Test Driving Theology

When my dad decided it was time for me to learn how ride a bike, he didn’t think I needed to go through the “training wheel” stage.  My Dad had a theory:  he understood balance, and he knew that to master balance, you need to have momentum.  It’s harder to balance when you’re peddling very slowly, right?  So his logic was that if I just started moving quickly, I’d be able to balance, and so we’d be off and running.  No training wheels required.

So, one Saturday morning, we loaded my bright red bike into the back of the station wagon, and drove over to Pearl Park, in south Minneapolis.  There, the two of us marched the bicycle up to the top of the sledding hill.  

My Dad had me climb aboard, and told me what was going to happen.  He whispered something encouraging in my ear, and he asked if I was ready.  I nodded, and then he gave a gentle push.

His theory was actually…correct.  I did gain momentum.  Quickly.  And though I was a bit wobbly, I did manage to stay upright.  He had told me all about his theory on momentum and balance.  What he hadn’t told me anything about…was steering…or brakes.  About halfway down the hill, I met the tree.  And by meeting, I mean “crashed in to.”  I was done.

We drove home, where Dad straightened the front wheel of the bike, and then attached the training wheels.  Which I used until I was 32.

Ok, maybe that’s an exaggeration.  But the training wheels did stay on for awhile.  They stayed on until I had confidence…that I could trust that everything…balance…steering…braking…was under complete control.  

I think this principle of trust has held true in other areas of my life as well.  

• The “training wheels” for driving a car (that is, having my parents in the car with me) didn’t end until after they (and the State!) trusted me to drive, and I trusted myself to be able to safely navigate 3,000 pounds of automobile.  
• I remember as a new pastor, being terrified by the responsibility of standing in a pulpit and preaching after I was ordained, and no longer had professors offering me guidance and critique.  I had to learn to trust that God was with me.
• And I remember being in the hospital when Nathan was born.  We were delighting in getting to know this infant…and after a couple of days, the nurse walked into our room and said “ok, you guys are all ready to go!”  And Lori and I looked up at her, confused, and said “go where?”  “Go home.  You guys are ready to go home!” she said with a smile.  And Lori and I looked into each others eyes and we each saw terror there.  “Home?  Well, you’re coming with us, right?” And she smiled.  “Trust yourselves,” she said.  “You’ve got all you need.”

In our lives, there are times when the training wheels come off.  It is a day when we realize we are being trusted with something important.  And it is a day when we realize that we need to trust that we’ve been given enough to do what needs to be done.

Our Gospel story for this weekend is the most well-known of Jesus’ miracles. In fact, of all the stories of Jesus performing miracles this is the only one that can be found in all four of the Gospels.  Clearly, it is an important and significant story.  

A little context:  In chapter 13, that precedes this story, Jesus is teaching his followers about what the Kingdom of God is supposed to be like.  He is telling parables…using these stories to describe it for them.  He wants them to understand it.  

And then here in chapter 14, he wants them to begin living it.  And his first significant sign…the first thing he does…is to feed the 5,000.  Which, by the way, is a low count.  Back then they only counted the men.  When you add women and children into the mix, Jesus actually fed between 10 and 12 thousand people that day.

There are all sorts of things that this miracle story teaches us; valuable lessons and ideas about how God works in the world:

• It teaches us about the absolute abundance of God.  God always provides enough…enough for all…enough to meet all need.  The issue isn’t about what God provides, but rather in how we distribute it.
• And this story demonstrates the ultimate compassion of God; that God cares for those who are in need…those who are hungry…those who need the hope and love that only God can give.

But there is a third lesson.  It is subtle.  But it is incredibly significant for how we live our lives and our faith:

In this story, Jesus takes off his disciples training wheels.  

Listen again to verse 19 of the story: “Taking the five loaves and the two fish, Jesus looked up to heaven and blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.” 

The story says that after he blessed and broke the loaves, “he gave them to the disciples, and the disciplesgave them to the crowds.”  

Why is that important?  Well, let me tell you:  

• The text doesn’t say that Jesus blessed and broke the loaves, and then fed the crowd himself.  
• It doesn’t say that Jesus spoke the words and the bread magically appeared in front of the men, women and children, ready to be eaten.
• It doesn’t say that Jesus broke and blessed the bread and then hollered: “come and get it!”

No, the scripture is very specific.  After Jesus blessed the bread, he gave it to this disciples, and his disciples fed the crowd.  

Up until now, through the first 13 chapters of Matthew, Jesus has been teaching, and he has been showing.  His disciples were following him around like a family of ducklings, just soaking it all in.

But here, in this scripture…in this miracle…the disciples participate.  The bread goes into their baskets, and they distribute it.  And it doesn’t say that they keep running back to Jesus to refill.  No, the scripture says that Jesus put the fish and the bread into the baskets, and the disciples just kept taking it out…kept distributing it, until no one was hungry…until no one was in need.  The disciples never ran out.  In fact, there were leftovers!

You see, Jesus initiated this miracle, but it was the disciples who carried it out.

It has been said that “A student learns what his teacher knows, but a disciple becomes what his master is.”  Let me say that again:  A student learns what her teacher knows, but a disciple becomes what her master is.” 

This story is important not only because of what happened:  all those people being fed by a few fish and a few loaves.  But this story is also important because of how it happened:  Jesus took the training wheels off of his disciples, blessed what they had, and he trusted them to carry out this mission.  

Remember, at the beginning of the story, the disciples just wanted Jesus to send the crowd away.  That would solve the problem.

But Jesus doesn’t do that.  Instead, he puts the problem squarely back on their shoulders by asking them what food they have.  When they offer the five loaves and two fish, he blesses it and uses it…and them…to feed thousands.  The first miracle in the story is the abundance of the food.  But the second significant miracle is that Jesus would invite his ragtag group of disciples and involve them in this miracle.  That he would take off their training wheels.

In doing this, he is telling his disciples, “You have been prepared.  You have enough. You are ready.”  

Might Jesus still be operating this way?  Might Jesus be taking off our training wheels and inviting us to get off the sidelines, to take responsibility for the problems we see around us, to bless our efforts and whatever we might have to offer, and to use us to work miracles?

I think so.  And if this is the case, then we’ve got miracle number three, don’t we?  Right here!  Right here in this room.

Jesus is telling you today, “You have been prepared.  You have enough. You are ready.”  And Jesus is taking off your training wheels, and blessing you, and inviting you to step into the mess of the world.  And to be God’s hands in making it right. 

Miracles happen every day!  We see them:

• Trinity’s senior high young people returned last week from Winston Salem, North Carolina, where they worked alongside, built relationships with, and served people who do not have a home.  The training wheels were off.
• You may have seen the news story:  3^rd graders in one of our school district’s summer programs learning how to start a business, built and operated a lemonade stand last week, and raised almost $1000 for community pathways.  The training wheels were off.
• Four of Trinity’s young adults, have given this past summer working at one of our Lutheran Camps, walking alongside, teaching, and guiding children and youth as they grew in their faith and learned to follow Christ.  The training wheels were off.

And stories like this go on and on and on and on…

The training wheels are off, my friends!  And every single day, God puts into your hands all that you need to get things done.  Through Jesus’ love, you have been prepared.  You have been blessed.  You are ready.  See that.  Recognize it.  And trust that God will work miracles, through you.  

Thanks be to God!

Amen.