Sermon Pente +10 (Year B)

 John 6.1-21

Are you hungry?
Well now that’s a loaded question in a sermon; Because you know I’m not hiding a breakfast buffet in the transept.
… except.
I am inviting us to reflect on physical hunger.
Are you experiencing that physical need? An empty belly?
And all that follows when that hunger repeats itself, and becomes the norm… there’s malnutrition, lower resistence to illness, decreased ability to concentrate…
Are you hungry?

…which leads to the next question.
If you are not hungry, Are you fed?
Chances are that if you are NOT physically hungry, then you have eaten. So you have been fed.
But how often do we stop to think about that process?
By whom? Where did this morning’s food come from? What about yesterday’s?
Do you have food security (which means knowing where your next meal is coming from);
do you have food sovereignty (which means having agency over your food system)?
Are you fed?

…which leads to my next question.
If you are fed, Are you feeding?!
Because this is where we recognise that if we are fed, we can share of our excess with those who are hungry, now.
With those who are food insecure, now.
With those who are denied access, for whatever reason.
The hungry who we pray for; and those who we are called to feed.
Pope Francis once said “you pray for the hungry, and then you feed them. That’s how prayer works.”
So. Are you feeding?

This is exactly the conversation, and the opportunity, that our gospel invites us into today. The joys of sharing a meal, of connecting with one another, of responding to need with compassion – and of living a ministry of companionship.
Companion: a word that has its roots in sharing basic food: com meaning TOGETHER WITH, and panis meaning BREAD. A companion is one who breaks bread with another; spends time with each other, offers what they have: physically and emotionally – with someone else, so that both may be nourished.

Because being nourished – both with physical and spiritual bread – is prayerful ministry.

And this is what Jesus shows in this recounting of the feeding of the multitudes. This is one of the only passages that is present in all 4 canonical Gospels, because it is IMPORTANT.
The Gift of bread is important.
The gift of acknowledging hunger; of being filled; and of feeding the hunger of our neighbours: this is important stuff.

The folks are there – to listen to Jesus. For they want to be fed with the words of life, with the bread of heaven.
And when I say “the folks are there” – I mean all of them. Thousands. Multitudes! More than can be accurately counted.
Entire families, communities, neigbourhoods – left their homes to follow Jesus – for his teachings and healings were giving them what they hadn’t even known they wanted or needed. They were starving for the teachings that Jesus gave them; and they hadn’t even known they were hungry.
So they followed. Of course they did.

And: as happens sometimes, when we become engrossed in something that engaging, that exciting, that overwhelmingly amazing: we lose track of time. And then we realise:
We’re hungry.

And the folks today – they’re hungry. They haven’t eaten, and they have walked quite a ways…
And Jesus sees this. And the disciples see this.
So when Jesus asks his disciples – who themselves were probably more than a little peckish – where they’re going to get bread, the disciples of course reply in a very normal, human way; the way any of us might reply.
“I don’t know!”
And that’s okay! Peter is blunt when he says that even IF they had 6 months’ worth of wages, it wouldn’t be enough money –
and it’s not like they’re standing outside a bakery. There’s no bread to be bought.

At this point, we can almost picture the teaching Jesus raising an eyebrow to say “I didn’t ask if we could afford it; I asked where we could get it.”
Jesus reminds them that the question wasn’t about money; it was about access.
He teaches them that sometimes it’s not always about human ideas; but that God will provide a solution.

So there they are, amid the hungry crowds.
Until Andrew shares that he’s seen a boy with 5 barley loaves and two little fishes.
This offering is not opulent: barley loaves were basic fare – this is the bagged sandwich bread of Biblical times.
And the fish – this is not freshly caught fish just off the boat; these are dried fish; preserved, portable, basic protein. The Sea of Tiberius’ tin of tuna.

Yet: this is more than they had before. Because someone was willing to share; to extend faith, to do their part to meet the need.
What a gift when we see children all the time trying to share their food.

Yet even when this is presented from this unlikely sources, the disciples are still stuck in thinking that they don’t have enough.
“But what are they among so many people”
A normal question.

To which, of course,
And again Jesus takes us back to access: and to nourishment.

Jesus sees that the people are hungry.
He knows their hunger is for bread, and the bread of life.
Jesus is demonstrating that the access to being fed is for all.
That sometimes, it’s not about having enough, it’s about sharing enough.

The miracle doesn’t just happen right at the start when Jesus blesses the bread; the multiplicity is not a barrage of barley and flood of fish.
The miracle also happens as the distribution of abundance happens.
No one is hoarding, or hiding this food; and in the sharing a miracle takes place.

