God Meets Us in Our Deserted Places; Sermon for Feb 24, 2019 on Matthew 14:13-36

Rev. George Miller
Feb 24, 2019
Matthew 14:13-36

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there was an Egyptian slave-girl named Hagar. She was the property of Sarah and Abraham.

Though she had zero say in the manner, Hagar became pregnant by Abraham and mistreated by Sarah.

So she took control over her life and ran away. She ran into the wilderness. She ran and she ran and she did not stop running until she came across a spring of water.

It was at that deserted place that the angel of the Lord found her, and said “Hagar, child, where have you come from, and where are you going?”

Hagar shared her heartbreaking story and God made her a promise- that she would have a son named Ishmael and she’d become the Big Mama of many.

Realizing she had just experienced a holy space and a holy time, Hagar named the Lord “Elroi” which means “You are the God Who Sees.”

She named the deserted place “Be-er-la-hai-roi” which means “The Well of the Living One Who Sees.”

7 centuries later in another land far, far away there was a 40 year-old man named Moses.

Though he had been raised in a palace, he was now a sheep-herder, watching over his father-in-laws flock.

Moses was in a deserted place, beyond the wilderness, utterly alone.

There, in a burning bush, the Lord appeared, calling out to him:

“Moses, Moses…I AM the God of your father; I AM the God of Abraham. I have heard the cries of my people, and I AM sending you to save them from their captivity.”

Moses was afraid. Moses was unsure. Moses said “But who am I that you would give me such a big responsibility?”

The same God who had spoken to Hagar 7 centuries before in another deserted place, said “Don’t doubt who you are; know that I AM the great I AM, and I will be with you.”

The wilderness plays a special role in the Bible. Deserted spaces appear throughout scripture, from Hagar to Moses, Elijah to the exiles.

These are places of danger and uncertainty, of apparent bleakness and isolation, of being without and therefore totally vulnerable.

Whenever we hear of someone being in a deserted place we are not to think of someone on a spiritual retreat, or taking “me time” to contemplate a tree.

We are to think that they have hit a low spot in their lives, or are facing a harrowing threat, or are in a time of transition.

A deserted place can be a desert, the deep, dark woods, or a secluded mountain way up high.

A deserted place can be an emotional space of fear and loss, worry and uncertainty.

Biblically speaking, a deserted place is many times the place in which God appears and does the unexpected, speaks a new word, does a new thing.

A deserted place is where God can rewrite the narrative from hopelessness into hopefulness.

Hagar flees into the wilderness and discovers that God sees her.

Moses schleps beyond the wilderness and discovers there’s a whole new chapter to his life.

Today, Jesus escapes into the wilderness and performs what is perhaps his greatest miracle.

First, some important back story.

Remember John the Baptist?

How he baptized Jesus in the Jordan? How he told people to repent because the kingdom of heaven is near?

Well, John’s preaching about God’s government has not gone well, and he’s been arrested and executed by Herod.

Now Herod has his sight on Jesus as a threat to the established rule of order.

Upon hearing this news, Jesus leaves as fast as he can, taking a boat to a deserted place. But word gets out and the crowds follow him.

Here Jesus is: his comrade in ministry has been murdered, his life is in danger.

He’s in a deserted place yet surrounded by a multitude of people, meaning his location is no longer a secret.

Night falls and now there are thousands of hungry men, women and children.

And apparently there is nothing to offer them except….except…

…so with nothing else to lose, Jesus instructs them to sit on the green, green grass…

…he takes what little they have, and looks up to the heavens…

…and there is enough for all to eat and be filled, with an abundance of left-over broken and fragmented pieces…

…Hagar ran into the wilderness and God saw…Moses schlepped into the wilderness and God called…Jesus escaped into the wilderness and God fed the multitude…

What an amazing story that defies description, refuses an explanation, and challenges us to believe a miracle of magnificent proportions.

The Kingdom of Herod demands John’s head on a platter, but the Kingdom of Heaven says there is enough food for everyone around.

Today’s scripture is so vital, so elemental to our faith. It is the only miracle of Jesus to be told in all 4 gospels.

When paired with the death of John, the storm at sea, and the healing of the sick, we get a true view of Jesus’ ministry and the ways in which God breaks into our world.

We see how it is not just at wedding parties, or mountaintop classrooms or seashore services that God works,

but how God works in times of fear, God works in deserted places,
God works in times of scarcity,
God works in the storms, and
God works in times of illness and disease.

In some ways Matthew 14 may be the single most important chapter of the New Testament because it really allows us to see how Jesus is human and divine.

It shows us the beauty and the horrors of the world.

It shows both the miraculous and disastrous, side by side.

Matthew 14 shows how God, through Jesus can act in our lives, and what we can expect by living a life of faith.

Today’s reading reminds us that there will always be wildernesses in our lives, there will always be lonely places, and deserted times.

There will always be stormy seas and torturous winds.

There will always be political turmoil and unjust events.

There will always be the sick, the needy, and the hungry.

The Kingdom of the World will say “That’s that! Time to give up. Time to give in. There’s nothing you can do. Nothing good will ever come from a deserted space.”

But scripture tells us another thing; scripture tells us another truth.

The narrative of God’s people tells us that sometimes the wilderness, sometimes the deserted spaces are

exactly where we are supposed to be, exactly where greatness is about to happen.

After all, it is in the deserted spaces that we are most vulnerable, the most exposed, most devoid of all things…

…therefore we are most ready to receive.

Sometimes it is in the deserted places that God is most able to act.

Those in bondage, caught up in the unfairness of life’s circumstances, might be better able to see and hear.

Those in a rut can come across an unexpected fire with a unique voice that says “This is what you are being called to do.”

Those who are gathered, hungry, far from home, can be fed and experience how scarcity can turn into plenty.

Those who are caught in a storm with water up to their neck and harsh winds from every side, can call out to the Lord and experience God’s hand reaching right back.

The Kingdom of the World may tell us “More! Brighter! Bigger! Pop-boom-zing!”

But sometimes, sometimes it is in the complete absence, in complete lack, in complete solitude, in complete loss…

…that the God Who Remembers,
the God Who Sees,
the great I AM

is most ready to heal us,
to save us,
to fill us with the bread from heaven, with plenty left over,
and more surprises yet to share.

For that, we can say “Amen and amen.”