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| Icon of Jesus at Church of the Multiplication, Israel |
Sermon for August 3, 2014
Proper 13, Year A, 8th Sunday
After Pentecost
The Rev. Vicki K. Hesse
St. Philip’s In The Hills Parish, Tucson,
AZ
For readings click here
Lord, Open our lips
That our mouth shall proclaim your
praise. Amen
This
week, a friend of mine heard
that
today’s gospel story was
the
multiplication of loaves and fishes.
Given
the proliferation of zucchini in my garden,
she
told me to open with The Story of zucchini bread.
“The
what?” I asked.
She
said The Story that it was zucchini bread
that
the disciples had.
So I
googled “zucchini. Five loaves. Story.”
And
what do you know?
Here’s
a zucchini bread recipe that makes five small loaves. (show page[1])
It
even concludes with,
“This
recipe makes 5 loaves baked in small pans… perfect for making a little for
yourself
and
having some to give away, too.”
The
gospel story is so familiar. Is known…
not
only because it is the only miracle
found
in all four gospels,
not
only because it takes place
in
the familiar biblical wilderness,
not
only because the recalcitrant disciples
sound
like the whining Israelites,
not only
because it has echoes of The Last
Supper,
but
for all these reasons.
Even
as a well-known story,
there
is rich good news here.
The
scene opens with Jesus hearing about
the
brutal murder of John the Baptist.
Jesus
was grief stricken, so he went to a deserted place.
Desolate. Solitary.
Perfect for prayer.
Like
the Phone Line Trail in Sabino Canyon –
not a
stick of vegetation nearby, not a spot of shade.
But
the crowds.
The
crowds could not get enough of him.
They
followed him, making their way
through
the dust, the rocks, the barrenness.
They
brought their sick and wounded to him,
their
depressed and addicted,
their
grieving and stressed.
And
Jesus had compassion on them and healed
all
afternoon –
because
he had the words
of the
prophet Hosea ringing in his ears,
“I
desire mercy, not sacrifice.”[2]
Well,
this made for a long day!
As
evening fell,
the rosey-blue
sky anticipated the setting sun
and
the wind began to cool.
The
disciples were tired of being the hot sun.
They got
a bit grumpy.
They
were hot and tired and wanted to call it a day.
The
disciples interrupted Jesus at his work.
They
told him,
“Send
the crowds away
so
that they can buy food for themselves.”
pause
“Ahem,” Jesus says,
“You
give them something to eat.”
Don’t
make the folks leave this place.
I
know this region is a food desert, so
“you
give them something to eat.”
Wait,
what? “We don’t have enough!”
the
disciples mumble.
We
ate our PBJ’s long ago. Our snacks have
run out.
Where
are we supposed to find food
to
feed all these people?
And
their parting shot:
“We
have nothing here but
five
loaves of bread and a couple of fish!”
In
spite of all the changes between then and now,
their
parting shot somehow sounds familiar:
It
seems that we don’t have enough.
pause
Big
crowds of unmet needs tend
to
overwhelm our sense of agency.
It
seems we don’t have enough strength
for the crowds of demands
from our job, family, and household
It
seems that our nation doesn’t have enough
jobs
or medical care
for
the crowds of people at our borders
It
seems that warring nations don’t have enough
compassion to hold
a cease-fire for the crowds of people hurt in the battles.
In
our own desolate wilderness,
in
our evening thoughts,
we
wonder to ourselves, Am I enough?
And
Jesus says to us,
“You
give them something to eat.”
And the
disciples replied,
“We
have nothing but five loaves and two
fish.”
The
crowds do not need to go away,
Jesus
said,
bring
your loaves to me.
Jesus
had compassion.
Compassion
for the most basic
and
deepest needs of all.
“I
desire mercy, not sacrifice.”
Jesus
was gripped by this saying,
and
mercy took the form of bread, that day.
And in
front of those crowds,
in
that deserted place,
at the
end of a long hot day,
Jesus
ordered everyone to “please be seated...”
