Stewardship is about the way we live with the best use of our resources, which involves, among other things, counting them. And hence the sermon series will be "What We Count As We Live It Out". We will look at the story of the Feeding of the 5000, from Luke's Gospel (this story is actually one of the few stories that is in all four Gospels, with various differences, and although we'll focus on Luke's version we will consider some things from the story as told by Matthew, Mark, and John). This first week will involve considering the reasons for the way we live the way we live--the underlying values that determine our actions. Luke's version of the story provides insight.
In Luke's telling, the Disciples have just returned after Jesus had "sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal." They come back and they all go to Bethsaida--but a crowd follows Jesus, and Jesus, being Jesus, responds to them; he "welcomed them, and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed to be cured". Welcoming them and healing those who needed to be cured are two of the expressions of what he spoke about--the Kingdom of God--which is also what the Disciples had been proclaiming on their assignment.
The Kingdom of God is WHY we do things. The Kingdom of God is about living out the values Jesus proclaims. The Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew 5-7, is probably the fullest expression of it--and it speaks about loving God and loving neighbor, including some pretty specific instructions about how to do that that are either countercultural or counterintuitive--the opposite of what society would have us do or what we instinctually would do. For example, "turning the other cheek"--not hitting back when we are hit. Neither our society's teachings nor our instinctive reactions would have us do anything BUT hit back--we would be expected to hit back. But the teachings of the Kingdom of God say no. And this is just one example.
We regularly pray "The Lord's Prayer"--which Jesus taught in that Sermon (it's also in Luke's Gospel in another context), and it is very much a Kingdom of God prayer. We ask God to help us live in the world (granting us provision for sustaining our bodies, forgiving us and acknowledging our need to forgive others), with the desire that God's Kingdom comes on Earth as it is in Heaven. And, as will be a key piece of the story of the Feeding of the 5000, it is significant to the values of the Kingdom of God that we pray "give US OUR daily bread"--not "give ME MY daily bread". This community request, rather than the individual request, is a clue to why everyone gets fed in this story, including the people who don't begin the story with any food, and not just the people with food.
This story includes all of the elements needed for our Stewardship. That is why we will explore its many implications these next several Sundays.
GOSPEL Luke 9:10-17
10 On their return the apostles told Jesus all they had done. He took them with him and withdrew privately to a city called Bethsaida. 11 When the crowds found out about it, they followed him; and he welcomed them, and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed to be cured.
12 The day was drawing to a close, and the twelve came to him and said, ‘Send the crowd away, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside, to lodge and get provisions; for we are here in a deserted place.’ 13 But he said to them, ‘You give them something to eat.’ They said, ‘We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.’ 14 For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, ‘Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each.’ 15 They did so and made them all sit down. 16And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17And all ate and were filled. What was left over was gathered up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.