Pentecost 16 Year A

Pentecost 16 Year A Matt. 16:21-27, Romans 12:9-21 Rev. Benton Quest

I was looking at the readings for today; trying to figure out which one I wanted to preach on. Did I want to preach about old Jeremiah complaining to God because things were not going so well? Did I want to preach about Paul calling us to that hi

gher call of loving our neighbors and enemies? Or did I want to preach about Jesus calling Peter “Satan” and telling us all kinds of things about denying ourselves?

Humm… That was a tough one! After looking at the situation of the world -- and being in the lull between party conventions -- and having a hurricane breathing once again down New Orleans neck – I decided I would rather preach on love. So I decided to delve into the Romans reading.

Actually, the first thing that went through my mind as once again I read the reading from Romans was, “This should be on a parchment scroll somewhere.” I guess I must have thought that because I have been thinking about The Desiderata lately.

Now, I don’t know if you know The Desiderata or not, but it is one of those “nice” poems that people tend to send to each other over the internet. It starts out, “Go placidly amid the noise and the haste…” And ends with, “With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.” The poem is full of all kinds of good things to remember. And usually, after reading it, most people will say, “Yes, that is good stuff to remember.” But then that is usually the end of it. The poem gets thrown into the drawer or gets deleted from the computer and we just go on with our lives.

Unfortunately, something very similar can happen to this reading from Romans. We can read it and realize that there are some really good things being said, but then we close our Bible and go on with our daily lives, not letting the profundity of the message really sink in.

Today’s reading from Romans is really very simple, it is just a series of directives as to what we should and should not be doing as individuals and as a community of faith. There are various things that sound like they should be in a self-help book. And when we finish the reading, most of us would generally think, “Yes, that sounds reasonable.” But it is this kind of flip response that can get us into trouble. We just look at the reading with an “Uh Duh” kind of attitude and don’t really think any more about it. But if we really were to take these directives to heart, it could, quite literally, change the world.

Let’s just look at the first line: “Let love be genuine” This one directive has the potential of being highly subversive. How many times do we use “love” as a means of manipulating people? How many times do we truly give out of total, unselfish love? How many times have we been afraid to accept someone’s kindness because we unsure of the person’s intentions? How often are we worried about becoming indebted to someone who seems to be acting kind? Generally, in our world, love comes with some strings attached and these strings can become quite entangling. Paul is telling us to remove all of those strings, he is putting things quite simply, “Let love be genuine.”

Paul then goes on to flesh out what he means by “be genuine.” How simple is this? “…hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good.” With Paul’s definition, loving genuinely should not be difficult at all. It is right there, but we need to be reminded of it. We have to have Paul tell us. Although it sounds like it should be a no-brainer, often we do just the opposite. We hold onto the evil and cower from the good. It is just this kind of behavior that causes Jesus to ask in the gospel reading, “For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life?”

Gaining the whole world and forfeiting one’s own life is actually an example of what happens when we disregard the directive that Paul has given us.

When I hear the words, “Gain the whole world but forfeit their life,” I often think of the work-a-holic. Here is someone who spends hours making money so as to have all the pleasures of life. A big house, a nice car, a boat…you know what I mean. The person works hard to get the “things” of life. But, unfortunately, life itself has passed this person by. Suddenly the children are grown. Suddenly the spouse is just a person who shares the same house. The big house is just that, a house. It is not a home because the goodness of love is no longer there. We are told that all of these various things are going to bring us a good life; but in actuality, the good of family and friends goes flying out the window.

Well, there I did it, I was trying to not preach on the gospel reading and it just popped right in! The truth of Jesus’ words is difficult to avoid! And the fact that Paul had to reiterate what Jesus was saying is proof that Jesus’ words are not the most easy things to live out. And whether we like it or not, these are the ideals that, as Christians, we are called to live. We are called to love our enemies, not seek revenge. We are called to give to the poor, not just hope someone else will do it. We are called to hate what is evil, not just rename it as something like “progress.”

Christ calls us to a higher life. When he says that those who lose their life for his sake will find it, what he means is those who are willing to lose their lower level of life for his sake, will find a higher level of life.

This reminds me of a story.

There once was a little girl who had a plastic string of pearls. The little girl would wear the pearls everywhere and every night, she would take them off and place them in the drawer of her nightstand.

