Sermon-Sunday, July 30th
John 6:1-21
Brothers and sisters,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
These two miracle stories; the feeding of the five thousand and Jesus walking on water are among some of the most debated events and stories from scripture. It seems like every once in a while some "brilliant" scientist will come along with some theory that attempts to show that these could not have happened. And time and time again, historians and scientists, both Christian and non-Christian will respond to those theories with disdain and explain why the new theories just don’t add up.
The feeding of the five-thousand is one of the few stories from the Gospels that is in all four of the Gospels. This story is told in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Plus there are two other separate stories of Jesus performing the same type of miracle for four-thousand people. So, all told there are six accounts of Jesus producing an abundant feast from what appeared to be a very minuscule amount of food. Yet this continues to be one of the most debated events and stories in scripture.
You might remember that just recently there was a theory that came out that tried to explain away the miraculous elements of Jesus walking on the water by saying that the water was frozen and He was walking on ice. Now when I read this the first question that came to my mind was if the water was frozen and they were on ice then why the heck were the disciples in a boat? As far as I know, the theory made no attempt to answer that. Regardless, within a few days the theory was being shot down.
However, what this is evidence of is something that we all, Christians and non-Christians, struggle with. And that is a desire and tendency to try to fit God into our own image rather than allow ourselves to be transformed by God through Christ Jesus. We don’t just see this in how people react to and try to explain away the miracle stories, we see it in the stories themselves with the disciples and the people whom Jesus was feeding.
We see Jesus, so filled with compassion on these people who He has encountered, He takes what appears to be a fairly minuscule amount of food and miraculously manages to produce this bountiful feast for these people to partake in. So how do they respond? They try to take Jesus by force so they could make Him their king.
Back in those days, kings didn’t simply rule the land, they were expected to take care of their people by providing all the essentials that they would need; food, shelter, safety etc. So when they saw what Jesus could do with just a few fish and a few loaves they immediately decided that they wanted Jesus to be their king. They were trying to fit Jesus into their mold or image of what they would have liked Jesus to be. But Jesus wasn’t having it. There is much more to Jesus than simply someone who could provide food and shelter. The people weren’t getting it, they weren’t even close to seeing the whole picture of who Jesus is. Consequently, Jesus would not allow Himself to be squeezed into their limited vision of Jesus.
We do the same thing. When someone comes up with an idea for a new program or project or a new ministry opportunity at a council meeting or an annual meeting or whatever what is the first thing that is considered. More often than not, not just here at Grenora Lutheran parish, not just in the ELCA but all across Christianity, the first question will be "Can we afford it?" And when that is your starting point. When you start your assessment of a ministry opportunity that Christ Jesus, through the Holy Spirit has brought before you by asking "Can we afford it?"more often than not the answer is going to be "no." This is because in doing so you are trying to fit the transforming work of Christ into your limited vision.
A pastor in Marysville, Ca. writes about a workshop that he went to where another way to look at and evaluate ministry opportunities was suggested. This process is broken down into three steps; The idea is presented, the question of who will do it is asked, then you ask how it will be financed. The financial aspect is the last thing that is considered and there is never a question of whether it can be financed, but simply how it will be financed. If the idea is good and people get behind it and are willing to make it happen then they simply find ways to fund it.
The beauty of this approach is that obviously it is very open and responsive to what the Spirit can do when people of faith open themselves up to the transforming work of Christ Jesus. At the same time it acknowledges that our Lord will provide the means for funding, but He won’t make the funding appear out of nowhere. We have all been blessed with gifts, with fruits of the Spirit, and when we open ourselves up to what the Spirit can enable us to do with our gifts, then we never have to ask "Can we afford it?" The vision of our Lord is bigger than anything that we might perceive as being a road-block to the transforming work of Christ.
And what better example do we have of this than baptism? In baptism we are marked with the cross of Christ and sealed by the Holy Spirit. But too often baptism is seen as merely an empty ritual that is purely symbolic. But in God’s word we see a different image of baptism. In the great commission, from Matthew 28, Jesus commands us to make disciples of all nations and the first step that He gives us to make that happen is baptism, and He makes no provision about age or understanding when it comes to who should be baptized. That’s because God, in the Holy Spirit is the actor in baptism, and not the person being baptized.
