August 2, 2026 "Hungry for Hope"

10th Sunday after Pentecost

Isaiah 55:1-5

Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21

Romans 9:1-5

Matthew 14"13-21

Dear fellow ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ,

grace and peace to you

from the one who has compassion for us. Amen

The crowds were hungry for more than food.

In fact the food part of this story,

which is amazing and what we tend to focus on

 is really only an incidental part of the big picture,

 the food was not the reason they were out there in the wilderness,

following Jesus.

They are there because they are hungry for hope,

 and they see Jesus as a source of that hope.

Jesus is out there

 because he’s trying to get some alone time,

 probably to pray,

 though Matthew doesn’t tell us that,

what Matthew does tell us

is that Herod the ruler

 has beheaded John the Baptist,

 the pesky prophet who kept telling him what he was doing was wrong,

 Jesus’ cousin

whose birth was also angelically foretold

 who came to prepare the way for Jesus,

whose preaching ‘repent you brood of vipers’

 had started attracting the crowds in the first place,

John is the one who baptized Jesus

 and was there when the heavens opened,

 the spirit descended and Jesus heard the voice of God

affirm his identity as God’s beloved child. 

 John is dead,

and Jesus is sad,

 he goes to a deserted place to grieve. 

On top of that Matthew tells us

that just before all this

Jesus has just been rejected by his hometown,

 his acclaim has been growing as a teacher and healer

 but when he tries to teach in his home synagogue

 the people look at him and go wait a minute

“Where did this man get this wisdom and these deeds of power? Is not this the carpenter’s son?”

his family is still here

why does he think he’s so special?

And Jesus doesn't do many deeds of power there

 because of their unbelief.

Which I’m sure was disappointing at the very least

 and probably disheartening

 and then he hears about John’s death

and he just needs to get away.

But the crowds have heard about John too,

John who gave them hope by calling out hypocrisy,

especially the hypocrisy of those in power,

 and he not only called it out

 but gave them something to do about it,

repent!

Repent and be baptized as a sign of that repentance,

 repent and be baptized as preparation for the one coming

 who is more powerful,

 repent and be baptized,

get your lives in order

 because the kingdom of heaven is coming

 and it’s certainly going to be better than the kingdom on earth

and here comes Jesus

 and he’s doing amazing things

 but John is the one who started it all off,

 and now John is dead

and what does that mean for all of this?

The crowd is hungry for hope.

And so they follow Jesus out into the wilderness.

They calculate where his boat will land

and go by land,

 they must have been running

because by the time Jesus comes ashore

 a great crowd is there, waiting for him. 

Now were this me,

I would probably have gotten back in that boat

 and gotten out of there,

but not Jesus,

even in his grief he has compassion for the crowd,

 and so he goes among them,

healing the sick,

 bringing the kingdom of heaven near in very real ways,

one mustard seed healing at a time,

 restoring life and hope along the way. 

there is a lot of work to do

and it gets late

And they’re still in the wilderness

And the disciples

, who are probably hoping for a break themselves,

 come to Jesus,

reminding him they are in the wilderness

- the crowds need to eat and there’s nothing here, send them away (can this long day be over Jesus?)

 and instead Jesus tells the disciples

 to give the crowds something to eat,

 to which the disciples respond-

 we don’t even have enough for ourselves,

just five loaves and two fish

 and here Jesus brings the parable of the mustard seed to life,

taking the small amount of food

he blesses and breaks it

and gives it to the disciples instructing them to give it to the crowds,

 and they do,

and everyone eats until they are filled

and there are even leftovers.

This kingdom of heaven is like a tiny seed

 that unexpectedly grows into a tree,

the kingdom of heaven is a small amount of food

 that when blessed by God

becomes a great feast with leftovers. 

But It’s not really about the food,

 though that is real and important, 

It’s about compassion and care

 in the face of grief and loss of hope.

 Compassion and care that God offers

 even as God shares our grief,

 the healing

 the food,

 are tangible offers of hope,

 because God knows that even if it’s not really about the food,

 it is much easier to have hope for the future on a full stomach.

This isn’t the first time God has done this,

God fed the Israelites in the wilderness on manna and quail,

 preserving them as a way to draw the rest of the nations to God,

 and when the time came to extend the promise

 God started out with a great feast

 as we heard in Isaiah, God calling out through the prophet:

“Hear, everyone who thirsts;

  come to the waters;

 and you who have no money,

  come, buy and eat!

 Come, buy wine and milk

  without money and without price.

 ² Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread

  and your earnings for that which does not satisfy?

 Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,

  and delight yourselves in rich food.

 ³ Incline your ear, and come to me;

  listen, so that you may live.” 

 God showing through the people of Israel

what God is about

promises as rich and free as the feast God lays out,

 life as abundant and good as this feast.

The Kingdom of heaven has come near

Jesus proclaims

 as he has the disciples sit the crowds down and feed them,

a meal of hope

 in a place where food and hope are scarce.

And this isn’t the last time

 God will show compassion through a feast,

 on his last night with his disciples

Jesus had a meal with them,

time spent together yes,

but also one more gift,

the gift of himself in the form of a feast,

 this bread is my body,

this wine is my blood,

given and shed for you,

do this in remembrance of me, he tells his disciples

 who don’t understand yet,

but who will remember his words when hope is scarce,

 and taking bread and wine and remembering,

Jesus will be with them real tangible hope.

Real tangible hope that Jesus offers us,

 knowing that this world is far from perfect,

that there will be times when the powers of the world

 seem to be overwhelming the good we believe in,

 Jesus feels it too and has compassion for us

even as he grieves with us,

and then he brings us to the table

and offers us bread and wine,

his very self

 tangible hope,

a taste of the kingdom of heaven. Amen