Abundance The Rev. Jim Trimble; St. James Episcopal Church, Pewee Valley KY 4 Lent, Year B: March 18, 2012

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Byron Hines
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1 Abundance The Rev. Jim Trimble; St. James Episcopal Church, Pewee Valley KY 4 Lent, Year B: March 18, 2012 Easter 2005, I was serving at a church in Buda, Texas during my last semester of seminary. It s a small mission church in a small rural town south of Austin. The people there are very faithful, and make it to church as often as they can. Through my time there, every Sunday, about 10 folks would show up for the 8:00 service, and maybe 25 for the 10:00 service. One of the ministries of the church was baking bread for the Eucharists. The Altar Guild members would always have two of the bread circles each Sunday, one for each service. Well, the 10:00 Easter service was upon us, and the Altar Guild baker that week had made the same amount of bread as she did every week. She didn t count on the great number of folks on this Sunday morning. Easter Sunday. One of the problems was that there was no tabernacle with a supply of reserved sacrament. There was a handful of wafers just in case, but they were locked up in the back and no one had the key. About 100 people packed that small church on Easter morning. The priest was in somewhat of a panic as the small circle of bread was getting smaller and smaller. Even the cruet of wine was quickly diminishing, with no back-up anywhere nearby. But, to our amazement, every person who approached the altar that morning was fed with the Body and Blood of the risen Christ. No one was turned away.. 1

2 God had provided. The paschal feast which the gospel lays out for us today was accomplished. Everyone was fed, and no one went away hungry. In John s Gospel, Jesus had just healed a man on the Sabbath day, and was being berated by the Temple elders. Crowds had started to gather around him and his disciples once they heard of these healing miracles. Jesus had also told the crowds that the Son of God would suffer, die, and be raised from the dead. But he didn t tell them this to toot his own horn. Everything he did and said reflects back on the One who sent him.god the Father. Even after thousands were fed with a few loaves and fishes, the crowd could only see the miracle, and not God. They crowded around him wanting to make him their King, but Jesus took off, wanting to be alone. They assumed this feeding of God s people was just another parlor trick to show how kingly he was. They didn t see that it was a sign of the abundance of God, and of God s love. Jesus tested Philip by asking, Where are we to buy food enough to feed all these people? Philip, of course, answered with a calculated response that six months wages wouldn t even be enough. I m sure Philip s brain was doing all the math and, at the same time, his heart was beating overtime wondering if this test would be a success or failure. Maybe Philip thought he was supposed to come up with the money, or at least a plan to feed everyone. Even Andrew jumped in on this predicament. Were they going to have to feed everybody? Was this a Donald Trump-type exercise where, if they didn t accomplish this task, one of them would be fired? 2

3 All the pie charts and graphs in the world couldn t come up with a solution to make sure everyone here got food. Amazingly enough, Jesus doesn t rebuke them for their lack of faith in God s power to provide salvation. He takes charge and accomplishes Eucharist. He gives thanks to the Father for this abundance. He breaks bread. And he goes about the task of feeding the gathered community. It would be quite a sign if the food supply was just enough to feed all the people. But, in true fashion of the abundant nature of God, there are twelve baskets of leftovers. A basket for each of the tribes of Israel who would bring the whole world to Yahweh, and Yahweh to the whole world. A basket for each of the disciples to carry out Christ s Great Commission of baptizing in all the nations of the world. This feeding story should take the listeners of this Gospel back to the beginning of their time as God s chosen people wandering around in the wilderness, as they are fed from God s abundance by the unleavened manna. We celebrate this abundant love every Sunday when we gather together, bless and break the bread, and are then fed from God s abundance. This abundant grace, or Eucharist, is what Paul is reminding the people in Ephesus. The abundant love of God has saved us, by grace and through faith.not by anything we would do, but as a gift from God. The abundance of God is given back to God when we bring forth the bread, the wine, and the monetary offerings to the table. 3

4 It is God who has given us everything, and we respond by offering not just the bread, the wine, and the money, but ourselves, our souls and bodies. Out of God s abundance towards us, we give of that abundance back to God. It s neverending, it s eternal. Going back to the conversation between Jesus, Philip, and Andrew. They are working so hard to come up with a solution to their problem. Or, not even starting on a solution, yet, because they re not finished analyzing how impossible the task would be. But they fail to see that God will provide. They ve been traveling around with Jesus for a while and have seen all his miracles, heard all his teachings about God s power and love, and yet, they fail to apply what they ve seen to the situation at hand. I m guilty of that same response to God s abundance. I would be faced with situations where I couldn t see any way out. Even if I received a new set of eyes, I d still fail to see a solution. I would get paper and pencil and try to come up with any and every possible solution, even before I fully saw the situation s big picture. But the big thing I failed to do was to see the world around me through the lens of God will provide. I spend a lot of my life in prayer with God, in study about God, in preaching about God, and how faith in God will enable us to accomplish anything. Yet, I sometimes fail to put God first. I would look at house repairs, or family relationships, or planning church programs, and see no possible way to accomplish these things on my own. 4

5 My first mistake, though, was not to first put it before God. Now I m not saying that if I just be faithful and keep praying, without any work on my part, that the money to fix my car will fall into my lap. I m not saying that if I just read the Bible and say my prayers, without any work on my part, that my relationships with all my family members will just magically be made whole again. God is inviting us to be a part of God s grace, to experience God s abundant love. This gift of Eucharist, of grace, of thanksgiving is ours just for the sheer fact that we are God s and are made in God s image. But, we can t place these gifts under a bushel basket and expect them to yield a great harvest. These gifts can only be fruitful and multiply if we put God at the forefront of our thoughts, dreams, hopes, fears, and very lives. And, if we respond with thanksgiving to these gifts by putting in our share of the work, too. I think this feeding story today was as much for the apostles to show a model of discipleship, as it was for actually giving food to the gathered thousands. If we spend our time second-guessing ourselves, or doubting our abilities, or even God s abilities, we might end up short, and not fully living out the Good News. If we just keep doing the work of feeding our friends and neighbors, in body, mind, and spirit, God will provide. Amen. 5

Lessons From the Flannel Graph 2012 Jesus Feeds 5,000 (or When All You Have Just Isn t Enough) Turn with me to Luke 9 and then to John 6.

Lessons From the Flannel Graph 2012 Jesus Feeds 5,000 (or When All You Have Just Isn t Enough) Turn with me to Luke 9 and then to John 6. Both of these gospel writers give us some details of the miracle