The Holy Spirit is indeed the actor in baptism, but He works through those who have been called to nurture and sustain a person in their baptism. He works through the parents, through the sponsors through the congregation that the person has been baptized into and the entire body of Christ which the person has also been baptized into. That is what Jesus is referring to with the second step in the great commission which is the command to teach those who have been baptized to obey everything that Jesus has commanded.
Baptism is indeed more than a ritual, it is something that we live in everyday as we are daily brought into the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus.
At the end of the Gospel lesson for today the disciples are out on the sea and Jesus walks on the water to see them and they were terrified at the sight of Jesus walking on the water. But Jesus says to them "It is I; do not be afraid."
In a way that is an illustration of what it means to live in your baptism. In baptism you are claimed by Christ, but sometimes what that means for you might scare and intimidate you. But in the midst of that fear Christ Jesus comes to you and calms your fears and reminds you that you are His and that you need not fear anything.
After this, the disciples tried to take Jesus into the boat with them, but He wouldn’t go because they still didn’t get it. They didn’t understand that living in their baptism was not about taking Jesus into the boat with them but it was about stepping out of the boat to follow Jesus. But in spite of their lack of understanding, Jesus remained faithful to them and they eventually found themselves on dry ground.
And Jesus continued to come to them and nurture them in their own baptisms and eventually they got it. And living in your baptism, He does the same for you. In the Holy Spirit, through the body of Christ He comes to you and opens your heart and opens your mind to a greater understanding of what the Holy Spirit can do through you and the gifts that you have been blessed with. Our Lord comes to you and assures you that you need not be afraid of that which you don’t understand.
Amen
Brothers and sisters,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
These two miracle stories; the feeding of the five thousand and Jesus walking on water are among some of the most debated events and stories from scripture. It seems like every once in a while some "brilliant" scientist will come along with some theory that attempts to show that these could not have happened. And time and time again, historians and scientists, both Christian and non-Christian will respond to those theories with disdain and explain why the new theories just don’t add up.
The feeding of the five-thousand is one of the few stories from the Gospels that is in all four of the Gospels. This story is told in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Plus there are two other separate stories of Jesus performing the same type of miracle for four-thousand people. So, all told there are six accounts of Jesus producing an abundant feast from what appeared to be a very minuscule amount of food. Yet this continues to be one of the most debated events and stories in scripture.
You might remember that just recently there was a theory that came out that tried to explain away the miraculous elements of Jesus walking on the water by saying that the water was frozen and He was walking on ice. Now when I read this the first question that came to my mind was if the water was frozen and they were on ice then why the heck were the disciples in a boat? As far as I know, the theory made no attempt to answer that. Regardless, within a few days the theory was being shot down.
However, what this is evidence of is something that we all, Christians and non-Christians, struggle with. And that is a desire and tendency to try to fit God into our own image rather than allow ourselves to be transformed by God through Christ Jesus. We don’t just see this in how people react to and try to explain away the miracle stories, we see it in the stories themselves with the disciples and the people whom Jesus was feeding.
We see Jesus, so filled with compassion on these people who He has encountered, He takes what appears to be a fairly minuscule amount of food and miraculously manages to produce this bountiful feast for these people to partake in. So how do they respond? They try to take Jesus by force so they could make Him their king.
Back in those days, kings didn’t simply rule the land, they were expected to take care of their people by providing all the essentials that they would need; food, shelter, safety etc. So when they saw what Jesus could do with just a few fish and a few loaves they immediately decided that they wanted Jesus to be their king. They were trying to fit Jesus into their mold or image of what they would have liked Jesus to be. But Jesus wasn’t having it. There is much more to Jesus than simply someone who could provide food and shelter. The people weren’t getting it, they weren’t even close to seeing the whole picture of who Jesus is. Consequently, Jesus would not allow Himself to be squeezed into their limited vision of Jesus.
