The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. "This is a remote place," they said, "and it's already very late. Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat." But he answered, "You give them something to eat." They said to him, "That would take eight months of a man's wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?" "How many loaves do you have?" he asked. "Go and see." When they found out, they said, "Five-and two fish." Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand. Mark 6:30-44
Watch each of these commercial shorts above- and write down your thoughts: the first time you watch pay attention to the auditory elements- words, music, sound effects, etc. –- the second time through pay attention to the visual elements.
How do you images and sounds make you feel?
Did you realize that the average person is bombarded by as many as 2500 images, messages and forms of advertising per day? How do you think that affects the average person, how about church people? How is advertising shaping our values, our outlook, and our behaviors?
I believe that it makes us feel unsatisfied, unworthy, unwanted. It can make us feel like our lives are meaningless, that we are failures, and illicit feelings of guilt and shame. Of course, there's the other side of the coin. The messages also tell us what we want to believe. We are in control, have fun, life is an adventure, it all about you, you have the power to be all you want to be and so many more messages.
So what does this have any thing to do with the verses above? The Scriptures say, "…he had compassion on them, because they were like a sheep without a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things." (Mark 6:34) Jesus' compassion is because these people are wandering through life aimlessly- lost and alone, shaped by the messages the world is imposing on them. Jesus is able to see that their souls are hungry for meaning and purpose.
But when the crowd becomes hungry- Jesus who has been teaching them, turns the responsibility over to the disciples saying “You give them something to eat.” It seems to me that’s the mission we now have to meet the needs and satisfy the hunger of the least, the lost, and lost. When I said this, someone in the study tonight said, “How do we make them realize they are hungry and them how do we feed them”? Once again, I think it starts with rediscovering Jesus in our own lives. Reigniting the love and passion we once felt for our Lord. I am convinced that most church people don’t really believe that God loves them. Whenever I’m preaching and start talking about how much God loves them, how he delights in them, how precious they are to him…rather then AMENS! And Hallelujahs, I get back blank stares, not even so much as a smile. Before we can feed others we have to be well feed from God’s Word, and from God’s grace in our lives.
But there’s another aspect of our faith that comes into play- don’t really want to do the feeding, we just want to be fed. Many Christians seem to practice consumer Christianity. The same messages we are critical of in secular advertising we are guilty of ourselves. The Gatorade commercial says, it all about hard work- how many Christians do you know who believe if they work harder God will love them more. The images in Toyota commercial were all about prosperity and success- how many Christian practice the Prosperity Gospel- Jesus = Riches? The Hotel commercial is all about comfort and being served- how many Christians do you know practice Country Club Christianity- all about me and my needs instead of sacrificial service? How many of us see those who are hungry or in need as impersonal silhouettes like in the I Pod commercial? Do you have E-trade Christianity that’s about control and power, or “becoming like a child” to inherit the kingdom. Or maybe your Christian walk is like ILL Mitch in the Mountain Dew ad, kind of aimless and lacking direction?
Once again, I believe that before we can “Offer Them Christ” we have to be well fed on the “Bread of Life” ourselves. We have to be living in a loving community, intentional about our growth as disciples and serving others by inviting them to live with us in community to experience the love and grace of God.
