The Gospel According to Once Upon a Time
#9 – The Recipe for a Miracle
John 6:1-14 (NRSV)
By John Gill ~ September 1, 2024

ONCE UPON A TIME… a homeless vagabond (a person you and I would call a “tramp”) entered a village nestled in the valley between mountain peaks. The homes were small, but well kept, a pleasant looking town, the kind of place you and I might like to live. But there was something peculiar about this village. There were no people in the streets, no visiting over the back fences, no children playing in the fields. At first the stranger thought the whole town might be deserted, except for the smoke that rose from each chimney.

Hungry, the beggar decided to try his luck at getting a hand-out. He knocked on the first door. A grouchy lady with a crying baby on her hip, snapped, “We don’t have any food for you. Go away!” and she shut the door in his face. At the next house, an elderly man looked suspiciously at the stranger and refused to offer him anything, saying, “Our cupboard is empty,” and he, too, slammed the door. House by house the poor man went, and each time, he was told there was no food to share. He walked away dejected, and still hungry.

Wearily, he sat down by the village well. As he rested there, a woman came to draw water. Right then the vagabond had an idea! He picked up a smooth round stone from the ground and began to toss it casually in the air. Then he said to himself, but loud enough so the woman could hear, “If only I had a soup kettle, I could make me a fine pot of stone soup.” The woman was intrigues, and spoke to the man: “You can make soup from a stone?” “Oh, yes!” the man replied, “This is a magic stone. All I have to do is place this stone in a pot of boiling water, and it will produce a soup fit for a king!”

The woman was skeptical, but she decided to play along. “Well, I have an extra soup pot at home. I’d like to see you make soup from a stone.” So, she rushed home and returned with a large black caldron. The man drew some water from the well, built a fire, and before long steam was rising from the pot. Then, with a great flourish, he tossed the “magic” stone into the pot and began to stir.

Of course, by this time, all the people of the village had begun to peek out of their windows to see this strange sight. One by one, they began to gather around the unlikely chef. From time to time, he would raise the ladle to his lips, and comment on how excellent the soup tasted. He was so convincing, that the people even began to believe that they could smell it themselves. Then the cook made the off-handed comment, “This soup is coming along nicely. But it would be even better with a few potatoes in it.” “The lady with the squalling baby said, “I think a have a few extra potatoes,” and she went home and fetched them. Into the pot they went. Next came some carrots, and barley, and green beans, and tomatoes. Finally, someone threw in some herbs, and salt, and pepper. By this time, there was no doubt about it… the soup smelled delicious.

At last, the stranger declared that the soup was ready, and that there was plenty-enough to share. Everyone went home and got bowls and spoons and loaves of bread. And right there on the village green, the entire town sat down together and enjoyed the “miracle soup” – made from a stone!

ONCE UPON A TIME… there was another village, also nestled in a valley surrounded by rolling hills – a town that had as its sole claim-to-fame the reputation of producing the finest wine in all the land. So rich was the soil in that part of the country that virtually everyone there grew wine grapes, even if they only had a small plot to farm.

Now, every year, some of these farmers would host a wine festival. People from all over the country would travel great distances to sample the wine of the valley. But there was a problem… In the early days, when only a few came to the festival, the cost was not too much of a burden on the vintners. But word had spread, and every year the crowds had grown… until the few farmers who sponsored the festival were not able to handle it alone. How would they serve so great a number of pilgrims? Who would pay for the event? And, who would be expected to provide the wine for all those guests?

So, the village fathers devised a plan. They created a community winery to produce enough wine for the annual festival. And every vintner in the valley would be asked to donate a tithe (that is, 10% of their produce) to the community winery.

All the people loved the idea, and for many years, the system worked like a charm…. All the farmers gave their tithe, and the festival never ran out of wine.

But then, one year all that began to change. One of the poor farmers thought to himself, “You know, I have so little yield on my small plot of ground that I really can’t afford to tithe…I think that this year, instead of sending vats of wine, I’ll just fill the vats with water. When it’s mixed together with all the rest, no one will ever know.” And indeed, that year no one noticed.

The next year, another farmer reasoned, “I have six children and a new baby on the way… and my mother-in-law has just moved in. I can barely put food on the table as it is. I need the money which that wine would bring in. Who would notice if I substituted water from my wine this year?” And again, no one did.

Well, much time passed, until one year, on the first day of the annual wine festival, the corks were all popped, and the goblets were all filled… with WATER.