Like
the 23rd Psalm, lie down in the
green pasture.
Jesus
knew that there was a pasture of green
in
their hearts;
a pasture
of hope and peace in that cosmic abundance.
Jesus
could picture it, so he took that meager offering.
He
looked up to heaven and blessed it.
Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha’olam –
blessed
is God,
for
bringing forth bread from the earth
and
fish from the sea. Amen.
Jesus
broke the loaves into pieces.
and
gave those pieces to the disciples, saying
“you
give them something to eat”
The
disciples gave the pieces to the crowds –
the
needy crowds,
the
tired worn out crowds,
the
many many crowds.
With
a foretaste of The Last Supper –
Jesus
took, blessed, broke and gave.
And
do you know what?
That
bread met everyone’s basic and deepest needs.
The crowds were filled – satisfied in their belly
and
satisfied of their spirit.
Jesus
multiplied the bread to satisfy everyone.
It
was enough.
It
was more than enough.
Out
of that meager offering,
all
ate, all were filled and there were left overs!
(maybe
it WAS zucchini bread?)
We,
too, sometimes say, we have nothing
but…
We
have nothing but our prayers, our talents, our money, our time – it’s all so
limited, we say…
And
Jesus replies, bring your meager offering to me.
Your crowds do not
need to go away.
What
you have is enough. Who you are is enough.
God,
through Jesus,
multiplies
our “bread” to satisfy all the crowds.
Our
meagerness, in the hands of Jesus,
becomes
bounty.
1. God empowers us
directly with strength, inspiration and patience,
when we need it
most,
when we have
reached that deep empty space in our hearts and admit our powerlessness over
the the crowded demands of our lives and we have compassion for ourselves
2. God empowers a
community of disciples
to
respond to the border crisis.
---
This week in the AZ
Diocesan news[3],
an Episcopal priest
from Southern AZ wrote about “ten ways to respond” to the border issues
through our own
meager offering, with actions like
a. learning the
history of Central America and the US foreign policy of that region,
b. attending a border
vigil in Douglas, or
c. reading the book
“Bishops on the Border” which inspires a fresh vision to respond to the border
crisis with compassion.
3. God empowers
neighbor nations,
and
those of other faiths,
to
pray for peace and resolution.
--
Just last week,
Temple Emanu-El and
Weintraub Israel Center
hosted a multi-faith
prayer and
conversation event.
The event offered a
glimpse of hope and peace
through the joined
prayers of
Christians, Jews,
Muslims, Sikh, and Baha’i faiths.
While meager, the
evening opened the way
for further
conversation and softened hearts
for grace to enter in.
With God’s
empowerment,
we continue to pray
unceasingly
for peace and resolution
in the Holy Land.
Jesus
himself came to the world,
was
blessed, broken and given
to
accomplish what we cannot
accomplish
for ourselves, which is
a compassionate, expanded reign of God.
And
so I wonder, what is your meager offering?
·
Is
it simply two hours, once a month, on a Saturday to make sandwiches for Casa
Maria?
·
Is
it to promise to God to be mindful in responding to the demands of the crowds?
·
Is
it a letter to the editor, invoking compassion?
·
Is
it writing a note to someone who is grieving?
Conclusion
Jesus
will take our meager offering, bless it, break it and give it – multiplying it
in miraculous ways that empower us to do God’s work in the world.
Albert
Einstein once said,
“There
are only two ways to live your life.
One
is as though nothing is a miracle.
The
other is as though everything is…”
The
events that took place on that hillside
two
thousand years ago
were
a miracle to the more than five thousand
that
were there.
The
events that take place today, in our world,
are the
miracle of God’s love
for
the six billion people
on
the planet today –
God
loves every single one of them.
Jesus
says, bring me your meager offering.
And
he will take, bless, break and give it
for a
miraculous bounty for all,
with
enough left over
to
fill twelve baskets!
Amen
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