Through those simple loaves and fishes, the disciples, the crowds – are all connected. It’s a beautiful timeless lesson; that we are always given the opportunity to share in abundance, to exercise grace, and to faithfully live in covenant.
For we are companions – brought together with, and by, the grace of God.

That connection that God gives us blesses us with each other: a community coming together to glorify God: and to live in love.
Loving God and each other.
Loving, as fully and completely as possible – and then loving some more.
Loving with compassion and courtesy; with kindness and gentleness.
But also loving with justice, and right actions.
Sometimes: loving with bread.
Because for people who are hungry, that bread IS an act of love.

And so Jesus loves the people, and meets their needs. The empty bellies are filled; the depleted spirits are refreshed, the sense of community is renewed.

And we hear that people ate as much as they wanted; and then there was more left over.
Leftovers for people to take away with them: to the folks who hadn’t eaten in days, and had nothing at home for the next day; or to the people who were caring for the infirm or little children or the elderly, or to anyone else who hadn’t been able to make the journey.
There were leftovers for whoever might need it – or want it.

Because the hungry had come.
They had been fed.
They had fed others.
They had received the gift of bread; and the gift of Jesus.
And they had their fill.

This Gospel renews our faith as it reminds us that God provides more than human hearts and minds – and bellies – can be filled with.
God’s grace and gift is abundant.

So.
Are you hungry?
Are you fed?
Are you feeding?

May we be nourished, with all that God provides;
and may we participate in the miracle of sharing.
May we live as companions with God and with each other.
Truly: this is the Good News of God. Amen.

Sermon, Pente +9 (Year B)

Well, it’s definitely summer!
And summer in Saskatchewan brings with it some gorgeous sites… the waving fields as the crops are growing… the stunning stars in the vast skies.. the rushing water of the river… the wildlife (especially the birds that love chirping their enthusiasm at 4.30 in the morning)…
And of course, that ubiquitous summer sight: the traffic cone.
Nothing says summer like construction all over – well, everywhere!

Our traffic is impeded, whether we’re driving, riding transit, riding those funky scooters, walking – there’s a great opportunity for learning new ways of getting to where we want to be going to.

It’s fascinating to watch how people respond to construction, too.
Because: we all know it’s there, we all know it’s necessary. We know that the roads needs repairs, and that we’ll benefit from them. No joke: God bless the pothole fillers!
Yet for some folks, they seem personally put out by this seasonal reality. I watched a driver the other day yelling and gesticulating - at a “road closed” sign.
I’m going to guess there were some other things going on in this person’s life, and the sign was just one thing too many. I hope their outburst was enough to de-escalate their emotions.

The reality is: frustrations happen on our journey. They’re part of life.
And learning to deal with them, to overcome them, is also part of our journey.

Which is what’s happening with poor king David this morning. He’s not doing too well.
Admittedly, we hear he’s tired – he’s just been granted rest from his toils.
Maybe it’s as hot as it is for us – and he’s not sleeping well, and generally feeling icky.
But he’s not pleased that he has limitations. For he has been given care over the ark – and he wants to make a permanent structure. Stone – solid – monumental, if you will.
And this desire for permanence is rejected… for Nathan reminds him that God wants the ark to remain in a tent.
A temporary dwelling. A transient situation. A perceived instability.
And David didn’t like that: he had a plan: to make sure that the ark – and all that it stood for – would never again have to worry about the challenges of travel.
We remember, of course, that the ark symbolises the presence of God: so a stable home for the ark would indicate to the people that God’s people were also stable, and secure, and permanent.
There was a side benefit, of course, to David’s plan… he was going to be known and remembered for his work at securing the permanent house of the ark of God!

And, God uses Nathan to make a bit of a course correction. To gently re-route the intended directions.
David has already brought security to God’s people: they are safe, thriving, dwelling in safety – exactly what David wanted for the ark. And the safety and well-being of God’s people pleases God.
And, David is already a known entity: and God promises Nathan that David will be remembered for his good works: in bringing about stability, and safety, and in being faithful to God.

So while David is looking at short-term solutions, God is presenting a long-term, sustainable, intergenerational commitment.
The promises of God don’t depend on our creating a road map of the shortest distance between points.

The psalm then takes us through this long timeline; as it was written as a response or follow-up to the passage from Second Samuel. It’s what Charles Spurgeon calls a Covenant Psalm: reminding folks of the power and promise of God’s covenants.
“I will keep my love for him forever” we all sang; recounting God’s faithfulness in the promises he made to King David.

