Does he wave a magic wand and voila! a banquet appears? No, he uses what is available: a child s brown bag lunch.

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1 Proper 12 B July 29, 2012 Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Chanhassen, Minnesota Pastor Kristie Hennig Ephesians 3:14-21; John 6: Bread of Life 1 John s story of the feeding of the crowd is about abundance in the face of scarcity. There s a huge crowd that is hungry. They re mostly common folk and poor. Maybe they get to eat only once a day and their stomachs are starting to growl. Jesus knows the pain of their hunger and he does something about it. Does he wave a magic wand and voila! a banquet appears? No, he uses what is available: a child s brown bag lunch. While the grownups wring their hands How in the world will we feed all these people without money to buy food? -- a youngster steps forward and offers up what he has: 5 loaves of coarse, unleavened bread made from barley, and 2 salted fish. In Jesus presence that small gift, that instance of generosity, that impulse to share is transformed into abundance: all who were hungry are satisfied, the text says so much so that there are abundant leftovers, even! John points to this as a sign that Jesus was a prophet sent from God. And so it is. 1 P a g e

2 But this story also speaks to us about the hunger that still exists in our world, and the power that our own gifts have to erase scarcity with the abundance we hold in our hands. Give a Little is a book that will make you hungry for justice and look for ways to share that really make a difference. The book s subtitle really says it all: How Your Donations Can Transform Our World. Here are a few things I ve learned in this book by Wendy Smith. Per capita in terms of government aid, the United States does not rank as high you might think on the list of the world s most generous nations. But as individuals Americans are extraordinary givers we give many billions of dollars each year. In 2007 that number was $229 billion. That number does not include the Bill & Melinda Gateses of the world and their foundations, or the foreign aid given by our federal govt. That $229 billion comes from the wallets of millions of people like you and me and a lot more people who make far less than any of our households in terms of income. In fact the lower an American s income, the greater the percentage he or she is likely to give away. Even small, affordable donations made to sustainable projects DO make a difference. Imagine what generous giving can do! Especially in the context of a faith community like this congregation where the possibility to leverage individual generosity is magnified many times over. 2 P a g e

3 That little boy who shared his lunch with a crowd on a Palestinian hillside saw it with his own eyes: Abundance overshadowing scarcity. Divine generosity flowing through ordinary anybodies sharing what has been entrusted to us. Here s another number from Give a Little. 24,000 people die each day from hunger-related causes. That number is declining as feeding programs like Feed My Starving Children and others have broadened their reach. But 24,000 is still a very big number. Your Family of Christ mission team of 15 adults and young people returned on Friday from 10 days in El Salvador, where we fed hungry people and developed a hunger for justice. In some ways, our trip was much like the previous five summer mission trips. We played with kids 3 P a g e

4 Enjoyed mystery fruits and vegetables Got up close and personal with livestock Met our sponsored children and took their photos Did activities with them like beading and coloring Handed out used soccer uniforms donated by our friends at St. Hubert s and others in our communities here We had a couple of flat tires, but that didn t slow us down much 4 P a g e

5 We spent time with our friend Christian who looked healthier and happier than we d seen him in years. He s still running his painting business, employing disabled people who otherwise would not have work. Christian is sending thousands of crosses to places like Finland, the Czech Republic, and Jerusalem. And he s still working on raising the money to rebuild the bishop s church, Resurrection: $15,000 more and they can start demolition of the unsafe tin cathedral and build the first phase of the project. Christian sends everyone at FOC a big hug. He hopes to visit us again soon. We worked shoulder to shoulder with Salvadorans -- painting, mixing concrete, and digging holes for new toilets. Our young people sang 5 P a g e

6 Theirs acted out Bible stories, played flutes, and danced. The three ladies from Trinity Lutheran Church in Long Lake kept us laughing and found a congregation of their own to partner with in a rural area near Santa Ana. Our experiences gave us a lot to think about We gained new perspectives and felt our hearts grow more tender We saw how most of the people in the world live every day, and we learned to trust in new ways [black slide] A new activity for us on the mission trip this year was to interview some of the students in our 6 P a g e

