Lord God, take my lips and speak through them; take our minds and think through them; take our hearts and set them on fire with love for you. Amen.

On this special day in the Christian Calendar I am always reminded of a beautiful hymn:

Lift high the cross
The love of Christ proclaim,
Till all the world
Adore His sacred name.

Today we celebrate this Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, a celebration of the Cross, it’s saving grace, and the way we should all carry the image of the cross within our hearts and souls; not only for our salvation but for the salvation of all.

In my time as a non-Catholic Christian this is a feast day that we didn’t celebrate and so when I converted to the Catholic faith I had a desire to learn about this history behind this feast. The Cross of Jesus Christ, as a physical object, has had a long history in the Christian Faith.

In 326 Helena the Mother of the first Christian Roman Emperor (Constantine) made a trip to the Holy Land. Her intention was to become closer to the faith by exploring those places that Christ and the Apostles had walked some 300 years earlier. Sadly the most important location, the garden tomb and the site of the crucifixion had been covered over and a temple to Jupiter rested on top of it. However, for the mother of the Emperor this was not an obstacle and she had the temple demolished site excavated.

When the excavations were complete the site of the crucifixion and the tomb where Jesus had lain were discovered. This area had a number of cisterns and within one of these three crosses were found and the plaque that had rested atop the cross of Christ. There are a variety of stories surrounding how the true cross was identified; the most popular being that the crosses were taken to a woman who was dying and were placed upon her. When the True Cross touched the woman she was miraculously healed.

Helena immediately began a building project at the site and a basilica was dedicated on September 13, 335. The day after the dedication a portion of the True Cross was brought to the basilica and enthroned there; from that day forward we celebrate the life giving cross on this Holy Day.

Today’s gospel reading may be among the shortest that you will hear throughout the Church year, however in my mind it is one of the fullest readings that we have. It is chocked full of meaning and points out for us not only the love of God for each and every person but also lays the whole of the plan of salvation out before us.

The reading starts by relating to us an incident from the Old Testament. In the times of Israel’s wandering in the desert the people were plagued with attacks by venomous snakes. To combat this the Lord told Moses to place an image of a serpent on a pole and lift it high. When the people afflicted with snake bite looked up to the image they would be cured of the venom. Now I am sure some of you are thinking “what the heck does this have to do with Jesus?”

Well, the lifting up of a life giving image upon a pole by Israel was a pre-figuring of the life giving crucifixion of Christ. As believers cast their eyes up and behold the crucified Christ upon the cross, pierced and wounded for their salvation, the power of sin and death are overthrown in us. So just as the image of the serpent became a weapon to destroy the serpents grip on Israel so the cross becomes for us the destroyer of death itself.

And not only for us; the scripture goes on to tell us that Christ came to save all who will call upon his name as the means of salvation. It is for this reason that each and every one of us should carry the cross with us in our heart. In doing so, as living a Christian life of witness and example, we can become the living image of the cross and help bring others to Christ and salvation in His name.

It is my greatest wish that each and every one of us puts the cross, and Christ’s sacrifice upon it at the centre of our lives. Not only for our sake, but for the sake of the Church and the whole world. Look every day to the Cross and remember that Christ has died to take the sting of death away and that without the Cross there would be no life.

Let us pray:

Almighty God, whose Son our Saviour Jesus Christ was lifted high upon the cross that he might draw the whole world unto himself: Mercifully grant that we, who glory in the mystery of our redemption, may have grace to take up our cross and follow him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

1st Reading: Isaiah 35:4-7A

R Psalm: 145:6-10

2nd Reading: James 2:1-5

Holy Gospel: Mark 7:31-37

What are we being told in today’s Gospel Reading?

On first glance, it appears we are being told of healing, of the showing to us of Christ’s ability to perform miracles, of demonstrating His Divine nature. But this is only the thing we immediately see, it is not all we are being told. If we indeed look deeper at the scripture today, there is plenty which we can learn from it.

