Crumby Faith 1282018 930am Contemporary Service

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John 6: 1-14 • January 28, 2018 • “Crumby Faith” • Rev. Lou Nyiri • I wonder if you have seen the commercial – it’s probably a year or so old by now – it’s a Dad • trying to vacuum the car. Every time he sucks up a Cheerio another takes up residence on the • floor. Pan up to see a cute, impish toddler grinning as he chucks another Cheerio. It’s a game • of running back and forth to vacuum up Cheerios from each side of the car. Every time the Dad • turns around there are more crumbs on the upholstery. No matter how hard he tries…he can’t • keep up with the mess! • I smile at this commercial because sometimes, I feel like that Dad. I get crumbs cleaned up in • one place of my life only to find more in another part of life. Case in point, this past weekend • we took down our Christmas Tree and behind the radiator I found pine needles from last year’s • tree. Over the past 17 years, we have spent a lot of time cleaning up crumbs…especially when • our now almost adult child was a toddler – crunched Cheerios here; smashed Goldfish crackers • over there; and how in the world did a pizza crust end up over there?!. In fact, the crumbs may • just be the one good reason we have a dog. It hits the floor, paws come running and it’s • cleaned up “easy-peasy.” • While this can be a reality of life, it is also a metaphor for life. We find ourselves cleaning up • crumbs…in our cars, our kitchens, and in our personal lives. The bumper sticker might read, • “Crumbs Happen!” • In today’s text, we encounter one of Jesus’ most well-known miracle stories – the feeding of the • 5,000. Considering the number of woman and children who were most likely present it was • probably way more than 5,000 – perhaps even 10 or 11,000 who were fed that day. • The fish were probably some little sardines carried by a young boy whose mother had packed • him for lunch. The Greek word used to describe the fish is “very small” – better translated “ittybitty / tiny.” It’s a brilliant semantic counterpoint to the enormous gift of grace Jesus bestows • on the gathered group. Some 10,000-hungry people are fed with ordinary barley loaves and a • few tiny sardines…. every one was satisfied…every one had enough! • Jesus – the bread of life – knew the importance of feeding followers with both physical • spiritual bread. He taught it in the great prayer of faith, “Give us our daily bread.” • The gathered people had come great distances to hear Jesus and he had compassion on the • people because they were hungry and had not eaten. He inquires as to what’s available and • the answer is 5 loaves and 2 fish. He gives thanks doles out the gift to his disciples who feed • the people. • Page 2 of 3 • Feeding the multitudes is bound to leave a trail of crumbs. So, when the crowd’s hunger is • satisfied, the disciples are instructed to gather up the leftover pieces. • The feeding of the 5,000, then, is also a story of picking up the crumbs. • The disciples are sent back out into the crowd to pick up crumbs and crusts of leftover bread. • They gather up the fragments so that nothing will be lost they fill 12 baskets. • This is an act of worship! • In a wonderful little book, The Worshipping Life, Rev. Lisa Hickman writes how our entire lives • are to be acts of worship. Everything we do – not just Sundays – the entire rhythm of our days • is to be about the worship of God. • She writes, “Christ’s call to gather the crumbs is a call to worship. It was a call to remember • what had taken place that day. The gathering of the thousands. The proclaiming that all would • be fed. The responding of the little boy to share his loaves and fish. The sealing of the Holy • Spirit in a blessing. The breaking. The giving. The reality of more than enough for each person • there.” • Worship happened as the disciples gathered around the Word made flesh and as they gathered • up the crumbs. • Today, we are also Christ’s disciples called to gather around worship the Word made flesh. • Like those first disciples, we gather around Jesus to be taught, fed, nurtured, healed and given • hope. • However, if we’re honest, we often feel like we ought to come to worship crumb free. We • want to be cleaned up, pressed out, dusted off and shiny for God. God, however, wants us to • show up in worship crumbs and all – to be fully present with all the stuff that is our lives – to • haul it all in here. • Candace and I have a friend from seminary who adopted 2 children from Cambodia. She • brought them home to America when they were about 18 months old. One of the children who • is now in his 20’s was always walking around the house holding onto a cracker. The cracker he • held onto would leave a trail of crumbs in those first few months of adjusting to his new life. • While most kids clutched a teddy bear or blanket to fall asleep at night, he held onto a Teddy • Graham cracker or saltine in his toddler sized fist. He needed to be assure of food and • nurturance – that he would have enough to survive.... • https://gettysburgpresbyterian.org/wp...

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