Why We Gather

Text: Mark 8:1-9

In the name of Jesus.  Amen.

Question for you this morning: Who in their right mind travels to a desolate place? Who packs up the family, turns the water off in the house, checks the dogs into a kennel, and then heads off to a barren wilderness with no restaurant in sight, no gas station for miles, no bed to sleep in, and no food pantry to grab snacks from late at night?  Who does this?  

Think about it. When we travel, we usually do so with a purpose.  That is to say, when we travel, more often than not, we go to places for the sake of entertainment or making money.  We book tickets to Disney World to see Mickey Mouse. We drive to Mount Rushmore to look at the famous presidents. We dream of white sand beaches and all-inclusive resorts to get a suntan and sip cold drinks. And if it's not for entertainment, then it's for gain. People cross mountains for gold, and they dig in cold oceans for oil.

You see, we travel far and wide if we’re convinced that there’s a reward on the other end of the road. Whether it is entertainment or money in our pockets, when we travel, we do so to get something.  

So, this begs the question, why did that massive crowd of 4,000 plus people travel out to that desolate place?  

In the reading from the Gospel of Mark, we hear that 4,000 plus people traveled out to a desolate place. Not a vacation spot. Not a tourist trap. Not a booming market. But a place with no food, no shelter, no running water. And apparently, many of them came unprepared. They didn’t pack rations. No extra bags of trail mix. No granola bars or bottled water. Some of them didn’t even have enough supplies for the trip home.  

As if that were not enough, there were no Motel 6’s in sight. No tents pitched by a lake. No promise of luxury, comfort, or security. No five-star hotels. Just dust, heat, and empty stomachs.

So, I ask again: Why? Why would anyone travel miles and miles into a desolate land to sleep on the dirt and to go hungry?

The answer is rather simple; it was because Jesus was there.

Now, please do not let this slip by you.  The people did not go to that desolate place for financial gain as if they were going to mine for gold. They didn’t come for amusement, as if they were going to attend a circus. They didn’t come because it was easy, comfortable, or convenient. They came for one reason and one reason alone: to hear from Jesus.

I want to make sure that this point is clear this morning: the people did not follow Jesus out into the wilderness because they expected bread or miracles but because they were drawn by the Gospel.  We hear this clearly in verse 2 - that they had gone three days without food; they were so eager to stay with Jesus that they lost track of time and began to ignore the basic necessities of life, such as food.  

Now, let’s take a moment and shift to today – here and now.  Look around. Why do we come to this church?  Why do you get up in the morning and come here into this sanctuary?  In fact, let’s make this question really personal.  We have quite a few people who come to St. Paul’s from all over the place.  For example, we have parishioners who travel 88 miles round-trip from Kongsberg.  Others travel 44 miles round-trip from Velva.  Some come from Burlington, Surrey, Glenburn, and Max.  Some travel 180 miles round-trip from Fessenden.  While others come from New Town, Berthold, Towner, and even over 200 miles round-trip from near Williston.  But why?  

Let’s be honest, they don’t come to St. Paul’s because of our padded pews.  They're nice and broken in, but no one’s driving 80 miles for a cushioned pew.  

Perhaps it is the food?  

As good as the donuts and coffee are during the Bible Study hour, I can assure you that nobody is coming all this way for Folgers coffee and rolls from a local grocery store.  

It's certainly not for financial gain. In fact, for many of you in this church, it costs hundreds of dollars a month just to make the drive to be here. No doubt about it, the cost of gas, wear and tear on vehicles, time, and energy are not minimal to just walk through the church doors. 

So again—why? Why do people come to St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, week after week?

Because, just like that crowd in Mark 8, you come to hear Jesus. You come to receive Jesus’ gifts. You come to hear that:  

Death has lost its sting.

The devil is silenced. 

Your sins are forgiven.

Christ is your righteousness.

You are not your own; you were bought with a price.

Take heart, Christ has finished it all - for you.   

Baptized Saints, mark this: it is my prayer, and it must always be our commitment, that this church never becomes about anything else other than Christ and His gifts. May St. Paul’s Lutheran Church always be so laser-focused, so crystal-clear, that the only reason anyone would ever want to step foot into this place is to hear from Jesus’ Word and to receive Jesus’ gifts.

Let’s be clear: the 4,000 did not go out to that wilderness for entertainment. And likewise, no one should come to church expecting a circus act. No one went out to that barren wilderness to make money, and no one should come to this church for financial gains.  They came to that desolate place to hear Jesus, and we – likewise – come to this sanctuary to hear Jesus’ Word – and that is more than enough.   That is all that is needed for us as Christians and for us as a church.   

The crowd of 4,000 people was in a desolate place.  One could even say that they were physically, emotionally, and spiritually desolate as well. But when Jesus was there, they had everything. And so do you.

Baptized Saints, we should be reminded of what the Apostle Paul says in the Epistles.  He tells us that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.  The reason why? You and I are Jesus’ sheep.  And your Jesus has compassion on you and me.  Just as He had compassion on those 4,000 people in the desolate place, He has compassion on you, which is the reason why He has chosen to feed you His Word and sustain you by His blessed Sacraments.

Just think about it for a moment!  Here in this church, the Lord has compassionately chosen to feed thousands of Christians for over 120 years.  Indeed, in this church, the Lord Jesus Christ has seen to it that you and your forefathers were baptized into His death and resurrection.  The Lord Jesus Christ has seen to it that your ears are filled with the forgiveness of sins and your mouths are fed with His body and blood for the strengthening of faith.  And so, it is clear that you and I do not come here for entertainment. We do not come here to have your ears tickled or your ego stroked.  We do not come for social reasons, financial reasons, cultural reasons, or anything else.  We come because here in this sanctuary, Christ is present in His Word and Sacraments for you and for me.  

* * *

Perhaps we could briefly contemplate our Gospel reading just a bit more.  Perhaps we could loosely make the application that this world is a desolate place.  As you know, the world is filled with inflation, broken promises, sickness, and death, and yet, today, you are o.k. because you have Christ. In fact, where Christ is, there is the bounty of Eden itself.

Indeed, Baptized Saints, Jesus gives you what this world cannot. The world offers fleeting pleasures. Christ offers eternal peace. The world gives passing amusement. Christ gives lasting joy. The world offers shallow entertainment. Christ gives deep forgiveness.

* * *

Baptized Saints, as we heard from the Gospel of Mark, when you have Christ, you are not in a desolate place — no matter what the world looks like around you and no matter what your circumstances are. When you have Christ, even the wilderness becomes a banquet hall. When you have Christ, even the desert becomes a sanctuary. When you have Christ, even death itself becomes the gate to eternal life.

Dear Baptized Saints, hear this good news once more: If you lack every amenity this world has to offer—if you live without riches, without comfort, without ease — you still have everything because you have Christ.

May the Holy Spirit continue to call you, gather you, enlighten you, and anchor you in Christ Jesus and His blessed gifts.  

In the name of Jesus. Amen.