So let’s start with the first lesson we can learn here:

How often do we listen to Christ’s words? Probably at Mass.  Maybe we read our bible and hear the word that way, or we could  listen to scripture and reflections on the radio or on the television. Scripture is easy for us to listen too, but how easy is it to hear, to understand, to take it into our hearts, as to what is really being told to us?  To let it guide us, to let it give us life? The simple answer is it’s not easy, we have to want to hear the message of Christ. We have to have our own deafness cured. We have to ask Christ to help us hear Him, we have to listen prayerfully before we can really hear, before we can understand, before we are ready to help Christ with His work, before we can take our place doing His work as part of His Church.

The  deaf man we hear about in today’s Gospel could be any of us today, it could be you, it could be me, and in true fact it should be. We have to let Christ stick his fingers in our ears. To allow Him to open us to His word, His gift of life. That’s our first lesson from today’s Gospel.

Christ calls us to continue his work, to work as His Church for Him, to help spread His word, and to act as his stewards, until He returns. Our second lesson today, is as followers of Christ, it’s about how we go about doing His work. Jesus gives us a wonderful demonstration of this today. Think about the way he approached the deaf man in today’s gospel. Most of the time when Jesus cured people, He spoke to them, gave them an instruction or told them their sins had been forgiven. This time he used actions, why? Maybe because the man was deaf, Christ used a sign language to speak to him. He found a way to communicate with the man, before healing him.

That’s our second lesson, we need to find a way to communicate with people.  Our tongues are being healed so we can proclaim Christ to a deaf world. But, how can we tell the world, or even just one person, about the wonders we know about Christ, if we can’t communicate with them? Our ears have been unsealed, we know from our own experiences, that Christ can and will unseal their ears, the challenge we are given as Christians is how do we start the conversation for Christ, He will finish it if we can just start it.

Starting the conversation is difficult, Jesus started it today in sign, and finished it in words. He started it in a sign language the man understood and finished it, once the man’s ears were opened, in the language Jesus needed to use. We may need to learn a new language. We might need to learn about sport, or soap opera, or music. We might need to learn to enjoy country walks or computer games. Remember that Jesus started the conversation in the language the man understood, we need to do the same with the people we communicate Christ to.

At some points in our Christian life, we will need our ears unblocked and at others times, we will be asked to start the conversation so that others can have their ears unblocked.

Where are we today in our journey? Are we struggling to hear the true word of Christ? Do we need to let Christ unblock our ears? Or have we heard Him and are now being called to communicate His message to others? Either way, today’s gospel should be speaking to each and every one of us. Are we truly ready to listen, to hear, and to act?

Let us pray:

Lord, we praise You as our Shepherd for You are the one who speaks so that we may hear Your voice and follow You were you lead.

Lord, we Thank You O God for telling us the truth about Yourself and also about ourselves.

Lord, we confess any lack of desire or any personal failure in hearing Your voice.  Help us to have ears to hear what Your Spirit is truly speaking to us today.

Lord, give us listening ears to hear Your voice and to discern Your voice from the many worldly voices that are speaking.

Lord, open our  hearts to Your will, and please help us close our ears to the whisperings of the evil one.

Lord, today we stand as an intercessor for those who are not listening to Your Word or Your Spirit and are straying from truth.

Amen.

 

 

 

Lord God, take my lips and speak through them; take our minds and think through them; take our hearts and set them on fire with love for you. Amen.

Some time ago I had the pleasure of preaching on the Solemnity of the Birth of John the Baptist, so it is quite fitting that today I preach on the memorial of his passing from this life.

The recounting of the life and mission John the Baptist recorded in scripture is one that many of us are familiar with. In fact if you were anything like me as a kid in Sunday School one of the best remember stories may just be John’s death. As a child I remember the tale of the prophet whose head was served on a platter to a pretty young girl; that kind of thing sticks with you when you were a kid. However, to focus on this gruesome death at the hand of some rather immoral and vindictive people isn’t what we should focus our remembrances of John the Baptist on.