Every night, the little girl’s father would tuck her in and ask her if she loved him. And every night the little girl would say, “Of course, Daddy, I love you more than anything!”

After that, the father would ask the little girl if she would give him her pearls. To which the little girl always responded, “Oh, please ask me for anything, but not my pearls!” After the little girl answered, the father would smile at her, give her a big hug and kiss, and go out of the room.

This continued for years until one night, something changed. The girl looked at her father and, with tears streaming down her eyes, responded, “Yes, I love my pearls, but I love and trust you more. So yes, I will give you my pearls.” And the girl took the pearls out of the drawer and handed them to her father.

Her father was overjoyed! He looked at her with tears streaming down his cheeks and pulled out a box and handed it to his daughter. It was a string of, not fake, but real pearls! He had wanted to give the real pearls to his daughter, but she had to be willing to give up the fake.

Christ is ready to give us true life, not something that is pretending to be life. Paul is showing us how to get the most out of the life we have here, now! But we are being asked to place our faith and our trust in Christ. All around us, we are being told to not reach out and just worry about ourselves, but Jesus is asking us to look after our enemies. Paul is asking us to work toward the greater good.

This is not a plan to just feel good. What we are being asked actually takes some work! We have to work to follow the example that Jesus set. When Jesus told Peter to “get behind,” it was not that Jesus was trying to get rid of Peter. Jesus was telling Peter his proper spot. You cannot follow the savior if you are running out in front of him! We are to follow in the path of Jesus and live as servant leaders.

We are called together as a community and we are to the table, and yes, this calling is to strengthen us, but this strength is not for us alone. We are strengthen to go out and share the love of Christ to the world. We are strengthened to love genuinely. We are strengthened to love our enemies. We are strengthened to live peaceably with all.

So I challenge you to go back and reread today’s passage from Romans. But don’t just read it as a nice poem sent to you on e-mail, read it as a guide to living a full life sent to you by the one who loves you more than you can ever understand. Read it that way, because that is exactly what it is.

Pentecost 15 Year A

Pentecost 15 Matt. 16:13-20 August 24, 2008 Rev. Benton Quest

A while back, I was driving down the road. I didn’t think I was doing anything wrong. I was maybe driving a little over the speed limit but not that bad. Suddenly, this car comes up behind me and starts tailgating me and flashing its lights at me. I try to figure out if I am doing anything wrong. From what I could tell, I wasn’t doing anything worthy of this person’s anger. Still, the person was behind me, tailgating, flashing lights, and giving me the one finger salute. I was totally confused. I could not figure out what to do to make this person leave me alone. Eventually, the person passed me. While driving past, I was given another one finger salute.

Now what was interesting was that as the car drove past, I noticed a “Jesus Fish” on the back bumper. Wow! This person was publicly proclaiming to be a Christian through the fish on his car, but here he was acting in a way that was anything but Christ-like. He was telling the world that he was a follower of Christ, but his actions were totally disrespectful of Christ.

Jesus said to his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

The televangelists are on TV proclaiming the love of Christ. They are proclaiming the forgiveness of sins and total salvation. The problem is; this salvation is only for the “good” people. This salvation is only for the people who give enough money. This salvation is only for the people who can help the cause. This salvation is only for the people who do all the “right” things. All you other people? Well, you are damned. You have no hope. The message of love the televangelists are proclaiming is good, but their demonstration of love and grace is disrespectful to Christ.

Jesus said to his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

“Can you believe she would wear such a thing to church?” one lady says to another. “She looks like a bag lady in that outfit! You would think she could find something better to wear. And what about those kids? They look like thieves and act like animals. We can’t pray with them around.”

Jesus said to his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

On Southpark we have Jesus with his own show on public-access television. Unfortunately, this Jesus is as totally wimpy and really does not stand up to anyone or anything. This televised Jesus is someone more to be pitied than worshipped.

Jesus said to his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

If we look at the world, we get a really twisted view of just who Jesus is. When we listen to the world, all we hear is Jesus being used as a means of attack, as a means of judgment, or as a means of escape. In the world, Jesus is often a convenient way to justify a person or group’s opinions. Unfortunately, in our world today, Jesus has become the clay and we have taken the role of the potter, forming Jesus into whatever shape is convenient.

