever came
from it either is running out or has long been gone. The laws around the first fruits offering,
found in Leviticus 23, make clear it is both a statement of faith and a test of
faith. It makes the statement that the
earth and all that comes from it belong to God. It tests if a person believes God will supply
what you need. It is the opposite of how
many of us approach stewardship: I’ll take care of my needs first, then my
wants, and then if I have anything left I might give some of it to God.
And more than being a challenge for today’s lay reader,
the place where this person is from offers another important insight into this
story. Baal- shalishah. The word Baal refers to the Canaanite
god who is the focus of the king’s idolatrous worship. Baal means “owner” or “master”. This pagan worship is a direct challenge to
the Hebrew belief that God alone is Sovereign.
To worship Baal as owner and master not only breaks the First
Commandment, it is an act akin to returning to the slavery and bondage of
Egypt, from which God delivered the people a few centuries earlier. The word shalishah
means “multiplicity”. The name of the
place where this man is from literally means “The master of multiplying”, referring
both to food and to fertility. It is
quite a tribute to a pagan god.
Now scholars believe that before it was renamed for the
pagan deity this town was called Beth-lehem – the birthplace of David. The name Beth-lehem
means “house of bread”. Centuries later
it will be the birthplace of the One who is the Bread of Life, but in Elisha’s
day it is just one of many epicenters of political and theological
upheaval. By bringing his offering of
first fruits to Elisha rather than to the corrupted priests at Gilgal, this
person is registering his protect against the king and the bankrupt values of his
day.
So he presents to Elisha, whom the text describes as “the
man of God”, his first fruits offering of twenty loaves of bread and a sack of
fresh grain. Given that this represents
10% of all his harvest will produce, these meager amounts suggest the man is
not well off. But for Elisha, living in
a time of drought and famine, twenty loaves and a sack of grain are a godsend
that can provide for his needs for months and months.
But notice what Elisha does. Rather than keeping the offering for himself
– something the Levitical code supports – he orders the food to be shared with
everyone who is with him – a hundred people.
Now, what the man brought to Elisha could be divided among that number
of folks, but it would not be much – perhaps just a bite or two per person. In spite of protest, Elisha remains
steadfast, insisting that God will ensure everyone gets enough and there will
be some left over. And this is just what
happens.
Commenting on this story, Elna Solvang, an Associate Professor
of Religion at Concordia College in Minnesota, writes:
A miracle occurs in this story: a sack of grain and
twenty barley loaves feed one hundred people, with food remaining. It is a miracle:
· made possible by God’s abundant
providing.
· initiated by the generosity of
an anonymous giver.
· shared with others because of
the recipient’s generosity.
· in which all are included
because of an administrator’s concern for equity.
· through which the community
shares in what is holy.
As I said earlier, over the next few weeks our
readings will help us to explore the deeper spiritual meaning behind Jesus’
feeding miracle. Paired with today’s Old
Testament reading, we are invited to consider the human element of the story:
· to
ponder the role of Philip who cannot figure out how to muster the financial
resources to buy food for so many people.
· to
ponder to role of Andrew who rounded up the boy with the fish and bread and
brought him to Jesus, but had no clue how Jesus could do so much with so
little.
· and
to ponder to role of the boy who gave the food he had so others might eat and then
most likely went home to his family empty-handed.
What does it look like in your life to trust in God’s
abundant providing?
What generous acts do you undertake, especially those acts
that fall beyond the vision of others?
When you are blessed, how do you share that blessing
with others?
What does it look like to ensure everyone receives
God’s blessing in a way that is fair and equitable?
Can you think of a time or of times when you were a
part of something like this and you recognized you were in a holy moment and
place?
Did you happen to see yesterday’s Virginian-Pilot story about the Hampton Roads Food Bank, from which
our Food Pantry purchases supplies? It
chronicled how the shelves go bare at this time of year because so many people
are out of town during the summer and local food drives grind to a halt. It had a picture of a woman pushing her cart
past one empty bin after another.
During this Season of Bread I propose we initiate a
food drive not for our Food Pantry, but for the Food Bank whose work and
ministry benefits our pantry and so many others on a regular basis. Each Sunday in August I invite you to bring
half a dozen to a dozen non-perishable food items to church with you. I will set out a table right here in front of
the pulpit for them and we will ask God’s blessing on what we give at the
Offertory. You don’t have to spend much
to make this happen. A dollar per item
will be more than enough. Shop for
bargains and think in terms of bulk quantities.
Like our two bible readings this morning, our meager
offering will seem to be little in the face of such insurmountable need. And yet, offered humbly to God and through
God’s blessing, we trust it will be more than sufficient. And we also hope we will sense and share in
something holy. May God bless us
spiritually and may God tend to the needs of the hungry during this Season of
Bread.