John is an interesting character in the life of the Church; he is one of only two saints whose principal feast does not take place at their death (their birth as Saints) but instead their birth. The other saint so honoured in the Blessed Virgin. This fact should cement in our minds just how important St. John is in the economy of salvation. So why is John the Baptist so important and what message does his death hold for us?

If we were to take a wide angled look at the records of God’s dealings with humankind we would see that it is obviously split into two parts, just like our modern Bible. There is the Old Testament period after the fall when God no longer dealt directly with his creation but rather connected with Israel through a series of holy men called Prophets, and there is the New Testament where once more God walked upon the Earth and interacted with His creation directly. Standing directly in the middle of these two chapters of the “story of salvation” stands John the Baptist.

In the eyes of ancient Israel John stood like a prophet of old and many thought he may have been Elijah returned, however to those of us who accept that Christ is God dwelling in human flesh John was much more. John the Baptist was not merely a prophet bringing a message from God that we needed to repent, John was a herald that the penultimate events of the salvation of humankind were imminent. If we were to trace the Baptists story through the New Testament it would stand out clearly that he had been chosen for this end before he was born and he was certainly dedicated to the Lord’s service afterwards.

It was this dedication to the Lord and John the Baptists message of repentance and preparation for the coming Messiah that made him popular with Israel. John preached his message at a time when the people were praying for the Messiah to come and free them from the rule of the Romans and their puppet king Herod. With popularity amongst the people came an enmity between John and the ruling class; particularly Herod.

Herod was a man of great wealth and power and yet he feared the Baptist and his message; why was this? John’s life contrasted greatly with Herod’s, he lived in poverty, wore camel’s hair and lived a holy and aesthetic life. What John had that Herod did not was holiness and a closeness to the Lord. It was this holiness that Herod feared; he was man who had transgressed the laws of Israel and knew it; John pointed this out with the authority of one chosen by God and Herod feared this.

And it is here that we see the message for us to be found in John’s story. The wicked and the mighty have no real power over us. Wealth and power do not bring happiness or diminish fear, the only thing that can do that for us is living a life of holiness before the Lord. If we do this then he will shine upon us and bring us those holy things we desire most. Just as God brought Jesus to the waters of Baptism at the hands of John.

I want to encourage each and every one of us to follow John the Baptist’s example; we each need to find that mission that God is calling us to fulfil and in finding it tread a path of holiness before the Lord. If we do this then no evil can stand against us and no matter what trials we go through we can be guaranteed of a reward in the life to come just as Holy St. John is blessed with the presence of God in heaven.

Let us pray:

O God, who willed that Saint John the Baptist should go ahead of your Son both in his birth and in his death, grant that, as he died a Martyr for truth and justice, we, too, may fight hard for the confession of what you teach. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time.

Liturgical Colour: Green.

Reading 1: JOS 24:1-2A, 15-17, 18B

Responsorial Psalm: PS 34:2-3, 16-17, 18-19, 20-21

Reading 2: EPH 5:21-32 OR 5:2A, 25-32

Gospel: JN 6:60-69

As a child in the care system, I loved to release pent up energy by playing the sport of Rounders.  One thing I remember about playing that game,is that when we gathered to play, we would  choose two Captains, one for each side (one team for batting and the other for fielding, until all the batters were out and the teams would change team positions). Each of the captains would choose their team players from among those who were available for the game. It like in many sports and games, involved the picking of sides. To win at the end of the game depended so much on the choices of players made by the team captains before the commencement of the game.

I am reminded of this scenario In the first reading today (Joshua 24:1-2; 15-18), where Joshua assembled all the Israelites at Schechem and told them that God had asked him to tell them to freely make a choice of whom they wish to serve. By this convocation we understand that God did not withhold the gift of freewill from humanity (Gen. 2:16-17), even after the colossal fall (Gen.3:1-18 ). From the direction of Joshua’s speech he was like telling the people to pick what team they would be on. Joshua’s declaration tells us about God’s patience with us even when we are offensive to Him by the way in which we live our lives. Joshua’s speech shows us that God cares about us and He wants us to be saved; He gives us that opportunity to make the right decision. It points to God’s loving invitation for a dialogue with us which we do not deserve (Isaiah1:18).

