Come As You Are

A friend of mine is a hospital chaplain.  One day she met a patient with special needs and was unable to fully meet those needs.  In the hospital corridor, she overheard a relative of the patient say to a nurse, “I thought the chaplain was a good person.  But now, I just don’t think much of her anymore.” My friend told me that over the years, she’s never forgotten those words.  She told me that on her deathbed, she’ll still be hearing that voice saying, “I just don’t think much of her anymore.”

That chaplain was written off by another person.  And the experience, although not very dramatic in worldly terms, has crippled her, as those words still ring in her ears.  To be written off by another person is not just a bad thing.  It’s a terrible thing.

In this coming Sunday’s gospel, Jesus and the disciples are sailing across the Sea of Galilee.  When the boat nears the shore, the disciples see five thousand people waiting for them on the beach.  You can almost hear their voices – “Wait a minute!  What’s going on here?  We need a break.  We can’t handle this crowd.  Let’s turn around.”

Then comes the writing off.  It’s getting late, people are getting hungry, and the disciples say to Jesus, “This is a lonely place.  It’s getting late.  Send these people away.  Let them go into the local towns and buy themselves some food.”  Send them away.  The disciples did it, and it happens today.  If you’ve ever been written off, you know how much it can hurt.

One more thing.  We’re asked to identify not only with the five thousand, but also with the disciples.  They’re exhausted, they don’t have any money, it’s late, and there’s no way for them to buy food for five thousand people.  You can almost hear James and John shouting, “Listen up, people – God helps those who help themselves.” And, of course, that’s a lie.  The reason why the disciples write off the crowd, and why you and I write off others, is that we’re threatened.  We write people off when who they are or what they have hits too close to home.  We write them off because, as Carly Simon puts it, “I haven’t got time for the pain.”

And what does the risen Jesus Christ say?  “I help those who cannot help themselves.”  The good news is that God has all the time in the world for the pain of those who are discounted - and for the discounters. The message of the cross is that Christ takes us at face value, as we are, flaws and all, hurts and all, hates and all, vulnerabilities and all, insecurities and all – and loves us as he finds us.

Five small loaves of bread and a couple of tiny fish.  And what happens?  Jesus touches the loaves and fish.  That’s all.  And the text says, “All five thousand ate, and they were filled.”

Come to church this Sunday.  Bring your pain over being written off by others - and your guilt over writing others off.  See what happens.

Can’t wait!

Jim