Jesus feeds those who stay with him

Jesus said to his disciples that he has compassion on the multitude. This is an attribute of God: of course he has compassion; he made them. Moreover, this multitude is with him. They followed him three days into the wilderness. Doubly does he have compassion on them, even as he does on all his own people. But why was there a wilderness in the first place? And why did he lead them there? Surely, this is because of the sin of man; for this is why the world is fallen. It is undeniable that for all its beauty, there is something wrong with the world. And what is wrong with it is us, for we have sinned. And yet in compassion he came to us to help us in the wilderness and to feed us. For we, like them, are also in  the wilderness of this life, where there is pain and sorrow and trouble and loss and death. But see how those who stayed with him were helped. So stay with him! Even in the wilderness, stay with him, for he feeds you in an even better way than he did the 4,000. They could have opted to stay home and have relief for a short while, but they did not. And on the third day he fed them. So also on our third day (this celebration of Easter, as is every Sunday), He feeds you with himself, who is the Bread of Life. You belong here. He has given his body into death and shed his sacred blood to redeem you and rescue you out of this wilderness; and so while in the wilderness he feeds you on his very body and blood, and so promises ultimate deliverance from all wilderness for all eternity. Stay with him! Sermon for Trinity VII.