Edgewood United Church

United Church of Christ

July 30, 2006   Edgewood United Church UCC Rev. Karen E. Gale

Synergy
John 6:1-21

Today’s scripture reading is a very familiar story: the feeding of the 5,000. The miracle of the loaves and fishes. This is the only story from Jesus’ ministry that is in all four gospels. This means it must have been particularly important or symbolic for all the gospel writers. However, the way the story is told in the gospel of John that we read from today is quite different.

In thinking about this we remember that the gospel of John was written far later than the other gospels. If the gospel of Mark was written first around 70-75 CE and then Matthew and Luke somewhere in the 80’s or later, John was written sometime between the year 90 and 110 CE. This is 60-80 years after Jesus died. Also, given short life expectancy rates in the ancient world, the writers would be the fourth generation after Jesus and disciples. A lot has changed. In particular, there is a huge fight going on in the early church as to who Jesus was and how to define his personhood and his godhood. This battle existed mainly between Gnostic Christians who did not believe that Jesus was human and another group of Christians who eventually won the fight and are the predecessors of Christian church today. These Christians believed Jesus was both fully human and fully divine.

We also know that the gospel of John was written by committee. Many of you have sat on committees and know just how hard it is to write as a group. Imagine negotiating the details of Jesus’ life-what to include and what to leave out-as a group. As a side note, this group called the community of John also wrote the Johannine epistles, John 1, 2, 3, about a generation later and you can compare the gospel to these letters to see how the community changed in its thinking, theology and what debates were current in their midst.

For many people, the gospel of John is their favorite gospel, often because the language is beautiful. The imagery is rich and includes many long passages of Jesus speaking in great metaphors: I am the true vine, I am the bread of life. But it also true that John is the least historical of the gospels meaning that it was written not so much to be a factual historical record, but as a faithful capturing of what it means to believe in Jesus and who Jesus was theologically and as the head of the church.

This brings us right back to this morning’s story. Listen to how our scripture begins:

“After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming towards him, Jesus said to Philip, ‘Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?’ He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do.”

This rendering of the story very different. In the other gospels gathering of the crowd and feeding the multitudes just happens. The disciples and Jesus problem solve on the spot. But here Jesus already knows what is going to happen; he already has a plan, and, from the perspective of the gospel writer, Jesus is going to demonstrate his power and make it clear to his followers, and more importantly, to us the reader, who he is.

In some ways what the disciples do matters very little. They are the straight men in a comedy routine or props to heighten the drama. Philip says that it is too expensive to feed everyone: “it would take six months wages!” We think, oh no, buying food for everyone  won’t work. Then Andrew says, “here is a boy with 5 loaves and 2 fish. What are they among so many people?” Well, that solution is not very helpful either to feed 5000 folks. Whatever will they do?

But the story goes on:  “Jesus said, ‘Make the people sit down.’ Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, ‘Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.’ So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, ‘This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.’”

To the writers of John, this whole episode was something Jesus knew about and was in control of from start to finish. In fact, it was designed to illustrate who Jesus was: a divine figure with incredible power who could feed 5,000 people just like that. Many see in the blessing and breaking of the bread Jesus is indicating the last supper and his own brokenness on the cross. This is an image of God in human form who can do the impossible and knows the future clearly as well as his role in it. All is determined ahead of time.

I am troubled by this theology. This is something I have wrestled with for a long time. Is God or Christ is control of everything at all times? Is everything decided in advance? Is there a grand plan? This theology is one of predestination or the idea that everything has been planned and decided long ago. This is part of our Reformed heritage as a UCC church. In colonial times folks keep long diaries trying to discern if their life was one of blessings or damnation. What was the plan? This point of view declares that there is meaning in everything. That even in our worst tragedy, failure or loss, there is a plan and a reason.

The other theological option is a point of view that life is random, chaotic  and unpredictable. Events and tragedies happen just because they do. God is not in charge. There is no plan but just random occurrences. This can be a scary place to be.

These choices are illustrated in how one views the scripture today. Either one can see the miracle of the loaves and fishes as a powerful Jesus in control of everything. A divine figure who can do great miracles of great power. A powerful figure of God at work in the world.

Or one can see the miracle of the loaves and fishes as one boy sharing his lunch which then prompts everyone to share their lunch. A giant potluck ensues with the miracle being the sharing. A miracle of human generosity, but without any need for Jesus to start multiplying bread.

The gospel of John is clearly in the first position. Modern theologians and liberal church goers are often more comfortable in the second position.

But what if there is a middle way? A way between predestined lives in God’s control and absence of God’s power.

We could call this middle way synergy. “Synergy is from the Greek synergos meaning working together. It refers to the phenomenon in which two or more discrete influences or agents acting together create an effect greater than that predicted by knowing only the separate effects of the individual agents. Synergy was originally a theological concept stemming from the 1657 doctrine that human will cooperates with divine grace in regeneration. The term began to be used in the broader, non-theological, sense by 1925. In the 1960s it was first used to describe supposed economies of scale in business, reappearing in the 1990s as a common business buzzword.

“Human synergy relates to interacting humans where a mutually advantageous conjunction is greater than the sum of the parts. For example, if person A alone is too short to reach an apple on a tree and person B is too short as well. Once person B sits on the shoulders of person A, they are more than tall enough to reach the apple. In this example, the product of their synergy would be one apple.

