This story meant something to the early Christians. Maybe
they could relate to the problem faced by Philip and Andrew.
uh oh, here they come, and they're hungry. Now what are we to
do? We don't have enough food. We don't have enough money to
buy enough food. We don't have enough time for others to prepare
it. And Jesus asks, " How are you going to feed these people?"
A problem presents itself that has been faced by faithful
ever since. The resources are limited. They and We don't have
time or people to do what is needed. What is God asking ?
In the story, Jesus takes the boy's bread and the fish and
gives thanks. He begins passing it around. And the miracle unfolds.
What happened here? Is it a kind of magic math that 5 loaves
+ 2 fish equals 5000 full bellies? It's a different kind of math
all together. It's the mathematics of Grace.
John's Gospel invites to look in on Andrew as he faces a dilemma
we can all relate to. We witness that which can seem so little
being given away. Here's the catch. It is not a little bit because
much was being withheld. It was all they had. It was accepted
with thanks, blessed, given away. And the miracle unfolds until
the leftovers exceed the amount that was given in the first place.
What was Jesus teaching that relates to the church, the body
of disciples who follow Jesus today?
As we take the opportunity to reflect on our life and mission
as a parish we have heard stories of times of scarcity as well
as times of abundance. When the first group met to create mission
statements, one of our parishioners, Henry Tichey, told about
years when St. John's parishioners went through lean times, days
when people valued every penny, quite literally. These were days
when children brought a dime to church to put in the collection
plate and held on to it tightly, for it couldn't be replaced.
It's a wonder that this amazing church kept its doors open but
each person gave sacrificially of their time and dimes and nickels
and each person's gift turned into enough to keep this church
not only scraping by but flourishing. It's the multiplication
of Grace.
Not long ago, we totaled up the money made on the plant sale
and were encouraged as each week the total grew. Last week $80
more came in when Judy Stone took plants that have grown and
multiplied; plants she divided and from those "fragments"
more abundance is being realized. This effort, quietly accomplished,
is in the spirit of our predecessors. It is not so much a story
of scarcity as about taking what we have, and offering it.
You see, scarcity measures carefully in fear and says there isn't
enough, of whatever it is: people, money, time. And fear makes
us grab onto the wrong things to protect us. We think if only
we can balance the budget, store up extra money or get the new
vicar or whatever it is, then we'll be ok.
On the other hand, operating from abundance opens us to new
possibilities and visions that we've never even dared to consider.
Operating from abundance, our parish becomes a place where God's
grace breaks forth in unexpected ways.
This principle is true even when we apply it to broken pieces
of our lives that seem useless or fragmented. Valuing the brokenness
of one's life as an abundant extra goes against the grain of
many of us. Its preferred to just leave some of our personal
history behind, never to be thought about again.
But Jesus asks us to gather up whatever we have and put it
into his hands. When it comes to the broken pieces of our lives,
things like painful losses, setbacks, parts of our childhood
or adult life that we wish were not there, we admit that some
of those pieces are difficult to value. When we examine them
carefully and offer them prayerfully to God, we can discover
the lessons there. In releasing the parts of lives we least value,
we can receive back more than we could imagine: God's love and
acceptance multiplied.
Ours is a faith in which fragmentation and redemption are
intimately connected. When we celebrate Eucharist, we share in
the broken body of Christ, while participating in Christ's resurrection.
The process of offering whatever we have, and whoever we are
is important work, not just individually but as a Christian community,
a people of faith, a church. Here our scattered lives are gathered
into one abundant life, providing way more than any of us started
out with. The body of Christ is a living miracle: Our individual
offerings, blessed by God become bread for others, comfort for
the broken hearted, healing for the wounded. Today I hope you
can truly see yourself as part of the body of Christ. If you
can, you will also see that You are also part of the miracle
of abundance. When you see that truth, the world will look like
a different place, a place of resurrection and abundant new life.
Our challenge as people of faith is to live into that truth,
more and more, day by day.