The other unfortunate thing is that in our world, this may be the only view people ever get of Jesus. As people move away from studying the bible, as people move away from continuing faith education, they begin to create Jesus in their own image. They begin to put their thoughts, feelings, and prejudices into Jesus’ mouth. As people loose their perspective on the Jesus of the Bible, then the idea as Jesus as our rather wimpy pal becomes more and more prominent.

So, the world continues to cast Jesus as a wimpy pal. But just who is this so called “wimpy” pal of ours? Who does the Bible say Jesus is?

Well, Biblically, Jesus is the one who fed the multitudes! Jesus is the one who came for the sick and dying! Jesus is the one who healed the lame and brought good news to the poor! Jesus is the one who feeds us today with his body and his blood. Jesus is the one who dined with the sinners and lifted up the oppressed! Jesus is the one who died to forgive our sins and was raised so that we might have eternal life! Jesus stood up to the power structure of his time and sat down so the children could find comfort on his lap.

This Jesus, the Jesus of the Bible is no ineffectual pal. The Jesus of the Bible is not just a weakling who will go along with whatever the structures of the world have to say. The Jesus of the Bible is much more willing to forgive than to condemn. The Jesus of the Bible is much more willing to include than to exclude. The Jesus of the Bible is willing to look beyond the reality of those who surround him and see the magnificent potential that God has created in each. This is the Jesus we Christians proclaim as Lord.

So, if Jesus were to ask each of us, “Who do you say that I am?” What would we say? (Pause) Or better yet! If Jesus asked our friends, coworkers, acquaintances, or people we encounter at Meijer, “Who does this person say that I am?” What would the response be? If Jesus asked our calendar or check book “Who does this person say that I am” what would the response be? What about the next door neighbors, the people who live across the street, the people who live in Jefferson; who do we, the congregation of St. Swithians’ say Jesus is? Christ has given us the gift of forgiveness, have we extended that gift to others? Christ has given us the gift of acceptance, have we reached out in acceptance to others? (Small Pause) Have we given that gift of acceptance to ourselves? Christ loves us with an unselfish love, have we spread this love to an unbelieving world?

Now my interpretation may be wrong here, I have not found any of the scholars stating this, but I tend to think at the end of the reading, Jesus ordered the disciples not to tell people that Jesus was the messiah because he wanted the disciples to SHOW the world that Jesus was the messiah.

We know that words are one thing, but actions are another. I may say I love my brother, but if I continually punch him in the eye, you would probably begin to wonder just how deep that love is. Jesus wants his disciples, his followers (that means you and me!) to live in the promises that we have been given and to show the world what it means to have the love of the Messiah! Jesus wants his followers doing more than saying they love him, he wants them out there showing it! When I worked at camp, we used to have a saying, “YOU may be the only Bible some people read.” It is this calling, the calling to be out in the world, that Jesus sets before his followers. Jesus tells his followers that they are to be out attacking the gates of Hades. Jesus wants his followers to know that the gates of Hades cannot withstand us when we embrace the strength of Christ.

Now, this is not some passive thing like locking the doors against Hades, this is an active thing. The gates of Hades cannot move so therefore we must be the ones that move. We need to be out there spreading the word and showing the world!

What are the gates that Christ has shown us? What strongholds are out there that prevent us, God’s people, from truly living? What battles does Christ have in store for you as a person and for us as a congregation? We may not want to engage in these battles because they may appear to be just too much, But even if these battles appear futile, Christ is asking us to trust in him and go out and spread his love.

Jesus is standing here, before each and every one of us and before us as a congregation. He is looking into our eyes. He breathes in and asks each one of us with hope and love in his voice, “And you, who do you say that I am?”

How will we answer?

