The Tenth Sunday After Pentecost - The Rev. Colette Hammesfahr

     Psychologist Carol Dweck has developed a concept that has become popular in education and personal development. For her research, she gave students math problems to solve. Through her observations, she saw that the students were falling into two categories – those with a fixed mindset and those with a growth mindset.  

The student with a fixed mindset would look at their math problem, and if it were too hard, they would give up without even trying. Their mindset was, “I’m not good at math. There’s no way I can do this.” They believed their abilities were static and couldn’t be changed.  

A student with a growth mindset would tackle complex problems with determination. Even though they may make mistakes, they would learn from them. Their mindset was, “I don’t know how to solve this problem, but I’ll try it.” Two different thought processes – one not necessarily better than the other.  

How do you tackle the hard things that come up in your life? How do you make a distinction between what is and isn’t possible? 

This story of Jesus feeding 5000 people is filled with impossibilities. The main characters, Phillip and Andrew, tackle the impossible, each with a different mindset -- one with a growth mindset and the other with a fixed mindset. A great crowd follows Jesus because of the miracles he has performed, and people want to hear his teachings 

and preachings. This story and the story of Jesus’ resurrection are the only miracles we find in all four gospels. John writes that there were 5,000 people in the crowd. Matthew writes in his gospel that there were 5,000 men plus women and children. So, imagine the enormity of this crowd following behind Jesus and his disciples. 

Jesus begins the challenge to solve the impossible and opens the giant can of worms when he asks Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” Now, wait a minute, Jesus. Who said we had to feed all these people? They chose to follow us. We are not responsible for them, are we?  

With his fixed mindset, Philip says, “Even if we could find a place to buy food, six months' wages would only buy enough for each to have a tiny bit to eat.” That’s a very logical and reasonable response. Then, Andrew, with his growth mindset, says, “Wait a minute. There’s a young boy here with a basket. In the basket are five loaves of bread and two fish. That’s a start.”  

Then comes the miracle – the impossible. Philip and Andrew have the people in the crowd sit down as Jesus requested. Jesus takes the bread and gives thanks. The bread and fish are then distributed to the crowd. Everyone takes as much as they want as it passes through the crowd. When everyone was satisfied with what they had and finished, the fragments left over were gathered up. They gathered enough to fill 12 baskets—more 

than they had even started with.   

It is a story of impossibilities. Where do they buy food? How will they have enough money to buy all that we need? Wait, only five loaves and two fish for 5,000 people? The people ate as much as they wanted, and they were satisfied. There were 12 baskets of food left over—a story of impossibilities made possible through Jesus. The disciples faced an impossible situation. Jesus provided.  

Philip focused on the limitations and the impossibilities. He saw the lack of resources. The real problem for Phillip was not really that there was a lack of resources. The problem was that he had no faith. He was short-sighted. Andrew showed a willingness to try at least and see what could be done with what little they had. Andrew saw hope in the boy with the basket. Andrew went to Jesus with that hope. In doing so, Jesus met more than the minimum requirements in feeding the people. He lavished them.  

How do you tackle the hard things that come up in your life? When we face the impossible in our lives, the starting point should always be Jesus. When it comes to our faith and our spirituality, we must cultivate a growth mindset. No matter how inadequate it seems, with a growth mindset, when we come to God with our challenges, it allows God to work through us.  

From 1998 to 2018, Richard Stearns was the president of World Vision, a Christian organization that works worldwide, helping the oppressed and those impoverished, with a particular focus on children. In his book, The Hole in our Gospel, Stearns tells the story of a town in turmoil. At the very beginning of the AIDS epidemic, Stearns traveled to Rakai, Uganda, one of the epicenters of the AIDS crisis. What he found was a community completely devastated. Children who had lost their parents to AIDS were now orphaned, with very little food, faced with harsh living conditions, and they were not getting the education they needed. The community did not have the resources to keep up with the high rate of HIV/AIDS infections, and it was extremely impoverished. Faced with the impossible, Stearns did not know where to begin to help the people. But he knew he had to start somewhere.  

World Vision started with a holistic approach that involved working with families, local leaders, and churches to create a plan that looked at their challenges and strengths. Families were taught how to grow their food. Over time, schools and healthcare facilities were built. Clean water projects were initiated, improving the overall health of the town. Women and families were financed and empowered to start small businesses.  

The community began to thrive. The community that was once filled with hopelessness was now filled with hope and faith. Stearns says, “The transformation of Racki came through the dedicated efforts of a small group of people who refused to  accept that their situation was hopeless. They saw the devastating effects of AIDS and poverty, but instead of being overwhelmed, they were moved by faith to act. They believed that God could use their efforts to bring about change, and they worked tirelessly to bring hope and healing to their community. This faith, coupled with practical action is what made the impossible possible in Rakai.” Faith. He instilled faith in them, that with what little they had, God could help heal their community. God worked through them.  

How do you tackle the hard things that come up in your life – the things you think are impossible to overcome? This week, I’d like you to seek out an impossible situation. One of your own or one of someone else – whether it be a person or a group. How can you invite God into that situation to bring about hope and a stronger faith?  

Theologian Fredrick Bruner writes this in his commentary on John’s Gospel, “In even realistically impossible situations, please give Jesus a little something, a little faith at least, a little credit for being able to do a great deal with very little.”1 

In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, our second reading today, he is writing to them about God's limitless power. When we believe that God can do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine, our confidence in facing life’s challenges – facing the impossible – increases.  

Jesus could have performed the miracle of feeding all those people without his disciples being present. But he challenged them with the question of “how to feed all those people,” to bring out the tiniest bit of faith…….to show that’s all you need to receive His gift. Jesus supplies more than enough and sometimes more than we even ask for. Amen.