The Message, August 2, 2026: "Pass the Bread, Please," Matthew 14:13-21

Author: Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
August 09, 2026

 

“Pass the Bread, Please”
A Message by Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
Matthew 14:13-21

            As I read the scripture lesson this morning, I would ask that you not only listen with your ears, but also with your heart. As you listen to this very familiar passage of scripture, see if any of the characters speak to you. Which characters do you identify with? Or feel?

            Before I begin, let me help set the scene. The opening words are: “When Jesus heard this …” The “this” that Jesus heard was that his cousin, John the Baptist had been executed.

            Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled, and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

            Sit with it for a moment. Who or what spoke to you? To your heart?

            Did any of you relate to Jesus? Or resonate with him?

            Not the Son of God, Savior of the World part of Jesus. But rather, the heart ache or the heart break? Have any of you carried grief so deep or heavy that you just needed to be alone, away from people, or work? Did Jesus’ pain of losing his cousin, John, speak to some place in your heart? In your soul?

            My father died when I was in college and I did not tell any of my friends. I wanted … I needed … the “alone” time of not having to talk about it. Even though I was still going to school and going to work, I needed the distance that not sharing the news afforded me.

            Did you feel Jesus’ pain? And were you moved by his tenderness and generosity? Could you feel him reaching out rather than withdrawing? Could you see him looking at those who needed him with the world’s most perfect peace and gentleness … touching them, healing them?

            Or did any of you relate to, or resonate with, the crowd that followed Jesus and the disciples to that deserted place?

             In that throng of thousands, there were likely a whole host of reasons why they ran to see Jesus. Perhaps there were those who had heard about Jesus and were curious; they wanted to get a look at that preacher and teacher. Perhaps word had gotten out about the healings or other acts of power that he had performed. There may have been those who ran after Jesus because the others were running. “Where are we going?” “I do not know! I am just following them!”

            Of course, there had to be those in that crowd who truly needed Jesus. As we heard, there were those who were sick and needed to be cured. There were those who were injured and needed to be healed. And there must have been those who needed something more; needed something deeper. There must have been those who were carrying shame or guilt. This Jesus spoke of salvation, he spoke of freedom, and they longed to be set free. They were following Jesus seeking healing for their souls. “Jesus, I have pain and sorrow, grief or shame that I can no longer carry. Touch me, Jesus. Heal me.”

            Did any of you pursue Jesus because you were curious about that mysterious and powerful and compelling man?

            Or did any of you follow at a distance … hoping that he might see you, but also ashamed of what he might see?

            Were there any among you who saw themselves in the role of the disciples?

            Over the years, I have preached upon this passage numerous times. In the past I have focused upon the power of God embodied by Jesus. I have focused upon the throng of thousands and how the miracle that Jesus performed was getting them to share what they had with their neighbors. I do not think that I have ever explored this passage with a focus upon the disciples.

            Can you imagine what they were experiencing? Jesus, their friend and companion and teacher is heartbroken. All he wants is some time alone but these people … thousands of them … chased him around the lake. Naturally, they want to care for him and protect him. They want to chase the people away. “Leave him alone! Can’t you see that he is in pain?!”

            But then Jesus did another “Jesus” thing. He ministered unto them. How their hearts must have swelled … and broken … at the same time. There he was, in the midst of his own personal pain and anguish, showing them what genuine and sacrificial love looks like. He could have ignored the people, or sent them away, or had the disciples do it, but he did not. He did just the opposite. Jesus turned his own pain into love and compassion for the people who needed him.

            Whether you are one who related to, or resonated with, the disciples in this passage, or if you saw yourself in one of the other characters, there is a lesson here for all of those who follow Jesus. Actually, there are a number of lessons to be learned.

            Let us begin where we were … with the disciples. As evening approached, the disciples tried to tell Jesus what to do. “Send them away. Send them back to town so that they can purchase food for their evening meal.” And as we heard Jesus say, “No. Let them stay. You do it. You feed them.”

            “What?! You cannot be serious, Jesus! Look at them! There are THOUSANDS of people here! We cannot possibly feed all of them. All we have is five loaves of bread and two, teeny, tiny fish!”

            “Here … let me help.” Jesus took it, blessed it and broke it … then they … the disciples shared it. They passed it and passed it and passed it. What must they have thought? “I know that this is Jesus … but how is this possible?!”

            What began with doubt and skepticism, perhaps embarrassment and even frustration, was transformed. Their doubt and skepticism were replaced by awe and wonder! Their doubt was transformed. The scarcity was transformed. And the disciples learned once again the power of Jesus’ loving and compassionate heart.

            How often have we felt that we do not have anything to offer, or that we do not have enough to give? How many times have we felt inadequate for the task that is before us? How many times may we have second guessed Jesus? “Surely, you cannot be serious, Jesus. You cannot really be asking me to do THAT. Certainly, you are not asking me to go THERE, Jesus.”

               And how often does Jesus transform our doubt? How often does Jesus take what we have, take what we believed to not be enough, and blessed it, and used it? How often has Jesus said, “Trust me. I trust you.”?

            We cannot look at a situation or the circumstance that we find ourselves in with our human eyes, or with our doubting, anxious, skeptical human hearts. The lesson that we learn is that we need to approach these situations, or these circumstances, or these obstacles and see them through the lens of Jesus’ eyes and heart.

            In this story and the miraculous multiplication, we see Jesus empower the disciples to be active participants in God’s caring provision for the people. Jesus knows that he will not be with them for much longer. Jesus knows that the growth and the spread and the development of the Kingdom of God will require human hands and hearts. In this passage, we see that Jesus is able to take what we bring … no matter how meager or insufficient we might believe it to be … and uses it.

            The other lesson that we learn is that there will be times when people need us when we feel as though we have nothing to give. The people came to Jesus at one of the lowest and most difficult times of his life, and as we heard, he did not say to them, “This is not a good time for me. Come back tomorrow.” There will be times when ministry, when loving care, are needed right in that moment. We cannot put “Time to Love” in our appointment books, we cannot schedule it. There are times when the ministry of Presence cannot wait.

            Again, let us sit with this story. Let us hear what it is saying to our hearts and minds.
            Let us hear Jesus speak gently to us, “You do it. You feed them.”
            Let us remember the power of one hand reaching out to another.
            Let us trust in Jesus and let us also remember that he has placed his trust in us.
            “You do it. You feed them.”
            Amen.

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