Pentecost 14 Year A

Pentecost 14 Year A Matt. 15:10-28 August 17, 2008 The Rev. Benton Quest

We have a strange gospel reading today. This is one of those readings that people have struggled with for years and these same people cannot seem to come up with a definitive interpretation. As such, I probably won’t be able to give you the definitive answer either. But hopefully, we will be able to learn something about God and about ourselves in the process.
What seems to be happening in today’s gospel reading is that Jesus appears to be acting in a really uncharacteristically rude manner. Now look at the situation: A woman has come to Jesus to ask for help. The first thing that Jesus does is ignores her. Then, if ignoring this woman who comes for help is not rude enough, he calls her a dog and tells her that she is not worthy of help!
What Gospel truth are we supposed to learn from this?
I have found this interaction to be very troubling. We have been taught that Jesus is loving and caring. So loving, in fact that he gave his life for us, and here we have a situation where Jesus seems to be disregarding the pain this suffering woman. Hearing this story makes me wonder, would Jesus disregard my pain? Would Jesus consider me a dog unworthy of the divine food if I brought my troubles to him? I know that I have not lived up to the standard set by Christ in his life. I have not loved others as I have been loved. I have not freely given. I have placed myself before others. I know that I have fallen short. But I have relied on Jesus’ love and grace to be with me even though I am undeserving.
Now we have this story which shows Jesus being unloving and ungracefilled; we have this story that shows Christ being Unchristlike. Now we are presented with a Jesus who is reluctant to even hear the plea of the woman. With what we are told in this scripture, it would seem that the loving and grace-filled Jesus was just a show. As I have said, I find this to be very troubling.
It is interesting to read what various scholars have said about this passage. Some have suggested that Jesus didn’t really mean “dog” as in a stray but “dog” as in cuddly pet dog. I guess if I were pleading for the life of my child, it wouldn’t matter if you called me a German Shepherd of a Yorkie; either way, I would be totally offended.
Other scholars have suggested that Jesus and the lady were engaging in some lighthearted banter. That would be like going to a cardiologist and having her tell me that she wouldn’t waste her time or education operating on a fat, lazy, slob like me. She would rather save her talent for someone who in better shape and more deserving. I can tell you, I would start laughing and respond with my best Groucho Marx imitation. Yeah, sure... I would be totally offended. I just don’t buy the lighthearted banter approach.
However, up until this point, we have not looked at this incident in context of the other events that are occurring. Most people just focus on the dog part and forget that other things have just happened. Jesus is with the disciples discussing ritual purity and defilement. Now, if you remember, if a person was ritually pure, then that person could go into the temple. But if a person were ritually impure, it would be blasphemous to enter the temple. Also, people were not to touch someone who was ritually impure unless they also become impure. So, even if you kept all the ritual purity laws, if you touched an impure person, then all that work to be pure was trashed, you were impure.
What Jesus was explaining to the disciples was that it was not the purity laws that make a person clean or defiled, but what comes out of a person’s heart. If a person is evil, all of the ritually clean food in the world will not make that person good. In the same manner, eating a pork chop does not necessarily make a person evil. Jesus was saying that a person’s character is more than just adherence to the law.
Then the part that happens next, the woman coming up to Jesus, is a testing of the proclamation.
A gentile woman comes to Jesus and begs for help. This woman is unclean, impure, defiled. If Jesus were to touch her, he would become defiled. If the disciples were to touch her, they would become defiled too. Now the dilemma: Jesus has just talked about what defiles and what does not. Will the disciples risk being socially impure in order to help this gentile woman or will they keep their hands clean?
The answer is a resounding, “NO WAY!” The disciples would not even approach the woman but requested that Jesus send her away.
Then Jesus gives the response that is so troubling. Jesus responds that he was sent to the lost sheep of Israel and that the children’s food should not be thrown to the dogs.
Now if these comments are directed toward the woman, then they are truly cruel. But it has been suggested that the comments were intended for the disciples to hear. Jesus was following the exact letter of the law to show how a strict, unthinking, adherence to the law can be just as defiling as an abandonment of the law. Jesus was showing the disciples, and us, that we need to respond to our world with one eye turned to the law, and the other turned to our neighbor.
The first question I have from this reading is, “Who are the people I would like to have Jesus send away?” Who do I not want to touch for fear of becoming defiled in the sight of the world? Who would I rather have Jesus take out of my sight so that I don’t have to think about them? Are there people like this in your life? Messy people? Annoying people? Needy people? How is Christ asking you to reach out? How is Christ asking you to be a blessing to these people?
The second question I think is even more important than the first. How are we like the woman in the story? How have we been loved and lifted by Christ’s love? If we cannot see how Christ has blessed us, then we cannot be a blessing to others. If we cannot see how, even though we were undeserving of forgiveness, Christ has forgiven us, then we are lost. Christ did not ask that we become clean and undefiled before he gave his life for us, he gave his life while we were still outcasts. Christ did not demand restitution from us before he bestowed his forgiveness. It is this love, this grace, this forgiveness that Christ wishes us to bestow upon those we encounter in our lives.
Now although we may not understand Jesus’ actions in the gospel, we do know that he extended love and help to that person the law said should be turned away. He helped the woman even though the Pharisees would have cried that she was “unclean.” Although society may have said the woman was unworthy of help, Christ helped her anyway.
Christ calls us to reach out because even though we may be unclean, we are still loved and forgiven. Even when society looks down upon us, Christ calls us all to the table. Even those whom the world would have us send away, Christ would have us call in.
So even though at first glance, the gospel lesson looks like Jesus being rude, we can see that Jesus is teaching us to reach out and to love those who would come into our lives. Loving the people who are different is difficult, but this is the kind of love we are called to give. This is the kind of love we have received through Jesus. This is the love we are given and this is the love we are asked to follow. Giving this love may be difficult, but through Christ, we can achieve it.