7 Seeds of Hope sponsorship program. Our young people -- who conducted the interviews in Spanish -- learned (among other things) that the daily diet of these students is rice, corn, beans, and tortillas and maybe a few vegetables. Bananas and mangoes, too, if they have them growing around their homes. But only one student mentioned eating meat. It s a rare treat for most. Here s why The parents of these students are subsistence farmers. They work hard every day in the fields to raise corn, beans, and vegetables just to feed their families; most have no source of cash income. No wonder these families depend on our sponsorships to buy the shoes, uniforms, and notebooks the children need to be students. No wonder the children look forward to the government-provided milk and nutritious snack they receive at school each day. Each of the small but strategic gifts that we give through Seeds of Hope gives the gift of education to one student each one of us sharing out of our abundance to help another live in dignity and peace. But the benefits to one student are multiplied: the family of each sponsored student benefits, too and when many students and families are lifted up, 7 P a g e

8 whole communities benefit. This year we have 4 young people from rural communities who are reaching an important milestone. Their parents are subsistence farmers and some of them are unable to read. They could scarcely have dreamed that their children would have the chance to attend school beyond the 9 th grade. Liliana, Ruth Dalila, Ever, and Miguel Angel are bright, hard-working students who have made the most of their Seeds of Hope sponsorships. Despite the hardships they faced, they persisted and they are now graduating from the university! They told us that we have helped their dreams come true. What a privilege that is! We are eager to see what harvest will come from the seeds that have been sown in them, their families, and their communities. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. In Jesus hands, a youngster s lunch feeds a multitude. + 8 P a g e

9 In Maria Trinidad s hands, home grown vegies, donations from market vendors, and corporate surplus feed homeless men, women, and children four times a week at Hope House. Carmen and Margarita pat out the tortillas and set them out on the grill. We line up to help serve a lunch of rice, beans, and slaw, wishing each guest Buen Provecho. Since we ve already prayed together, they dive in. Stomachs are filled, and social needs are tended at Hope House, too. 9 P a g e

10 This place of welcome is a place to hang out and visit with friends, wash clothes, bathe, and get basic first aid and even health care when a doctor stops by to volunteer. Luis René preaches and leads the community in prayer. The weekly AA program at Hope House has helped many to stop using alcohol, crack, and inhalants giving them a fighting chance to find work and, in some cases, return to their families. The air in and around Hope House is heavy with longing, regret, and painful memories. But there s laughter, too, and nothing given in love is lost P a g e

11 Each of us is called to be generous with the resources and talents with which we have been gifted by God to help God s children in our neighborhoods and workplaces, schools and church, and well beyond. Each of us is called to bring our gifts to address scarcity and need wherever it is in our world. And each of us is made able through the Spirit of God to share the abundance entrusted to us in order to transform our world. That sharing may take many forms a bag of rice or a jar of peanut butter for Bountiful Basket, clothing your children no longer need for inner city kids getting ready to go back to school, spending an evening with someone you know is lonely, sharing your time and your faith as a confirmation Lifeguide, weekly gifts to support the worship and programs that serve your family and many others here at Family of Christ What will you give? Small donations can transform the world. But that s not all generosity can do. Generosity transforms the giver, too. Research shows that giving away our wealth even in small amounts makes us happier and healthier than spending it on ourselves. So do we need more reasons to be generous? More reasons to work with Jesus to feed the hungry? More reasons to change the systems that keep some people from thriving while others have much more than we need? Probably not. But we do need to take another look at our own lives how we spend our time and our talents as well as our money. If practicing generosity is good for us and good for the world, why aren t we doing even more of it? 11 P a g e

12 Take a moment to consider this: Where can you share more and bring a little more heaven to earth? What can you do to share yourself and your abundance and get happier and healthier in the bargain? With so many people hungry and undernourished in the world With so much pain and need we might feel we aren t up to the task of feeding the multitude. We might lose heart and give up. But the resources we need to do the work God calls us to do are within our grasp. Indeed, they are in our hands. Jesus presence in the simple meal of bread and wine provides both the hunger for justice AND the spiritual nourishment we need to place what we have in Jesus capable hands so that nothing and no one may be lost. Thanks be to God! Amen 12 P a g e