Two stories… Very similar, yet at the same time, vastly different. Which story do YOU think is more true to life? In our best moments, we may resemble the villagers in the story of Stone Soup, who discovered the joy of generosity. But, most of the time, I’m afraid we’re more like those self-centered vintners. Their greed managed to REVERSE that first great miracle of Jesus: you remember how, at a wedding, Jesus turned water into wine? Well, those selfish farmers managed to turn WINE into WATER!

That’s because, to be human is to be selfish. Isn’t that true? Because we are sinners, we are selfish by nature.

When beautiful little babies are born into our world, they are 100% selfish… By their crying and screaming, they demand… “FEED ME,” “BURP ME,” “CHANGE ME,” “ROCK ME TO SLEEP.” And as they grow into children, do you hear them saying, “Oh no, YOU play with that toy, I played with it yesterday…” “YOU take that last ice cream cone, I’ll eat some celery.”

No. You hear, “It’s MINE!” “I was here first!” “Keep your hands off my stuff!” (And, I’ve got news for you… We adults aren’t much better!)

We are ALL selfish by nature. We hoard what is ours and fail to share with others. We are selfish – for at least three reasons:

1) Sometimes we are just plain GREEDY. In the Book of Acts, there is a story about greed and how seriously God takes greediness. Ananias and Saphira were believers who lived in the first generation of the church. They had sold a piece of land and had indicated to the Apostles that they were going to donate the entire amount to the church. But, if you’ll remember (just like those grape farmers in the story), they decided to withhold a part of their pledge. And the price for their greed was severe. When they were confronted by Peter about their deception, both husband and wife dropped down dead at his feet. Apparently, God is very serious about the sin of greed! Yes, sometimes we are greedy.

2) At other times, we fail to share because WE FEEL THAT – IF WE DO, WE WON’T HAVE ENOUGH TO MEET OUR OWN NEEDS. The villagers in the story of Stone Soup had convinced themselves that they didn’t have enough to share with anyone else.

In the Old Testament book of First Kings, we find a story about a poor woman who felt that same way, at first. It seems there was a great famine throughout the land, and a widow and her son were about to starve to death. The Bible tells us that she had just enough flour and oil to make one serving of bread for her and her son to share, and then they would lie down and die. There was no more food.

Now, the prophet Elijah was also hungry. So, WHO does God send him to for a meal, than to that very same poor widow. And the instructions God gives to the woman? Fix Elijah a loaf FIRST, THEN prepare one for herself and her son. And God promised that, if she would do that, he would make sure she didn’t starve. Well, the woman did as she was told. And miraculously, for as long as the famine lasted, her flour and oil jars were never empty. She thought she had nothing to give because her need was so great. But she was wrong.

Certainly, there is no one in this room who is as poor, or in more need, than that generous widow. And yet, you and I hesitate to give generously, … NOT because we’re afraid we won’t get our needs met. We’re not really in “NEED.” We don’t give as we should because we’re afraid we won’t be able to buy those things we WANT – the luxuries of life. Which brings us to the third reason we tend to be selfish:

3) WE DON’T HAVE ENOUGH FAITH IN GOD’S PROMISES. Scripture tells us that we can trust God to provide for all our needs (but not necessarily all our wants). In Matthew’s Gospel we read Jesus’ words: “Do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed, your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you, as well.”

You see, there is an “Economy of God” that works differently than the economy of the world. To the world’s way of thinking, to give to others means less for ourselves. Oh, we can soften the blow a little … to make giving a little less painful … by getting a tax write-off or by putting our tithes in our will to be given to God after we no longer need it ourselves. … but we STILL think “MORE for others” means “LESS for me.” That’s the way the villagers in our Stone Soup story thought.

But that’s NOT the way God works. His word says that when we give to others, He gives even MORE back to us (just like that widow who gave Elijah the last of her food). Listen to what God says through the prophet Malachi, “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.” In other words, “It’s impossible to out-give God.”

Yes, most of the time we are very much like those grape farmers in that second story… we let greed and selfishness have their way, until we have managed to transform the wine of life into plain ordinary water. But the good news is, that with God’s help, we can become like those villagers in the first story who reversed the process… taking plain ordinary water, and transforming it into a soup fit for a King!

At the beginning of the “Stone Soup” story, the townspeople were just like the farmers in the other story, prone to selfishness and greed. But as their hearts softened, and they began to share what little they had, three miracles occurred…miracles that occur whenever we give ourselves to others. What were those three miracles?