Pentecost 13 Year A

Pentecost 13 Year A Matthew 14:22-33

I’ve been looking back at the gospel reading we have had over the past month or so. And as I have looked, I have noticed a trend. Now his shouldn’t be surprising; there should be a trend throughout the all the gospels. The Gospel is the good news that Christ died for our sins and calls us to fullness of life in him. That shouldn’t be too difficult to find. But the past couple of weeks have been presenting us with some truths that seem to be especially relevant now that St. Swithin’s is going through this time of transition.

The gospel readings have been addressing specific instances of how we are to be Christians in the world. We need to remember that the love of God is not restricted to a certain time or to a certain place; the love of God is freely spread throughout the whole world. We are to spread God’s love to all people, not just the ones we find acceptable. We are to realize that God uses people like us to work throughout the world. And we are to remember that we have been mightily gifted by God and are called to bring our gifts to Christ so they may be lifted up and multiplied beyond our recognition. With these past themes in mind, we can see that today’s gospel continues to call us and continues to empower us.

In today’s gospel, we have a story that is probably pretty familiar to most of us; the story of Jesus walking on the water. The disciples are out in a boat when they see Jesus walking on the water and they become afraid. Then Peter recognizes Jesus and, in a great display of faith, says that if Jesus calls him, he, too, could walk out on the water to Jesus. So Jesus calls him and Peter begins to walk. But once Peter starts walking, he begins to doubt, his faith begins to waver; and as he doubts, he begins to sink.

I don’t think Peter’s experience is too far away from our own experiences in life. We see where Jesus is calling us and it may cause us to be initially frightened. But then we reach out and say, “Just call me Jesus and I will follow you anywhere.” We then venture out in faith and realize that we in fact can walk on the water! We continue to walk in faith, but then it dawns on us that we are now out in the middle of uncharted waters. And as we look around, we realize something else, our boat is way behind us!

Oh no! We are out in the middle of the water. Our boat is out of reach behind us. Jesus is somewhere in front of us. We look for a way to save ourselves. We feel the water beneath our feet go from being solid enough to hold us to being, well, water! We feel ourselves starting to sink and we feel the water wash over us. Now we start to panic and as we panic, we feel the water cover us even more! We are going to drown!

We step out into life with the best of intentions. We have every intention of volunteering our time to help take care of the church building and grounds. We intend to help with the nursery and Sunday school. And we are going to jump right in and tithe. And we truly have faith that Jesus will see us through on these intentions. But then the strong winds of life begin to buffet us. We begin to notice that we are moving in uncharted territory and our usual sources of support are gone.

What we forget about the story is that Peter does NOT drown. When Peter faltered, Jesus didn’t just abandon him to the depths. Jesus reaches out and catches Peter. Jesus does not let Peter drown.

And we are also told that Jesus speaks to Peter. Now, how we interpret these words have a lot of bearing on what we take away from the story. If we hear Jesus speaking to Peter as a punitive parent, then we may fear stepping out in faith. If we hear Jesus say in some booming, angry voice, “OH YOU OF LITTLE FAITH!!” we may assume that we should only try something so audacious only if we are some kind of faith superstar.

But there is another way of interpreting what Jesus said. Imagine yourself as a parent. Now, imagine your child in the process of learning how to walk. Your child is at one end of the room and you are on the other. Your child is reaching out to you and you are encouraging her to take her first tentative steps toward you. She looks into your eyes with total faith and lets go of the bookcase. Keeping her eyes on you, she toddles into the middle of the room. When she reaches the middle of the room, she begins to look around. THERE IS NOTHING TO HANG ON TO! The bookcase is behind her and you are in front of her. And the only thing between you and her is the wide expanse of floor. Suddenly in a panic, your child starts crying and drops to the floor.