We do the same thing. When someone comes up with an idea for a new program or project or a new ministry opportunity at a council meeting or an annual meeting or whatever what is the first thing that is considered. More often than not, not just here at Grenora Lutheran parish, not just in the ELCA but all across Christianity, the first question will be "Can we afford it?" And when that is your starting point. When you start your assessment of a ministry opportunity that Christ Jesus, through the Holy Spirit has brought before you by asking "Can we afford it?"more often than not the answer is going to be "no." This is because in doing so you are trying to fit the transforming work of Christ into your limited vision.
A pastor in Marysville, Ca. writes about a workshop that he went to where another way to look at and evaluate ministry opportunities was suggested. This process is broken down into three steps; The idea is presented, the question of who will do it is asked, then you ask how it will be financed. The financial aspect is the last thing that is considered and there is never a question of whether it can be financed, but simply how it will be financed. If the idea is good and people get behind it and are willing to make it happen then they simply find ways to fund it.
The beauty of this approach is that obviously it is very open and responsive to what the Spirit can do when people of faith open themselves up to the transforming work of Christ Jesus. At the same time it acknowledges that our Lord will provide the means for funding, but He won’t make the funding appear out of nowhere. We have all been blessed with gifts, with fruits of the Spirit, and when we open ourselves up to what the Spirit can enable us to do with our gifts, then we never have to ask "Can we afford it?" The vision of our Lord is bigger than anything that we might perceive as being a road-block to the transforming work of Christ.
And what better example do we have of this than baptism? In baptism we are marked with the cross of Christ and sealed by the Holy Spirit. But too often baptism is seen as merely an empty ritual that is purely symbolic. But in God’s word we see a different image of baptism. In the great commission, from Matthew 28, Jesus commands us to make disciples of all nations and the first step that He gives us to make that happen is baptism, and He makes no provision about age or understanding when it comes to who should be baptized. That’s because God, in the Holy Spirit is the actor in baptism, and not the person being baptized.
The Holy Spirit is indeed the actor in baptism, but He works through those who have been called to nurture and sustain a person in their baptism. He works through the parents, through the sponsors through the congregation that the person has been baptized into and the entire body of Christ which the person has also been baptized into. That is what Jesus is referring to with the second step in the great commission which is the command to teach those who have been baptized to obey everything that Jesus has commanded.
Baptism is indeed more than a ritual, it is something that we live in everyday as we are daily brought into the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus.
At the end of the Gospel lesson for today the disciples are out on the sea and Jesus walks on the water to see them and they were terrified at the sight of Jesus walking on the water. But Jesus says to them "It is I; do not be afraid."
In a way that is an illustration of what it means to live in your baptism. In baptism you are claimed by Christ, but sometimes what that means for you might scare and intimidate you. But in the midst of that fear Christ Jesus comes to you and calms your fears and reminds you that you are His and that you need not fear anything.
After this, the disciples tried to take Jesus into the boat with them, but He wouldn’t go because they still didn’t get it. They didn’t understand that living in their baptism was not about taking Jesus into the boat with them but it was about stepping out of the boat to follow Jesus. But in spite of their lack of understanding, Jesus remained faithful to them and they eventually found themselves on dry ground.
And Jesus continued to come to them and nurture them in their own baptisms and eventually they got it. And living in your baptism, He does the same for you. In the Holy Spirit, through the body of Christ He comes to you and opens your heart and opens your mind to a greater understanding of what the Holy Spirit can do through you and the gifts that you have been blessed with. Our Lord comes to you and assures you that you need not be afraid of that which you don’t understand.
Amen
posted by Steve at 9:55 AM
1 Comments:
You are right about this one-all explanation, no real, hard-hitting proclaimation. When I look at my sermons, if I am having a hard time with it, I ask myself this question, one I have taped on my laptop from Forde, "Did this sermon do what it did the first time, bring about death and resurrection to these people?" You gave them a comfortable sermon, where you indeed did give the Gospel, but you kept them safely tucked away from the power of the event. They could remain spectators in this sermon-not participants. Like I said, you did proclaim, you did bring the Gospel, but you kept the churches out of it.
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