At that point in time the people deviated from God and looked upon worthless gods and idols of other nations around them. From their deviation from God, they were landed into confusion and completely forgot and disregarded the things God had done for them from the time of their ancestors to the time they were delivered from the land of Egypt; the land of slavery. They needed a Joshua who would bring them to their senses; moreover they needed a Joshua who was willing to guide them by his own personal free choice. If you were attentive to the passage, Joshua was in essence leading the way of righteousness like a good team captain, he gave the people his knowledge as to which choice would be the most rewarding and fruitful, thus he declared: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!” (Joshua 24:15). The effect of his decision of choice could be seen in the people’s response: “We have no intention of deserting the Lord and serving other gods!…We too will serve the Lord, for He is our God” (Joshua 24:16,18).

In our gospel reading today (John 6:60-69), our Lord Jesus Christ ended his teaching on the Eucharist by challenging his hearers to make their choice of either accepting his doctrine and gaining life and salvation or to leave it for a damnable fate. Like Joshua in the first reading he was like telling them: to choose their team. We are told that some thought that the doctrine of the Eucharist was intolerable language and consequently many of them stopped following him.  We could also note here that these were the same people who at the beginning of this chapter in the gospel of John (6) were frantically searching for Jesus because they wanted to eat more bread. Jesus laid bare before them the bread that leads to eternal life and the bread that leads to eternal hunger. As we saw at the ending of the passage many of them preferred the bread that will lead them to eternal hunger. They left the eternal bread and wandered away to seek that which will lead them to eternal destruction. Many chose the wrong team side and picked weak and unskilled players to play their team sides in their lives. The players here represent those things that drive and determine the lives which we live. However when Jesus asked the twelve if they would not join others in their choice , Peter spoke up like Joshua did in the first reading declaring their choice as a family for Jesus Christ as one who has the message of eternal life.

God has never ever stopped giving us the chance to make our own choice. God has never withheld freewill from us. God is patiently waiting for us all to  choose the team which we need for eternal life. We all have a choice of either to accept and receive Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist or to refrain from doing so. We each have the freedom to choose between serving and not serving, however any choice which we make has its rewards or conquences. In making our choices we should also know that there are people watching us and who are ready to follow our example. We are expected to reflect Christ like Joshua and Peter did when they led the way by making the correct life choices. As a father, mother, elder, or leader, our individual decisions can and do either make or mar the lives of those who look up to us. What is our choice to be? To accept and partake in the bread of life or to wander away looking for the bread that has no life giving power? Have we picked the correct team for our eternal salvation, or have we turned away and chosen the losing side?

As for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord, how about you and yours?

My soul is troubled.  My heart is heavy.  My spirit is angry.  I have never been more determined in my life than to tell the world about the Jesus I know and to speak against the so-called ‘Christian leaders’ who are everything contrary to what Christ taught us.  Let me share with you a glimpse of my life for the last 2 weeks….

In which the bishop is dumbfounded:

I’m walking down the street, in front of a rather large church, and I see this youngish woman with a high school age guy and a middle school age guy (who turn out to be her sons.)  The woman is crying and the kids look rather upset.  Being me, I ask her what’s wrong and if I can help.  This is what the woman told me, between sobs:

My husband left me with nothing.  I haven’t been able to find a job in my field that pays anything, so I resorted to dancing in a men’s club.  I’m trying to raise my boys right, but this is the only job I’ve been able to find that gives us enough money to live.  I want my boys in church.  I want to know that God is with me.  I want to be sure that God loves me.  My older son is gay and he needs to know that God loves him, too.  I spoke with the priest here and he said to me, ‘Your filth isn’t welcome here.  God doesn’t love who you are and won’t until you straighten your life up.  Come back when you have your act together.’”

This priest represents Jesus how?