Now, do you go to her and begin to scold her because she got frightened? Well, of course not. You scoop her up in your arms and you laugh. She was doing so well and then she began to doubt. And when she doubted, it was than that she lost her footing.

I guess I see Jesus in just such a parental role in today’s reading. I don’t see Jesus as scolding Peter. I see Jesus as having one of those, “Oh so close but not yet” moments. Peter seems to get it, Peter seems to get that Jesus can be trusted in even the most bizarre situations. But then the world gets the better of Peter and he flounders.

Jesus knows we will flounder too. But still, Jesus calls us to get out of the boat and trust in him. Jesus doesn’t tell the disciples to row the boat faster or try harder. He just tells them to take heart and not be afraid. And what does Jesus do when Peter begins to sink? He reaches out and grabs him and carries him to the boat. Even when Peter’s faith falters, Jesus does not leave him behind. Jesus scoops Peter up and carries him to safety.

Jesus is asking us all to step out of the boat, or let go of the bookcase, or release our grip on our time or our paycheck. Jesus is asking us to let go of those things we think are giving us support and to look into his eyes and trust. Jesus is asking us to believe and then move. Jesus is asking us to just step out in faith. Jesus is not expecting us to be faith superstars, he is just expecting us to take one small step, and then another, and then another. And you know, in no time at all, not only are we walking on the water, but we are running laps around the lake!

But if we should lose faith and become caught up in the winds of life, we are not lost, we are not left to sink to the bottom and perish. If we get caught up in the winds of life, Christ is there for us, ready to hold us up and support us. Ready to carry us back to the boat and calm the winds around us. Even if we get caught up in the troubles of life, Jesus doesn’t just leave us.

Christ comes to us, scoops us up in his strong arms, looks into our eyes and smiles. He gives us a little shake of the head and then, trying, but not quite succeeding, to suppress a knowing chuckle, says, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Why do we doubt? Why do we doubt the one who died and was raised? Why do we doubt the one who calls us and feeds us with his own body and blood? Why do we doubt the one who promises to be with us until the end of time?

But the fact is, we do doubt. The fact is, our faith will flounder. And although sometimes we will be out there like faith superstars, the fact is, most of the time we will get caught up in the winds of the world. But the fact is, no matter what we do, Christ is there, urging us on to step out of the boat in faith; and also ready to scoop us up if we should falter.