1) First, they discovered that, WHEN EVERYONE SHARED WHAT LITTLE THEY COULD, THERE WAS MORE THAN ENOUGH for all to eat.

Our scripture lesson this morning is the familiar story of Jesus feeding the 5000, and the little boy who shared his lunch of loaves and fishes. Most people, including myself, interpret that story as a miracle of multiplication – that, as Jesus blessed that little boy’s lunch, it miraculously multiplied as it was distributed.

However, there are some people who interpret that story a little differently. For them, the miracle wasn’t that Jesus supernaturally multiplied the food. They see it as a miracle that took place within the hearts of those in the crowd. They argue that people going out into the countryside to hear Jesus preach would have made provision for their own families to eat (prepared a picnic). But that it wasn’t until a little boy shared his lunch, that everyone else was willing to do the same.

However it happened, it was a miracle because all shared, and everyone had more than enough, and to spare. (That’s why we are always asking you to bring food for the poor, that by our generosity, everyone can have enough to eat.) Yes, it is true. When we share what we have, God has a way of making it enough to provide for everyone’s needs.

2) The second miracle that the villagers discovered was that, BY SHARING WITH EACH OTHER, COMMUNITY LIFE WAS STRENGTHENED. Before the traveler came to town, each family kept pretty much to themselves, jealously guarding their own stash of food. There was no joy or love in the village, only envy and strife.

But all that changed as they began to give. What started out as a curiosity became a village festival! Excitement built, people spoke to one another, they cooperated in this community effort. They ate together – like a good old-fashioned dinner-on-the-grounds. They danced and rejoiced together. No doubt, when the stranger left town, that village was a very different place than it was when he had arrived. Communities can not flourish without a spirit of generosity – whether it’s the community of the church, or the larger community.

So, the first miracle was that sharing provided enough for everyone. The second, that sharing transforms a community.

3) But the third is the most amazing miracle of all. We’re not commanded to be generous merely to benefit others, or even to enhance our community. God wants us to be generous because A GIVING HEART IS A HAPPY HEART. I’ve never known a generous person who was unhappy.

In 2 Corinthians 9, we read, “Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” Few things in life make us feel better than doing something for someone else, or giving to a cause we believe in, without expecting anything in return. The third miracle of giving is that it makes us HAPPY people.

But you know, when all is said and done, we are commanded to be generous, not simply so all will have enough (although that is very important). Nor should our motivation be that, by sharing, we can build a spirit of cooperation and fellowship within the community (although that certainly is something that is needed). Neither should we desire to be generous in order to make ourselves happy (although that is a wonderful by-product).

The primary reason we should share what we have with others is NOT because it makes ourselves or others happy. We are to share because it makes GOD happy! God created us to be just as generous with others, as he has been generous with us.

Let me close by sharing one more story with you. ONCE UPON A TIME... there was a man who died, and an angel was sent to escort his soul to heaven. But on the way, they passed close by the gate of hell. The man asked the angel, “Do you mind if we stop here just for a moment… I’ve always wondered what hell was like.” And so they paused there for a moment while the man looked in. And he was astounded by what he saw!

For, as far as the eye could see, there was this long banquet table overflowing with sumptuous foods (imagine Thanksgiving Dinner and the Midnight buffet on a cruise ship, all rolled into one, and you’ll have the idea). The man couldn’t believe his eyes.

But then he noticed the people sitting on either side of the table, emaciated, starving, anguished people… and their arms, stiff at the elbows. There they sat at that wonderful feast, but couldn’t put any of the food to their mouths.

The angel tapped on his shoulder and said, “It’s time to go.” As they flew up to heaven’s gate, the man wondered what he might find there.

And, lo and behold, there, too, he saw the same long table, filled with every delicious kind of food you could imagine. And as he looked closer, the people sitting on either side of this table ALSO had stiff arms… And yet, they were well-fed, laughing, and happy. What made the difference?

And then he noticed. In heaven, they were reaching across the table,… feeding each other.

The title of this “Once Upon a Time” sermon is “The Recipe for a Miracle.” So, have you figured it out yet? What IS the “miracle?” The miracle has nothing to do with stones – or wine, or loaves and fishes. The “miracle is what happens in our hearts and in our world when we finally discover the joy of giving!

Because, when we give, WE are changed; OUR WORLD is transformed; and GOD is pleased. THAT is the recipe for a miracle!

© 2024 by John B. Gill, III

Stories:

A European folk tale - The First Published Version: Madame de Noyer, France 1720

Eastern European Jewish Folktale.

Parable of the Long Spoons (a version of)