In which the bishop is angry:

I’m discussing tattoos with a rather heavily tattooed friend of mine.  Knowing that I’m the Presiding Bishop of the Unified Old Catholic Church, he says to me:  “How can you be a bishop in a church and have tattoos?  Every church I’ve ever tried to go to has told me that I’m too rough, too tattooed, that I’m obviously a drug user and trouble, and not welcome in their churches.  I can’t go to church because of the way I look.”

These churches represent Jesus how?

In which the bishop is heartbroken:

I befriend a transgender woman and as we are chatting, of course the topic of conversation turns to church.  She tells me that when she came out as transgender, she was kicked out of her church because she “refused to be ‘the man’ God made her to be,” and that her pastor said that when she “got over her trans nonsense and accepted who she was born to be” she MIGHT be able to return to the church.  She cried and said to me:  I have ALWAYS felt like a girl.  I’m supposed to be female.   Can’t God love me and me be who I’m supposed to be?”

This pastor represents Jesus how?

In which the bishop is crushed:

The news reports that over 1,000 kids have been abused by approximately 300 priests over the past 7 decades in one state, and these are just the cases that have been documented and covered up.   These priests are the same one who preached against being gay, being trans, being anything other than what their church expected.

This represents Jesus how?

In The Christ of the Indian Road by E. Stanley Jones, Stanley Jones asked Mahatma Gandhi how to naturalize Christianity into India. Gandhi replied in part:  I would suggest first of all that all of you Christians, missionaries and all begin to live more like Jesus Christ.

Bara Dada, brother of Rabindranath Tagore, wrote in the mid-1920s: “Jesus is ideal and wonderful, but you Christians, you are not like him.”

If these two great men’s words were applicable in their lifetimes, are they not even more so applicable to us today?

What does it mean to be a Christian?  The word “Christian” literally means belonging to Christ, or “one who adheres to Christ’s teachings,” or, more simply “little Christ.”

I have to wonder, do we take Christ seriously?

Those of us who proclaim, proudly, to be Christians need to spend a whole lot of time examining ourselves, our faith, and our personal beliefs and compare them to what Christ has taught us.  In Matthew 11:28-29 (KJV) Jesus said:  28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

Notice he said, “ALL ye…”  He didn’t qualify that one had to be anyone other than who they are.  When Jesus fed the 5,000, he didn’t qualify that the hungry folk had to be anyone other than who they were in order to be fed.  In what is probably the most quoted Bible verse in the world, John 3:16, St. John wrote, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that WHOEVER believes in him should not perish, but have every lasting life.”  WHOEVER.  Period.  EVERY and ANY one.

In the Gospel reading appointed for today, (John 6:51-58) Jesus said, “”I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”  Again, no qualifiers.  No “you must be so and so and if you conform to whatever.”  He said WHOEVER…

And ya know what?  The religious leaders of the day were not impressed and didn’t like that at ALL.  They had rules to follow.  They had a narrow idea of what was right and wrong, acceptable or unacceptable, clean or unclean.  Much like many of the “Christian leaders” of today.  And Jesus practiced radical hospitality.  He came for EVERYONE.  He loves EVERYONE.  He accepts EVERYONE.

To those of us who profess to be Christians, I ask, DO we represent Christ?  DO we act in love at all times?  DO we love as Christ Himself loved?  DO we accept people the way Christ accepts us?  IS everyone welcomed into our churches?  Or do we just say that and act contrary to what we profess?  Who is and who is NOT welcomed in our churches?  If WE are the only Jesus some people will see, what kind of Jesus do those people see?  If WE are the only Bible some folks will ever read, what are they reading?

To those of you who have been rejected, to those of you who feel you don’t have a place in and with Christ or in and with His Church:  In short, no matter what the so called “Christian leaders” in this world say, Jesus came for YOU.  He loves YOU.  He died for YOU.  St. Paul said it best in his letter to the Romans, “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 8:38-39.