Paul echoes this celebration of God’s covenant with the Ephesians, as he uses the symbol of a temple to speak of the power of God’s people: the people of God, being brought together to grow as a dwelling place of God. Whether near or far, we are all together in Christ’s peace; and all enmeshed in building the temple of the Lord.
Our journey – in that near and far – takes us to places we are meant to be: whether we were expecting to be there or not. For the journey of faith takes us where God needs us to be: should we be receptive to the nudges and encouragements to go there.
What a gift God has given us; that we have one another, and we have our own pathways, and through it all, we are woven together as integral members of the body of Christ.

Which brings us to Christ himself, in the Gospel!
Where he is leading his friends the apostles on a literal and spiritual journey: and they are overwhelmed. For the work of God is never done:
But the journey sometimes goes in different directions.
Come away, Jesus says, and rest.
You don’t have to do it all. You couldn’t even if you tried.
It’s okay to come off the beaten path, he says.
It’s okay to honour the sabbath.
It’s okay to take a break, and have some solid nourishment and rest.
Your bodies need it!

It’s interesting that the skipped over verses kinda demonstrate what happens when we try to force ourselves to go farther than intended; the apostles get hungrier and more tired – and more miserable. Which doesn’t help anyone.
So Jesus embraces the rest; the pause; the sacred stillness to care for self in body and in soul.

The road will still be there – as we see, even off the boat folks were waiting for them; with needs, with requests, with high hopes: and with faith.
The journey Jesus took his disciples on was full of detours, and unplanned changes, and amazing surprises.

The journey Jesus takes US on is similar: it moves, it changes, it surprises.
But it never stops. For the privilege of following God, and loving each other, never stops. And the road will still be there for us: it’s our choice to view changes not as frustrations or limitations, but as re-directions.

The readings today remind us that we are on a journey, that we are always on a journey.
And we are reminded that this is okay: the church – the people of God – are not meant to stand still; immobile and rigid as life passes us by. We’re meant to be faithful, to recognise the journey of faith is a journey: and as such we are pilgrims. Called to plan, and called to be flexible. Called to go, and called to pause sometimes. A pause can be a good thing. A rest can be a gift.
And it’s helpful to remember that God doesn’t expect us to do everything – but God does want for us to do something.
So we go: and God is with us on the journey – always! Guiding, directing, sometimes putting up those roadblocks for our own good, in ways we can’t even imagine.
So onward we go: honouring God, honouring ourselves, honouring the journey – with realistic, faithful, humble hearts.



However God is guiding you this week, I pray that you are blessed with abundant and unexpected ways to appreciate the journey – with all its twists and turns (and traffic cones).

 

sermon notes, pente +8 (year b)

WORDS!
Words matter
Hamlet: Polonius asks what reading:
Words, words, words
First lies, then insignificant,
Point: nothing new, nothing of value –words cannot be always trusted.
Painful, cynical assessment by Hamlet to people whose cruel actions disjointed from kind words.
For Hamlet, have become empty. And relationship breaks down.

Words matter: what
What we say, how we say it: and how we follow through on what we say.

The power of words - scriptures

First Reading:
David – ark of the Lord – transferred back to the people
Words IN and ON the ark. Literally carried words.
Convey assurance of God’s presence.
A powerful promise – and premise – for generations to come.

Ponder: What words remind us today of God’s presence? How do we celebrate the word of God?

Psalm 24: “Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not swear deceitfully” may stand in the holy place of the Lord.
NOT exclusionary.
Counter with first inclusive line: The earth is the Lord’s – and ALL that are in it.
Already in God’s place and presence
Reversal of thinking -
not who can stand in the hill of the Lord
But as already there, we’re already committed to that behaviour.

Pondering: do our actions, our commitments to others, reflect that commitment to not be deceitful in our dealings?
If not, how can we do better?

Epistle – Ephesians – beautiful!
“the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us”
FEEL the goodness.
reminded that “we heard the word of truth” – POWERful word
The gospel of salvation, brings to belief, marks with Spirit.

Ponder: What words do for us, what they letter to Ephesians did - to remind us of our faith, encourage our hope, and inspire us into praise.

Gospel! Conequence of using words lightly.
Herod: Tetrarch (quarter area) likes to talk big
Makes an oath in front of a whole party–
Not just a vow, which is a personal commitment
An OATH is a promise witnessed before authority

Herod – spouting promises – called to accountability
Already awkward setting: in front of his peers
And family dynamic – wife is sister-in-law; daughter may be niece…?
Henry 8…

There’s a lot going on,
But: Herod “out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, did not want to refuse” his niece/daughter’s request via her mother/aunt
was willing to put another person to death. Violently.
His word was more important to him than regard for another’s life.
Extreme how he valued his word – even taken oh so lightly
(thought he’d part with some money or trinkets).
To a girl: under orders to dance- never expected the level of demand she made
But saving face was more important to him than saving life.

