The Seventh Sunday after Trinity
26th July 2009 9:00am & 11:45am
Preacher: The Revd Desmond Cox
Did you notice something different this morning, the Gospel has moved
from Mark to John.
For the next four Sundays the Gospel readings come from chapter six of
The miracle described in the first reading shows God’s concern for his
people during a time of famine. The bread in question was the bread of the
first fruits, which was meant to be offered to God. But instead of offering it
to God, Elisha, the prophet of the old covenant, gave it to the people. The
left over’s stress God’s generosity.
Like Elisha, Jesus the prophet of the new covenant, feeds hungry
people, and does so even more astonishingly. There are clear Eucharistic
overtones in the way the miracle is related.
Jesus took the loaves,
Gave Thanks
And distributed them to the people.
Such language is meant to
remind us of what Jesus did at the last supper and of what happens every
time we celebrate the Eucharist,
have you noticed what the priest actually does it is a fourfold action
He takes
He gives thanks
He breaks
He distributes
Even though both feedings are miracles there is an essential human
element in each, without which no miracle is possible.
Food is the first necessity of life. Without food no life is possible,
much less a higher form of life. Feeding the hungry is the first of the great
corporal works of mercy.
At the last judgment Jesus will say, I was hungry and you gave me food
or I was hungry and you did not give me food.
When Jesus met hungry people he gave them the only thing that mattered
to them at that moment. He gave them food, and did so with great generosity…all
ate as much as they wanted, and there still were twelve baskets left over.
Jesus took the five loaves and gave thanks. So should we when we eat.
In a world which millions are hungry, we shouldn’t take food for granted.
Every loaf is as much a miracle as those Jesus gave to the people.
Every loaf is touched by many human hands and by the hand of God. This is
expressed beautifully in the prayer which the priest says over the bread at the
offertory of the Eucharist:
Blessed are you Lord, God of all creation. Through your goodness we
have this bread to offer, which earth has given and human hands have made. It
will become the bread of life.
God does the same miracle through the seasons of the harvest. In corn
fields he multiplies not loaves but grains, so that if we do our part there is
enough for everyone. A single grain of wheat can produce as many as seventy
grains.
Today there is a preoccupation with food, but it varies greatly from
one part of the world to another. In the developed world, we have too much
food. The main preoccupation of many people has become how to cut down on food
with a view to reducing weight.
But this leaves people preoccupied with themselves,
which is the death of love. In the third world, however the problem is how to
get anything to eat
at all.
The miracle of Jesus should make us thankful to God for the food we
have, and careful not to waste it. It should also make us actively concerned
about those who have none.
It is said that there are over 700 million people in the world today
who do not have enough to eat. One third of all African children are
undernourished.
The problem of what to do with our surplus food is a profoundly
disturbing one for Christians. One answer is to stockpile it. But surely the
stockpiling of surplus food is as great a scandal as the stockpiling of nuclear
weapons. Another answer is to reduce the amount that is produced. But this
leads to the scandal of farmers being paid to leave good land idle. Most
farmers are unhappy with this arrangement
The miracle of the multiplication of the loaves is a miracle of
generosity. We experience that generosity every time we sit down to eat
especially when we receive the Eucharist.
The experience of generosity should result in an enlarging of our
hearts and a desire to be generous towards those who are not as fortunate as
us.
Generosity should have a central place in the life of every Christian,
And we get many opportunities in our everyday dealings with one
another to practice it. It’s not only about giving things, but also and more
especially about giving of ourselves of our
Time
Our energy
Our love
Or as the 1662 Prayer Book says
And here we offer and present unto thee O Lord, ourselves, our souls
and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy and lively sacrifice unto thee; humbly
beseeching thee that, all we who are partakers of this holy communion , may be
fulfilled with thy grace and heavenly benediction.
And although we be unworthy, through our manifold sins to offer unto
thee any sacrifice, yet we beseech thee to accept this our bounden duty and
service, not weighing our merits, but pardoning our offences, through Jesus
Christ our Lord; by whom and with whom, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, all honour and glory be unto the, O father almighty, world
without end
Amen.
In all circumstances, Gods abundant presence sustains us and provides
more than we need---food faith grace salvation we are called to respond to
God’s activity among us, ordering our lives in ways that proclaim and extend
God’s abundant gifts to others.