By Rev. Peter J. Haugen
St Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church
The signs, the miracles, of our Lord — such as the Feeding of the 4,000 that we encounter in St. Mark 8:1-9 — reveal to us the character of God, reveal to us Who in fact this Man, this God-in-the-Flesh, is: He is the Lord of steadfast love and mercy. He is the Lord Who sacrifices Himself in order that Adam and Eve — and we, the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve — might live. He is the Lord Who leads the grumbling Israelites out of Egypt; Who provides food and drink for them in the wilderness; Who does not forget them, but brings them to the Promised Land. He is the Lord Who has compassion upon His people.
But observe in this the necessary context: The wilderness and suffering must plow the field before the planting and the harvest, must prepare the way for God’s gracious work. And so it is that the people of Israel must endure the darkness of their slavery of Egypt, that they might be brought out of it into the light. And so it is that they must endure hunger and thirst, that they might be feasted. And so it is that they must endure the wilderness and wandering, that they might be delivered from it into rest, into a home, into the Promised Land. And so it is that the crowd must be led away from safety, away from home, away from civilization into the wilderness, into the desolate place, into the certainty of starvation and death. It is only once they have been brought to the end of themselves in this way that they are in a position to receive the compassionate mercy of the Lord.
This is also the case for you. We exist in the desolate places of this life, always journeying through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. The truth is that even when we are surrounded by the joys and blessings of this life, by the times of celebration and thanksgiving, the shadow of that black valley yet lies over us. But it is as we are brought to the end of ourselves by our suffering, by the realities of the desolate places in which we find ourselves, that we find the compassion of our Christ for us manifested.
Our Lord is gracious to bring you to the point where you will perish if you attempt the way Home in your own strength. He is gracious to bring you to the point where you must recognize your need, must cling desperately and only to Him, must rest secure in His steadfast love and mercy. He is gracious to provide for you true churches, places where the fullness of the Word of God is preached and the Sacraments are administered that you might be fed, that you might be strengthened for the journey Home. Our Lord Jesus is here with you Christians to walk with you; to show mercy to you; to love you steadfastly; to the End. Amen.
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