Pondering: when have we said something we didn’t mean, and how do we respond when called to account for it?

Words. Words; words.
Do our words convey:
Integrity
Intentionality
Honesty
Faith
For in our words we serve THE WORD – the Logos – the presence of God, the word made manifest in our midst.

We have pledged ourselves to the Christian life
We have vowed to live by our baptismal covenant.
We have made oaths to love and serve the Lord – and all that the Lord loves.

May we face each day being intentional about our word choices, that the world knows us as living up to our word.
As we are living into the WORD – the Word made flesh – that has spoken us into being.

 

Sermon, Pente +7 (Year B)

On 2 Cor 12.1-10

This morning I’m going to invite us to focus on the passage from the letter to the Corinthians:
It’s a bit confusing – and there are some beautiful promises in it.

Paul is writing to the church. In Corinth, where they’ve been having some issues with humility.
In the preceding chapter, Paul is talking to them about some self-appointed SUPER-apostles, and then of fools.

That church has started trusting in folks who are making big promises – without necessarily being able to fulfill them. Folks who are kinda putting themselves above God. Hence: fools.

So Paul, in this passage, is a little biographical, is speaking of himself in the third person: of the successes and challenges that have happened in his ministry.

And he gives us all, in his rather verbose way, an understanding of the realities of life.
There are always going to be those in our midst that will speak of the great things that they’ve done; drawing attention to themselves: to brag, to boast, to make sure that everyone around hears and knows how awesome they are.

It’s a self-focus, and it’s a dangerous pedestal to put yourself on, where you think you don’t need others, and you don’t need God. Yet: we all know, the higher the pedestal, the farther the potential to fall – and when you’re up there alone, there’s no one there to catch you when you fall.

So this is where Paul speaks of the benefit and gift of humility.
Not of humiliation; but of the godly reminders he’s had in his ministry – admittedly, an exceptional ministry! But God has made sure he knows that has needed help, that he has connected with community, that he has not perceived himself to be singularly better than others. The proverbial ‘thorn in his side’ has made sure to keep him grounded.

This thorn is actually a grace, not stopping Paul from doing his good works, but slowing him down, like a rock in the shoe: ensuring that his works inspire others to see and know God’s greatness. To keep the glory directed where it belongs. And in doing so, Paul is ministering WITH fellow Christ-followers: with feet firmly on the ground, as part of a healthy community.

The focus remains on God:
This doesn’t mean we’re meant to ignore the gifts that God has given us; quite the opposite.
We are called to use them! To share them. To celebrate them.
BUT: Not to brag about them.
Bragging changes the intention of the gift. It is no longer a generosity for others, it is a means of self-aggrandisement. Once we start bragging about them, we shift the focus back to ourselves. And the pedestal climbs that little bit higher.

So what do we do? We embrace humility. We celebrate community.
We build one another up; knowing that God is with us in that journey.
We offer to help others when their pedestal is getting a bit too high… because we don’t want others hurt.
We act: humbly. Faith-fully.

Humility is not something that we, as humans, are necessarily good at:
But this is where Paul drops a line that stays with us: it moves us, it grounds us, it empowers us every time we find ourselves a little higher – or lower – than is healthy.:
“the Lord said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you.’”

God’s grace.
That unmerited favour of the divine, flowing through our lives.
It’s sufficient for us. It’s enough.
When we get things wrong, Jesus reminds us that his grace is sufficient to cover our errors.
When we get things right, Jesus reminds us that his grace is sufficient to have led us to that success.

My Grace is sufficient for you.
This is the grace that we see in the people that God has put in our lives, that we are invited to love. The people we’re called to serve. The people we’re called to meet, and know.
The people we will minister with; who we will minister to, who will minister to us.
God’s grace is sufficient for all this.
And more!
For in putting us all together, God lavishes this grace upon us, and we share the pure bliss of being community,
Trusting the words of God spoken to our hearts: My grace is sufficient for you.

We don’t have to get it all right, but we do have to try;
And because of God’s sufficient grace, we are emnboldened to love.
We are empowered to live the good news.
We are equipped to do good things.
And we are connected such that we never have to do it alone: by the grace of God.
And so in all that we do to love and serve the Lord, and to love and serve the Lord’s people,
we commit to doing it with God’s help, and with the support of each other.

Just as we promised in our baptism, and in our weekly confession, and in our daily prayers:
We do our best; with God’s people
With God’s love.
With God’s help.
With God’s grace.

SO let us now – once again – celebrate the abundant and sufficient grace that God pours out like water – as we move to the font and celebrate the sacrament of baptism.

And as we say the words “I will, with God’s help!”
May we hear God’s beautiful assurance – “My grace is sufficient for you!”