"Don't Give Up" | Rev. Dr. Donovan Drake preaching | 08.02.26

"Don't Give Up" | Rev. Dr. Donovan Drake preaching | 08.02.26

Matthew 14:13-21

Jesus feeds 5000 

14:13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.

14:14 When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion for them and cured their sick.

14:15 When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves."

14:16 Jesus said to them, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat."

14:17 They replied, "We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish."

14:18 And he said, "Bring them here to me."

14:19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.

14:20 And all ate and were filled, and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full.

14:21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Here is the context for today's scripture from Matthew. John the Baptist was murdered in the palace during the king's feast. During the king's birthday feast. There was music, dancing, pimento cheese sandwiches, a line at the bar, John's head on a platter, birthday cake, have you tried the egg salad? When suffering makes no impact on the decor, that's a bad day. But there are some in this world who notice the suffering. When Jesus heard the news about John, it made Jesus do this from Matthew the fourteenth chapter, verses thirteen through twenty one. Hear the word of God. Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. When it was evening the disciples came to him and said, This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late. Send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves. Jesus said to them, They need not go away. You give them something to eat. They replied, We have nothing here, but five loaves and two fish. And he said, Bring them here to me. And then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds, and all ate and were filled, and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children. And this is the word of the Lord. After Jesus was punched in the gut by this horrific news, what do you think Jesus was thinking? Was he outraged? How sick can people get? Head on a platter at a birthday party? Was he sad? His mind going through the carousel of slides just remembering, remembering, remembering, remembering, remembering, remembering John? Was he full of wonder about his career path? John died because he marched up to the palace and pointed a finger at the king's sin. Do I do the same? Or is it better for me to leave the king's affairs alone? Bide my time, healing, teaching, living a few more days. Do you think Jesus thought I'm done? I quit. John's life hasn't changed a thing. Lord, take this cup from me, I give up. Speculate all we want. Matthew only gives us his actions. Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew there from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself and went ashore. Do you understand the concept of being alone? So rare these days, I think it needs some explaining. I was walking my dog on Thursday morning. I rounded the corner, and about twenty yards or so away from me was a woman walking her dog, and I could tell that she was on her phone because I could hear her voice. I had never met this woman before or her dog. She was on the phone. Her dog was tugging her towards my dog, Bella. She was on the phone. So I tried to keep my dog the other side. I didn't want to bother her while she was on the phone, but she kept tugging. And then I heard the woman's voice say, My dog wants to say hello to another dog. And so our dogs exchange pleasantries the way dogs do. She stayed on her phone talking. And I stood there watching the dogs. And I was alone. That is what is called being alone. It is so rare these days. Phones and ear pods and scrolling on scrolling and scrolling. We're never alone. He got into a boat alone. There is a sound a boat makes when you get into it.

SPEAKER_00 6:20

He saw the bow of the boat cut away.