“Synergy usually arises when two persons with different complementary skills cooperate. In general, the most common reason why people cooperate is that it brings a synergy. On the other hand, people tend to specialize just to be able to form groups with high synergy.” (wikipedia.com)

Synergy means partnership. I believe what happens in the world is synergy between ourselves and God.

I don’t believe everything is all planned out because I cannot reconcile myself to the horrible things that happen in life, in our own lives, on the world stage. When talking to parents who have lost a child I could not bring myself to say, “well, this is God’s plan.” What kind of image of God is that? For some this idea captures a God who has everything planned out and we are just moving according to plan, which, I have to admit, can be very, very comforting. When terrible things happen it can be a real comfort to think that God has it all under control, that we will understand it all in time, and that there is a reason for our suffering. We don’t suffer in vain but there is a purpose and if we can discern the plan we may feel confident in the overall result.

Except that life is full of tragedies both natural and accidental. I think it is true that we do live in a chaotic world. I can’t believe in a God who plans everything out because then where does that leave us as human beings? It impinges on free will and it can make our movements in the world seem somewhat meaningless. I can’t imagine that the hundreds who have died in the bombings in Lebanon and Israel are part of God’s plan. For me that is impossible. But then that leaves me with wrestling with a human situation that is nearly impossible if we are indeed alone.

But I also don’t believe we are alone in the world. We work in concert with God. We are co-creators in this world. And this combination of God’s power and our power creates synergy, far more than could be done by us alone. I think synergy enables God to move in the world far more than is possible without us. Our gifts are multiplied through the spirit moving through us.

I was thinking this week about the Farmer’s Market here at Edgewood.  Each week several people bring in produce from their gardens, the equivalent of a few loaves of bread and some fish. And Frank does his miracle gleaning at MSU. Then we all donate to purchase the fruits and veggies and flowers. Week after week. It is isn’t much—just a few tables worth of fresh produce. But by the end of the summer we have raised $1200. And that money is then sent to food relief in Malawi and in the Lansing area. That makes us connected to AIDS orphans in Africa, and poor children in our own town. It is a bit miraculous in a way. When we seek $1200 in our budget each year it can be hard to find. But slowly week by week with the power of the spirit, it appears after a summer of gardening. I know some folks only grow a garden to support this project.

Our gardening work and donations plus the spirit of God that connects us one to another as this church body plus the will and connection to people in need far and near and the theology that calls us to serve them. Synergy.

Despite the lovely language in the gospel of John, I don’t believe God is controlling everything, though it is ok if you do. And despite all that happens so tragically in our world that leads us to despair, I don’t believe that we are alone, though it is ok if you do.

I believe in a God of synergy who works with us and through us to the extent that we are open and allow it. A God who comforts us in great tragedy. A God who celebrates with us in times of joy. A God who multiplies our gifts because what we give out of faith in conjunction with others does achieve more than we ever thought possible.

I’ll close with this story from pastor H. Stephen Shoemaker:
“I’ve experienced this gospel truth at my former congregation in Fort Worth, Texas, which on Thursdays throws open the fellowship hall to the homeless of the city, 200 or so. We sit down with them and eat a family-style meal together. We call it our Agape Meal. There are tablecloths, cut flowers and platters of delicious food with identifiable meats, but the most crucial and most wonderful thing is that over the years the church and the homeless people of Fort Worth have become friends.

“When we began, 15 or 20 homeless people showed up. They were justifiably skeptical and, because there were more of us than them, a little nervous. These days, however, the hall fills with people, from infants to older adults, Caucasian, African-American, Hispanic, Asian-American and Native American -- the streets of our cities are very democratic. And we eat together, church and community. One guest said, "We know the food is good because you sit and eat it with us." After the meal we worship around the tables. Fair warning is given and over half leave before the first song. One guest said, "Thanks for giving us our freedom of religion!"

“After worship we offer communion in the chapel next door. About 15 come. Some weep as they come down the aisle. They thought they’d never take communion again. When you lose your home you often lose your access to the sacraments. The exclusion of economics keeps thousands of people from the Lord’s Table every week.

“When we began the Agape Meal we did not know how long the ministry would last or how we would fund it. Today, five years of Thursdays later, 30,000 meals have been eaten around those tables and we have never been short of money.

“But the greater miracle is the lives of the people who have joined the gathering and the friendships begun: The schizophrenic woman trying to stay safe and on her meds says that this night gets her to the next Thursday night because here she feels beloved and treasured. Wayne, an older man, lived behind the Pizza Hut and kept warm in an electric blanket the manager let him hook up on cold nights. For the last three years of his life, before he was killed in a car crash, he said this weekly meal kept him alive.

“And then there was a young teen who was so touched by the tenderness and love that she went to a phone, called her mother, and said, "Mom, I’m coming home."

“One Thursday a middle-aged Hispanic man came for communion. As I served him he made the sign of the cross and tears streamed down his face. Afterwards I said glibly, "Come back next week. The food is always good." He stopped me. "The food’s not why I come, he said as he nodded toward the fellowship hall. "This is why I come," he said, pointing to the bread and wine.” (Christian Century July 5, 2000)

Synergy. God and the people of God working together to make more than was ever possible, possible. That, my friends, is the miracle.
Amen.