2 Kings 4: 42-44
Eph 4: 1-6
John 6:1-15
Bishop Untener’s Homily
This event - usually referred to as “the multiplication of the loaves” - is one of the best known events in the life of Jesus. It’s the only miracle that is described in all four Gospels. (In Mark’s Gospel, this story is told twice!) The event is packed with meaning, and much of it obviously refers to the Eucharist. Today I want to look at it from a slightly different angle.
Trapped in the Limitations of our Expectations
In each of the five accounts of this event, when Jesus tells the disciples that they should feed the crowd, they say that it’s hopeless. Impossible. Here is a sample of some of their responses:
“Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.” (Mt 14:17)
“Where can anyone get enough bread here in this deserted place?” (Mk 8:4)
“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what good are these for so many?” (Jn 6:9)
You know how the story ends. You know that the disciples were wrong. It wasn’t hopeless. It wasn’t impossible. They do end up feeding this great crowd. The problem with their first response to Jesus was that they failed to go beyond the limitations of their own expectations. (When I think about it, that is an intriguing phrase - “the limitations of their own expectations.”)
I wonder if you and I confine ourselves to a horizon that is too narrow - the limitations of our own expectations? Now, I’m not talking about expecting that I can win the lottery if I want to, or that I can make the rain fall or the sun shine whenever I wish. I’m talking about expectations that we can be better persons, can do good works that we can help to make God’s world a better place. I’m talking about things like - well, what happened in this Gospel: Feeding the hungry.
It may be that our expectations of ourselves are too limited. We may confine ourselves to limited expectations of whether the hungry of our world can be fed, whether we can eliminate war, whether prejudice and racism can be overcome, whether women can achieve equality - and most of all, whether you and I can have a part in making any of this happen.
Put God in the Equation
Let’s go back to the disciples in the feeding of the multitude. Their fundamental mistake was that they didn’t include God in the equation. Remember the time Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing”? If we take that seriously, we realize what a mistake it is to leave God out of the equation.
For centuries alcoholism seemed to be a hopeless curse. Most victims felt as helpless as the disciples felt in the face of that hungry crowd.
In 1934, a fellow named Bill Wilson, a hopeless alcoholic, lay alone in a New York hospital room despondent. He begged God for help. This is what he describes next: “Suddenly, my room blazed with an indescribably white light... Then came the blazing thought, “You are a free man.’”
From that day on, Bill Wilson never doubted the existence of God. And he never took another drink. He founded Alcoholics Anonymous which is based entirely on putting God in the equation. The fundamental principle is: “Let go. Let God.”
When it comes to being a better person... when it comes to healing some relationships... when it comes to doing better at our job, our diet, our marriage, raising our children... when it comes to helping to make our city a better city, our parish a better parish... when it comes to caring for the poor, helping to build a peaceful world... if we put God in the equation we can go way beyond the limitations of human expectations. The truth is, God is already in the equation, because God sent his only Son into the world to bring peace, justice, wholeness, and the Lord has poured the Holy Spirit upon us to share in that work.
A Thought
I close with one more thought. It can happen that some others don’t expect much of us. It can happen that, instead of living up to high expectations, we end up “living down” to low expectations. (That sometimes happens to youngsters who sense that their parents don’t really expect much of them, and they end up - instead of living up to high expectations, living down to low expectations.)
Well, here’s my thought about the expectations of others. Scotty Bowman coached the Red Wings to three Stanley Cups and is recognized as the best coach ever in the NHL. I always wondered what he said in the dressing room between periods, especially if it was a big game and the Wings were down by a goal or two. Did he rant and rave? Did he give a pep talk?
I had a chance a short while back to ask one of the Red Wings about that. What he told me was interesting. He said: “Between periods, it was all business... no ‘rah, rah’ stuff. Scotty would talk about our strategy, and he would make some adjustments and lay out the plans for the next period. That was it. But sometimes, after he finished and we were talking among ourselves, he might come over to one of us and say, not in a loud voice, ‘I expect a little more of you this next period.’ Let me tell you... when he said that, first of all you knew he had confidence in you, and thought that you had it in you to lift the whole team to a new level. Second, you realized that you could rise to a higher level. And you’d go out there for the next period and play some of the best hockey you ever played in your life.”
Now, I don’t mean to compare Scotty Bowman to God (although some might think of him that way). But there’s a lesson here. We can call one another to higher expectations. We can even call ourselves to higher expectations.
But that’s not all. What if the Lord said that to me, “Ken, I expect a little more of you”? What if the Lord said that to you? Imagine the Lord addressing you by name, and saying “I expect a little more out of you.” We’d be honored to think that the Lord had that kind of confidence in us. What’s more, the Lord would add one more phrase. He’d say, “and I’ll be with you to help you do it.” That’s what Scotty Bowman couldn’t do - he couldn’t go out on the ice and help a player do better. But the Lord said, “I am the vine, you are the branches.” And he meant it.
Try that later today. It’s not make-believe. It’s prayer. Hear the Lord speak your name and then say, “I expect a little more out of you... and I’ll help you do it.”
You talk about a prayer that makes a difference! Try it. I’m going to try it this week. And, you know what I think? I think it will be one of the best prayers you and I ever said.
Originally given on July 27, 2003