SPEAKER_01 6:29

He saw the curl of the oar, how the water just curls. He saw the placid path that was behind. A fish jumped. He felt the strain of his muscle, the sound of his labored breath, breath, breath, breath, breath, restbeat. Wind alone. You can see. Alone, you can hear. He set a course for alone. Alone is different than loneliness. Loneliness is a major public health crisis in America. People suffer from loneliness, and yet their lives can be filled with crowds and traffic and family and co-workers. I don't think anyone says, I want to be lonely. I think loneliness just latches on to people. It is the number one health crisis in America. I think it's hard to understand how the church can be dying in America when there's so much loneliness. Difficult to understand how a church could be consumed by fine-tuning a mission statement when people are lonely. I don't understand why the church can seem to be no earthly good unless it's because the church has never asked itself in the quietness of itself, why am I here? Who am I? And what's going on out there? There are congregations that are now gone. They used to meet. They had great music, a house full of guests, a line at the coffee bar, while just above the donut holes Jesus dangled from a cross. When suffering makes no impact on the decor, that's a bad day. The church forgot who it was. Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. I think Jesus just needed to remember who he was alone. He had to listen to himself think. He had to listen to himself think. And I think we live in a culture that runs runs away from that thought. Fill it up with sound and pictures and people. It's strange to be alone in your own thoughts. To think things out. Sometimes when I'm alone in my own thoughts, I get anxious. I think of things to which I have no answer. But I'm trying to discipline myself to stop going to my phone for answers. Or to watch a cat video. After all, there's nothing like a cat video that can't cure anything. I'm getting better at taking a breath and saying this is the day that the Lord has made. And starting a prayer and realizing that when I'm alone, I'm not really alone. But sometimes when I'm alone, and I'm thinking about all that stuff for which I have no answers, and the answers that I have had have not worked, and I've come to believe that even though I'm thinking I'm struggling with it all, even though I'm very much alone, even though I'm not even thinking about God, I think that even all of that going on in my head alone by myself is in fact a prayer. After all, the psalmist says before, word is on my tongue. Oh Lord, you know it completely. Which means God is all in here even when we're alone in our mess of thoughts, not even praying. God knows what's going on. Who are we kidding to think that we can keep any of that from God? And that is really what we're thinking before we dress it up and go, oh dear God, I'm so sorry that I'm afraid. That is our stuff of our prayer. And hopefully, Paul is right that the Spirit can intercede in all of this with sighs too deep for words, and that God is rooting for us and caring for us and loving us and moving for us. If we could just open our eyes, if we could just find some peace in being alone with God. You can't cover it up with sound or videos or parties. Now, when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. I was recently this week with a family who has suffered loss upon loss upon loss upon loss. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, four major losses. Sister, dad, son, mother, two tragic losses, all just months apart. And here I come in after the latest loss to figure out how we might celebrate the life of the one we lost. But there in that room it was clear to me that they weren't ready to celebrate. They were just feeling the loss. Mom, I do think I do think I can be happy again. I do think I can be happy again. A mother always hopes for a child. Don't give up, son. Don't give up. When you're alone you have to look grief straight in the eye, you wrestle with it. Jesus withdrew to a deserted place to be by himself alone. And there, perhaps, in a still small voice, don't give up, son. Where can I go from your presence? Where can I flee from your spirit? If I go to heaven, you are there, if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there, if I take the wings of the morning and settle on the farthest limits of the sea, even there, your hand shall guide me, your right hand shall hold me fast. The science is saying that we are built to be spiritually aware. The science is saying this. And the science is saying that giving up on that very sense that we are spiritually, giving up on that is in fact killing us. And as I said in a few sermons ago, a high school student who says, Yes, I turn to God for guidance in times of difficulty is 80% less likely to become addicted, 75% less likely to have depression, 82% less likely to commit suicide. There's nothing else that compares to this. The science is saying we need to be spiritually aware. We are spiritually aware. We can't give up on it. We got to get in the boat. The boat.

SPEAKER_00 17:30

It gives us stamina. It gives us hope.

SPEAKER_01 17:40

It gives the world stamina. It gives the world hope. When Jesus arrived at his deserted destination and found a crowd of refugees, a crowd who Matthew says also heard the news of John the Baptist's death, and they also followed him to a deserted place alone. We gather in a sanctuary because we're hungry and we're thirsty for a word that is wholly different. Something other. We gather, we come here for a word. And the crowd says, Our ears are open. And Jesus took the bread, looked up to the heavens, and he broke it. And he says, This is my body broken for you. Don't give up. And that kind man, that generous man, that loving man, that giving man, it was too much. Too much for some. They took him to a cross. Oh Lord, why hast thou forsaken me? Don't give up. They placed him in a tomb. And then people went into the tomb, found it empty. Don't give up. And folks somehow heard that he was alive. Somehow, that darkness and despair does have nothing to say, has nothing to say to this world. And with hearts full of doubt, they doubted their doubts. And they took what little they had, nothing except a good word. And they went out into the world. Taste and see that the Lord is good. They gave it all, and when they gave it all, guess what? They had leftovers. The good news never runs out, it never comes back empty. Don't give up.