Love God, Love Your Neighbor, Change the World

I am involved in several different organizations in the community and state: civic, religious, political and recreational. Most of these profess standards of unity, cooperation, the common good, and in the case of the religious organizations, the first and great commandment: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.” On our best days we actually come close to living up to these lofty goals. As Abraham Lincoln once said, “there is no limit to the good we can do if we do not care who gets the credit.”

At other times, our human desire for recognition, power and reward gets the best of us and as soon as the prayers for unity end, the knives come out, at times, even in the church. This past week I was involved in several activities, some reflecting “our better angels,” and others, not so much.

Two examples from last Sunday’s scripture readings may help us see ourselves more clearly and inspire us to find a better way. In Second Samuel 18 we see how conflict within King David’s family lead to a disruption of the kingdom and the death of David’s son Absalom: 

"Then the Cushite came and said, “Good tidings for my lord the king! For the Lord has vindicated you this day, delivering you from the power of all who rose up against you.” The king said to the Cushite, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” The Cushite answered, “May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up to do you harm, be like that young man.”

The king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept; and as he went, he said, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

Jesus’ proclamation that he is the bread of life and that, whoever believes has eternal life caused a division among the people of Nazareth. Some responded, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?

As we began worship this past Sunday, our opening prayer helped bring my thoughts and actions into focus. “Grant to us, Lord, we pray, the spirit to think and do always those things that are right, that we, who cannot exist without you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will.” (Book of Common Prayer, p. 232)

I believe that we, the Church and all people of God find hope in prayer and scripture and that we can be the yeast, the leaven, in the loaf of humanity that can bring hope to the world. The letter to the Ephesians, chapter 4:25-5:2 says this much better than I.

“Putting away falsehood let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

Building a life on this foundation would solve most of the problems and jealousies I encountered this weekend and would change us and change the world.

LOVE GOD, LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR, CHANGE THE WORLD!

Free Food or Food that Endures

Why do we look for Jesus? After the feeding of the five thousand, as recorded in John 6:1-35, people got into boats and came looking for Jesus. Jesus accused them of looking for more “free food,” rather than signs of the presence of God. He then admonished them to “work not for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”(John 6:27) They then challenge Jesus to perform a miracle so that they can believe him, reminding him that Moses fed them with Manna in the wilderness. Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”(John 6:32-33)

It was not Moses, it was not Caesar, it was not even Jesus who gave them and gives us the bread of heaven. It is God. And Jesus is that bread! “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’”(John 6:35)

When we receive, when we eat the ‘bread of heaven,’ we are fed physically, spiritually, emotionally, mentally and truthfully. We receive forgiveness of sin and are raised to a new life of grace. Life that changes when we die physically, but never ends. God sustains us with the Holy Spirit that leads us and guides us into all truth. The following prayer for the recently baptized sums this up for all of us.

“Heavenly Father, we thank you that by water and the Holy Spirit you have bestowed upon us your servants the forgiveness of sin, and have raised us to the new life of grace. Sustain us, O Lord, in your Holy Spirit. Give us an inquiring and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere, a spirit to know and to love you, and the gift of joy and wonder in all your works. Amen.” (Book of Common Prayer, p. 308)

Five Loaves and Two Fish: The First Church Picnic

Was Jesus a magician or miracle worker, a showman or a savior? The feeding of the five thousand is the only one of Jesus’ miracles recorded in all four Gospels. Today I invite you to reflect with me on John’s version (John 6:1-21) of this powerful and life changing story. Jesus, in the middle of his sermon, and knowing what he planned to do, calls Philip to him and asks where they can buy food for all these hungry folks who have come out to hear the lifesaving words of Jesus. Philip tells Jesus it would take six months wages to feed a crowd this large. Another disciple, Andrew, responds to Jesus with the somewhat ridiculous solution of five loaves and two fish which have been brought by a young boy.

We have heard the story many times. All sit on the grass and eat their fill, and then the disciples pick up twelve basketsfull of leftovers. So, was this magical multiplication or inspired sharing? Yesterday I drove through Albertville on Highway 431 and in the space of a mile counted six fast food restaurants and five eat in restaurants. These did not exist in First Century Israel and Judah. In Jesus’ day, when people traveled they usually took food with them to sustain them on their journey, just as the young boy in the Gospel. I suspect that he was not the only one of the five thousand who prepared for the journey ahead of time. I certainly believe in a Creator and creative God, but what if the real miracle, the message Jesus was really trying to communicate, was the gift of sharing, that everyone gave of what they had, and that all were blessed and fed.

When I lived in New Orleans in the late 1990’s there were downtown feeding ministries every day of the week except Friday. The Episcopal Churches of the city and suburbs joined together to provide food for the homeless on Fridays. The ministry was called, that’s right, “Loaves and Fishes.” It succeeded because of sharing, the miracle of sharing. Each congregation took what it had, put it all together, prayed over it and there was always enough to feed everyone. As Christians, we believe that the Lord feeds us, that God answers all our needs and that we help the Lord meet the needs of others.

We learn from Jesus’ life and ministry that God desires for us a life, not of scarcity but abundance. Out of our abundance we in the affluent nations of the world are called to provide for the impoverished people of the earth, both at home and elsewhere. We are also called by God to preserve the land and waters of our planet so that the Earth too will be a place of abundance and peace for all of God’s people.

Are we to provide food? Yes, but we are also called to provide training, skills and resources that will prepare people to provide for themselves as well as others. Can we heal every person? Can we fix every human problem? Can your church and my church do all that needs to be done? No, but each person we feed or train or empower will change many others.

Five loaves, two fish, Change the World!