John 6:1-13

Not so long ago, I had the wonderful experience of having to call a company that uses what is known as IVR, or interactive voice response.  What that means is that I had a conversation with a very pleasant, computerized voice in some kind of electronic purgatory.  That company had discovered that it costs too much in time and personnel to actually have a live person talk to callers about whatever it is that we need, and so we get these computerized assistants.  So much for personal customer service.

After spending time with this lovely computer voice, frustrated beyond all measure that I could not find the right combination of codes to actually get connected to a live person, I have decided that what is needed is a more honest response from these companies.  I think that the next time a computer answers the phone at the company I called, it should say something like this:

Hello and thank you for calling Conglom Corporation.  Your call may be monitored for our future entertainment.  Your call is very important to us, but not nearly as important as it is to you.  If you are calling from a rotary phone, well, that’s just sad.  Our automated voice system enables you to answer the prompts by voice instead of pushing buttons, making it seem like you’re talking to an actual person.  We know that you’re not really fooled by this, but we’re going to do it anyway.  We don’t have to pay the computer or give it a coffee break, health insurance, or vacation time, so the whole thing works great for our profit margin.  You can scream at it all you want, but it will still be pleasant to you.  Please listen to the following menu options, and then press or say the number that corresponds with your choice.  You will need to have in your hand your Social Security card, names of your entire extended family, 54-digit account number and your eighth-grade locker combination.  Even though you enter these now, we’ll ask you to repeat them over and over again, because even though you’ve been sending us truckloads of money every month for our services, we still have no idea who you are.  If at any time you wish to speak to a customer service representative, hang up and call the unemployment office.

Contrary to this experience of impersonal response to my call, the scripture this morning gives us three examples of very personal response:  there is the response of Jesus to the needs of the crowd; the response of Andrew, who brought someone to Jesus; and the response of a small boy, who was willing to share what he had with others.

First, we have the personal response of Jesus to the needs of the crowd.  These people had been following Jesus so closely and so persistently that there hadn’t been any time for Jesus to eat, pray, or simply take a break and rest.  Now there was a gathering of five thousand men, plus women and children, who had apparently pursued Jesus all the way around the lake without making adequate preparations for their trip.  It would seem that no one had even thought to pack food.  So, Jesus decided to take care of this himself.

Jesus called Philip over and told him to get the people something to eat.  Philip, ever the practical one in the bunch, told Jesus that it would be impossible to do so.  Even if there were someplace to purchase some food, which there wasn’t, it would take six months’ wages to provide even a small serving of food for each person present.  Jesus had anticipated this response from Philip, and he already knew what he was going to do.  Jesus took what was available – a small lunch of loaves of bread and fish – and somehow managed to make it sufficient to feed all those people.  He invited the people to sit down and proceeded to hand out the food.  He acted with compassion, and the people responded with faith.  A miracle happened that day.

Jesus still responds personally to the needs of people.  When we meet Jesus in prayer, when we talk to Jesus about our needs and our hurts and where we are broken, Jesus will bring healing and wholeness to our lives.  When we feel alone and afraid, Jesus brings us courage and strength and a sense of his presence.  Everyone does not have the same need, and Jesus meets each person where he or she is.

The second example of personal response came when Andrew brought the boy with the lunch to Jesus.  If you read the gospels carefully, you will discover that Andrew was always bringing people to Jesus.  He brought his brother, Simon Peter, to Jesus, and Peter turned out to be the Rock on which Jesus founded the church.  Andrew brought the Greeks to Jesus, and the gospel was then preached to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews.  You never know what might happen when you bring someone to Jesus.  Andrew just kept on doing it.  And amazing things kept on happening.

A part of our commitment as a follower of Jesus is to invite others to follow him, too.  Most people come to church because a friend, family member, neighbor, or co-worker invited them to come.  When Jesus has made a difference in your life, you want others to experience that for themselves, and so you are willing to share that with them.  It may be as simple as inviting someone to a hymn sing or church picnic or service at the harbor or roast beef dinner.  But make the invitation.  You never know how it might change someone’s life.

Finally, there was the personal response of the boy with the lunch.  He had only brought enough food for himself.  And yet, when the need arose, he was willing to offer it to Jesus.  He did what he could with what he had.  And that is the calling we each experience.  John Wesley said, “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”

Fanny Crosby was born in Putnam County, New York, in 1820.  She was blinded in infancy through the malpractice of a doctor.  In 1835 she enrolled in a school for the blind in New York City and remained there for twelve years, first as a student and then as a teacher.  Her poetry brought great acclaim to the school, and she was frequently asked by visiting dignitaries to recite her work.  In 1850, Fanny attended a revival at a Methodist Church and gave her life to Christ.  She turned her talents to writing hymns, eventually producing about 8,000 hymns.  Only seven of them are included in our hymnal:  Rescue the Perishing; I Am Thine, O Lord; Close to Thee; Blessed  Assurance; To God be the Glory; Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross; and Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior.  At age 60, Fanny began working in rescue missions, even living in the slums herself, touching the lives of countless homeless and addicted people.  She was a popular teacher and preacher, with people standing in lines around city blocks hoping to hear her.  She is buried in Connecticut and her tombstone reads simply, “She hath done what she could.”

There are things that you can do that Jesus needs you to do for the sake of the gospel, for the sake of the kingdom of God, for the sake of the church.  All you have to do is offer them up to his service and he will put you to work.  It doesn’t have to be something huge or impressive; even what may seem to you to be the smallest thing can make a meaningful impact on someone’s life.

My prayer is that our church will follow the example of Jesus, and of Andrew, and of a small boy whose name we don’t even know:  that we would be able to make a personal response to people in need, because we are willing to offer who we are, what we have, and what we can give, in the service of God.