In the 1928 American BCP, the last Sunday of the church year is "the Sunday next before Advent." The Collect, the "liturgical Epistle" from Jeremiah , and the Gospel from St. John are those assigned for Trinity XXV in the 1662 Prayer Book. All three contain themes appropriate to anticipate Advent, but let us focus on the Gospel.
The Gospel (John 6:5-14 ) is the story of feeding the 5000. Although this familiar story has several themes or applications, on this Sunday, we notice that it reminds us of the expectations and hopes that Jesus fulfilled. When the people see His miracle with the small loaves and fish, they affirm that He is "that prophet that should come into the world" (St. John 6: 14 ). He is the one who was to come. He is the prophet like Moses predicted in Deuteronomy 18:15,18. Indeed, Jesus is much greater than Moses. Not only is He divine, but He also establishes a covenant greater than the one established through the work of Moses (Hebrews 8:6).
Certainly, Christian believers think that Jesus is much more than a prophet, but we still affirm that He is a prophet. In fact, Christian theology has often used prophet as one of the three functions (along with priest and king) that describe the work of Christ. Jesus is the long-expected prophet who is the culmination of Hebrew prophecy. He completes and finishes God's revelation. He completes the work of redemption that begins with Adam, continues through Noah to Abraham, and is present in the ministry of Moses and subsequent Hebrew prophets.
In conclusion as we end a Christian year on this Sunday, we look to Jesus Christ, greater than all the prophets. He was and is the One to come, the One greater than even Moses. Everything that precedes and follows Jesus finds its ultimate meaning in Him.
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