Pentecost 8A: The Real Miracles of the Story

Dear Partner in Preaching, Do me a favor and resist the pedestrian temptation to call Jesus’ feeding of the five thousand a miracle. It’s not that I don’t understand the appeal of describing this event as a miracle – it’s in all four gospels and all that – or that it’s technically inaccurate – what Jesus does is rather wondrous. But I nevertheless worry that by drawing attention to Jesus’ act of feeding these crowds we actually may actually overlook the more significant miracles that take place in the story Matthew narrates. Here’s the thing: while we may debate whether Jesus suspended the...