I ask you, come to Jesus.  Come to Love.  Come to Acceptance.  Let Jesus love you.  Let those of us who profess Christ love you.  The song, “All Are Welcome” by Marty Haugen, sums up the beliefs of The Unified Old Catholic Church, and should be the belief of Christians everywhere:

Let us build a house where love can dwell And all can safely live,
A place where saints and children tell How hearts learn to forgive.

Built of hopes and dreams and visions,
Rock of faith and vault of grace;
Here the love of Christ shall end divisions;

Let us build a house where prophets speak,
And words are strong and true,
Where all God’s children dare to seek
To dream God’s reign anew.

Here the cross shall stand as witness
And a symbol of God’s grace;
Here as one we claim the faith of Jesus:

Let us build a house where love is found
In water, wine and wheat:
A banquet hall on holy ground,
Where peace and justice meet.

Here the love of God, through Jesus,
Is revealed in time and space;
As we share in Christ the feast that frees us:

All are welcome, all are welcome,
All are welcome in this place.

Let us pray:

Father, help us to love as you have loved us.  Teach us to accept others as you have accepted us.  Help us to be the ‘Little Christs’ we are called to be.  We ask this in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

1 KGS 19:4-8

Elijah went a day’s journey into the desert,
until he came to a broom tree and sat beneath it.
He prayed for death saying:
“This is enough, O LORD!
Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”
He lay down and fell asleep under the broom tree,
but then an angel touched him and ordered him to get up and eat.
Elijah looked and there at his head was a hearth cake
and a jug of water.
After he ate and drank, he lay down again,
but the angel of the LORD came back a second time,
touched him, and ordered,
“Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you!”
He got up, ate, and drank;
then strengthened by that food,
he walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb.

 

To set the stage, in the preceding first three verses of 1 Kings 19, we are told that Ahab has reported to Jezebel all that Elijah did, and specifically that Elijah killed all the pagan prophets with the sword. Jezebel’s response is to send a messenger to Elijah with a death threat that she vows will be fulfilled in one day. Elijah is afraid, flees for his life, and goes to Beersheba. 1 Kings 19:3 reminds us that Beersheba is under Judah’s control, which means that legally, it is beyond Jezebel’s reach.

Verse 4 begins by telling us that Elijah goes beyond Beersheba, another day, into the wilderness. In terms of geography, he is safe–he is in the land where Jezebel does not rule. In terms of time, he is safe–Jezebel’s death threat was supposed to be fulfilled by this time. But Elijah’s words and actions belie any sense of relief or safety. He sits under a large desert bush and asks to die, telling God, “It is too much; now, Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.”

Elijah’s words have been understood in at least two ways: first, that he is referring to his dead ancestors and wishes to join them in death, and second, that he is referring to his “ancestors” in the prophetic vocation, and specifically Moses, who also complained in the wilderness and asked the Lord if he could die. That is, Elijah is no better than his prophetic predecessors, who also had heavy burdens they had to bear on their own. Even if Elijah’s reason is not entirely clear, that latter clause is conditioned by the first. Elijah is overwhelmed, and death is preferable to what he faces, to what he must do, to his tasks.

After making his request, Elijah lies down and sleeps under the bush, but his sleep is interrupted by the touch of an angel who commands him to rise and eat. The Hebrew word for angel, mal’ak, is the same word for messenger used in verse 2, when a mal’ak was sent with Jezebel’s death threat. Thus, there is some narrative tension with this first appearance of the angel. It is not until the mal’ak comes to Elijah “a second time” that the text specifies this is an angel of the Lord, and the tension is relieved.

After Elijah eats and drinks the first time, he lies down again, and once again, an angel touches him and commands him to rise and eat. During this second encounter, the angel explains the reason why Elijah must eat, “because the way is too much for you.” The Hebrew points us back to Elijah’s complaint in verse 4 that it was “too much” (rab), when the angel uses the same language in his frank assessment of what lies ahead. Elijah has had rab (verse 4), but he is sent on a way that is also rab for him (verse 7).