Pentecost 12 Year A Sermon

Matthew 14:13-21

I think one of my least favorite things in the world we live in is advertising. I know it runs our world, it is everywhere. And I also know that it pays for most of the things we watch and read. But what is the cost of all of this advertising? What have we, personally, paid for advertising? What in our life have we given to advertising? That may sound like an odd question to be coming from the pulpit, but I think it is a valid question. What has become of our lives due to advertising?
The object of most advertising is to make us want to buy things. And the best way to do that is to make us feel like we are somehow lacking if we do not have that specific something. Better than just having that specific something, in many cases we are lead to believe that we need to be the first person to have that specific something. So the whole aim of advertising is to make us feel like we are in some manner inadequate or what we have is not good enough.
Now if we really stopped to think about this, it is kind of silly. Are we any more special because we have Nike shoes over Adidas shoes? Are we any more important because we have an iPhone 3G as opposed to the original iPhone? Are we just so much more special because we have clothes that say “Pink” on them or “Hollister”? And one of my biggest questions of all: Why would anyone need to spend $300, $400, $500 or more for a purse? It just baffles me.
During my life, I have seen many trends come and go. For a while, we all needed designer jeans. Then we all needed Member’s Only jackets. At one time people were literally fighting over Cabbage Patch Kids dolls. And how many people thought they were going to be able to retire on the profits they would make when they sold their Princess Bear Beanie Baby?
Stuff. Our society wants us to believe we are only as good as our stuff. But having the stuff is not good enough. The bar has to move. At one point, driving a Cadillac was the epitome of luxury. Then we all had to drive Leuxuses or is that Lexusi? For a while it was Hummers and now it seems to be anything that is a Hybrid. To keep the economy moving, new things have to be placed out there as the “it” thing to have. To keep the economy moving, we need to be convinced that if we do not have that “it” thing, then we are not good enough.
But what does this whole lesson in economy and psychology have to do with us here a church? Actually, quite a lot. The disciples in our reading exemplify the exactly the type of thought that we see here in America. The disciples present Jesus with a monumental problem; how to feed over 5000 people.
But instead of Jesus either sending the people away or doing some kind of miracle that would feed all the people, he tosses the request back to the disciples and tell them to feed the people. At which point I am sure the disciples must have though Jesus was totally insane. All they had were fie loaves and two fish. Jesus was asking them to feed well over 5000 people with that food.
If we think about it, five loaves and two fish is not very much. If you have ever given a party, you know that people can eat a lot! The disciples were faced with thousands of hungry people and a very small amount of food. If I were them, I would be afraid of a riot or something breaking out as they all fought to get the limited amount of food.
Unfortunately, I think our world teaches us that what we have is inadequate. No matter what we have, if we look, we can always find something that is bigger, better, more stylish, or more impressive. We may feel that whatever we can offer is not going to be good enough. But if we believe that, that is not a teaching of Jesus, that is a teaching of the world. I cannot think of one place in the Bible where someone offers their gifts up for Jesus and Jesus says, “Well, I guess that will do. I really wanted Long John Silver’s fish and fries, but I guess your fish and loaves will do.
We may laugh at that because we see the absurdity of it. But still, as a kid, I remember feeling like I was not as good as the other kids because my family could not afford the Nike shoes that everyone else was wearing. It is not that my shoes were not good enough, they we just fine, it was that they were not the status symbol shoes that were being proclaimed on the commercials. The absurdity of being judged by one’s shoes should be obvious, but it and similar kinds of judgments happen everyday. So, since we are daily being bombarded with messages that tell us that what we have or what we are is not good enough, is it any wonder that so many of us go through life feeling like we are victims?
But Jesus is showing us a different way to go through life. What we have, no matter how small it may seem, is very important and of great worth. We each have been given a multitude of gifts and these are what Jesus asks us to bring to him.
The disciples assume that their loaves and fish are not enough. They assume that they need something that is more or better or both. They do not think that their meager offering could be enough for this impossible task that is before them. But they find out that they are wrong! In the hands of Jesus, the gifts of the disciples become more than they could ever comprehend.
There have been many arguments over the whether the fish and the loaves miraculously multiplies or whether sitting with someone who is hungry while you have food brought out the altruism in the members of the crowd. Personally, I think don’t think it profits us to follow this argument. The writer of the gospel did not give us the details. All we know is that these five loaves and two fish were enough to feed the multitudes.
But what we can learn is that when we bring our gifts to Jesus, Jesus will lift up our gifts up to heaven and bless them. When we trust what we have been given and in faith give it to Christ, we will find that our efforts will not be in vein.
Our world tells us that we are not good enough and the gifts we have are not adequate. But those are the lies of our world. The wheels of commerce are not kept greased by people who are joyful and content with the gifts God gave them. Commerce keeps going through our discontent with our lives. The more discontent the world can keep us, the more we will spend.
But Jesus has a different message for us. We all have been given wonderful gifts and we can freely give of these gifts. When we give in faith, our gifts are multiplied and the results are greater than we could ever imagine. Even those who would appear to have nothing to give can still be part of Christ’s plan. In one of my former congregations, there was a wonderful woman who was unable to come to church and was not able to get out of her house except for dr. appts. But she still gave her gifts to Christ who blessed them and used them. This woman would send birthday cards to everyone in the congregation. Not a huge task, but one that touched many lives. Through her faith and willingness to give, her gift was multiplied throughout the community.
It is Jesus himself who gives us the ultimate example: He gave himself as a gift for us all. We are all called to the table and receive the gift of Christ’s own body and blood. Although he may seem like one small person, through faith and blessing, love and forgiveness is brought to the whole world! And as Christ’s followers, we are called to present our gifts, our lives, our selves, in the certain faith that Christ will use our gifts and multiply our gifts.
The world tells us that we are continuously in need; but in the economy of God, we are greatly blessed. Unfortunately, so often the words of the world are so loud that the words of Christ, “Bring them here to me,” are drowned out. But Christ continues to call us, continues to ask us to reach out in faith. And when we do, the results are unimaginable!