Many interpreters of this text see Elijah as discouraged, suffering burnout from his ministerial (or prophetic) duties, or even exhibiting signs of depression.

What Elijah receives are practical, tangible provisions that enable him to go “in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights”. What is given, then, is sufficient and strengthening. Certainly, the bread of Jesus gives us strength for the journeys in our lives, however difficult or overwhelming they may be.

 

 

John 6:1-21
“After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. 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. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.” When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself. When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.”

It’s a miracle!!!

I can see the excited headlines plastered across the newspaper. Or, in today’s world, I can picture the trending topic on Twitter, and the stories filling my Facebook news feed.

Jesus Feeds 5,000 People, and You’ll Never Guess What He Does Next. Hashtag #BreadMiracle. Something noteworthy is happening here. Jesus’ behavior is not normal. In today’s reading, Jesus is attracting attention. Crowds are following him. But why? The text says the crowd “saw the signs that he was doing for the sick.” Right before this, Jesus has healed the lame man at the pool of Bethesda. God is up to something special, and the people know it. Something is drawing these crowds to hear Jesus.

So everything’s going well, and a huge crowd of people is gathered together, ready to hear what Jesus is teaching today, ready to see what He’s going to do. And……problem. It’s time to eat, but no one brought any food. Either these people are all terrible at planning ahead and didn’t realize they’d need to eat, or Jesus’ teaching is so engaging that they can’t help listening and they lose track of time. I’m going with that one. The crowds were immersed in Jesus’ teaching.

Now, it’s interesting that this feeding miracle is the only one of Jesus’ miracles that appears in all four Gospels. It’s so typical for John – Jesus is completely in control, already knowing what He’s going to do; He’s just asking as a test. Apparently, Philip fails the test, since his response, his perfectly logical response, is essentially, “I have no idea.” Feeding all these people would take a miracle. Fortunately, Andrew comes to the rescue. “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” He’s right. Five loaves and two fish are not going to do much good. It would take a miracle.

Jesus has the people sit down, divides them into groups, takes the bread, gives thanks, and distributes it to the people. And everybody gets free food, and everybody’s happy. Actually, everyone’s really happy. People like the free food so much that they want to make him king. And why not? Think of the economic prosperity from having a king who can miraculously, (magically?) multiply stuff! But apparently that’s not what Jesus wants. He’s got something different in mind than being a vending machine.

At the beginning of the story, the crowds were following Jesus because of the signs He did. Jesus begins his teaching by telling the crowd, “You are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.” Then He goes on to talk about himself as the bread of life, manna from heaven, the true bread for the world. Not the kind of bread the people are expecting. Jesus doesn’t meet their expectations. Jesus doesn’t fit into their box.

Later on in the scripture, we get this quick story about the disciples getting into the boat ahead of Jesus and going on ahead to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. As they’re going, it gets stormy. John doesn’t mention them asking if they’re going to perish, but I think it’s safe to assume they’re a little on edge. Then, a few miles into their trip, they see someone walking on the water towards them. And, as John records, “They were terrified.” An entirely reasonable reaction! People don’t walk on water. Jesus reassures them, but then, instead of calming the storm, they suddenly, immediately reach the land they were going towards. That’s actually weirder to me than the whole walking on water thing. The Jesus tele-porter! It’s a miracle.

So what do we do with these miracle stories? The people who saw them didn’t seem to have any problem with them. They followed Jesus because of the signs, because they were fed. But why do we follow? Sometimes we actually seem repulsed by the miracles. We don’t want Jesus breaking our nice little boxes of what’s possible. It’s like we’re afraid of what might happen if we dare to believe in a God who doesn’t follow our rules. I know how the world works, and this isn’t it. People don’t walk on water. Bread doesn’t come for free. This story doesn’t fit. It’s a miracle. It doesn’t make sense. It’s not explainable.

These are hard stories to believe when all the evidence says they’re impossible. In a world where there are starving people, where there is so much going wrong in the world, in our lives, how can we possibly dare believe that God provides for us? People don’t walk on water and bread doesn’t multiply. But then, in my experience, people don’t rise from the dead either. Personally, I tend to believe these stories actually happened. If Jesus can rise from the dead, I’m ok with believing He can walk on water. Maybe God isn’t bound by our understandings of physics, by what we think is possible, by our rules. Maybe God is capable of more than we can understand. Maybe, because of the cross, because of the rest of the story, we can dare to believe that God is present and active in a broken world, even where we can’t see it.

In a world of rules, a world that says “How dare you claim to be loved? How dare you claim to be made worthy? How dare you claim to be forgiven?” We believe in a God of miracles. We believe in a God who gives freely, not according to worldly rules. Because God does love you. God does make you worthy. God does forgive. God does provide. And even though we might be afraid to believe it, even though we don’t understand how it works, God is present!

 

Liturgical Colour: Red.

Reading 1: 2 COR 4:7-15

R Psalm: PS 126: 1BC-2AB, 2CD-3, 4-5, 6.

Gospel: MT 20: 20-28.

Today, as brothers and sisters in Christ, we come together to celebrate the feast of St James the Apostle. James is also known as James the ‘Greater’, to distinguish him from the other St James, who is known as James the ‘Lesser’. St James is one of the twelve Apostles of our Lord, and as all the apostles did, James travelled around spreading the Good news of the Gospel of Christ. James was also amongst the first to be martyred for the Lord’s sake.

Let us look at today’s Gospel Reading of MT 20:20-28, Here we are told how the Mother of St James, and also of St John, begged the Lord for special favour and for power for her sons. The other apostles were not pleased and grumbled at this, as they saw it as an attempt to get favour over them, they bickered and argued over it, but our Lord Jesus rebuked them and had to remind them that true greatness and power lies not in human or earthly favour, or fame, nor was it in prestige or in worldly power, but that greatness is in humility, in leading by example, by having a committed and devoted love and service to each other. The greater a person is, the more humility and dedication to service, that person must have in their lives.

James spread the Good news of the Lord to the far away lands, including to where we now know as Spain and Portugal. He encountered martyrdom at the hands of King Herod Agrippa, the King of Judea, because the king wanted to please the Jewish authorities and so to increase his own prestige. Through his martyrdom, James shared in the suffering of Christ, having faithfully served Him by spreading the Gospel around the earth. And as James had shed earthly glories and worldly fame, so he has gained the true treasure which can only be found in the Lord, that is the glory of Heaven and the joy that is to come, an eternity of true happiness and peace.

Each and everyone of us should be inspired by what we have witnessed in the life of St James, and also of course, of the other apostles, martyrs and saints. We need to follow in their footsteps and be more like them in our own lives. This is so we avoid falling into the traps of our own earthly pride and arrogance, which is often our undoing.

We see it all around us in the world today, where people are more interested in having earthly power, fame, prestige and material things. Indeed, the church itself is not exempt from this. In my time in ministry, I have seen so many times where a member of clergy applies to be incardinated into a church, but only if it is on their own terms- that they insist on having a title or more often still, to be made Bishop, and if the church refuses what they want, they go elsewhere to a church which will give them the power and prestige which they are demanding. They have fallen into the darkness of human power, pride and greed.

It was pride, greed and hunger for what we often covet, such as power, greatness, human fame and praise, that has led many to sin and to fall into darkness. We need to be more like Christ, and can take fantastic guidance from the lives and service of  St James, the other apostles and saints. Humility! Humility! Devotion! Devotion!

Let us learn to overcome our own earthly desires to seek the temporary pleasures of the flesh. Let us aim far higher to seek the only true treasure which is Our Lord and His Love and salvation, just as St James himself did.

May Almighty God bless each of us,strengthen us in faith, and awaken within all of us the ever stronger desire to love Him, and to devote ourselves to Him in complete faith and dedication, forgoing the trap of the darkness of earthly power, prestige or earthly treasures, replacing them with the only true treasure which is gained through Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen.