Trinity VII- Feeding the Four Thousand- Mark 8:1-9

Food and eating are common themes in human life and in Holy Scripture. The Gospel for this Seventh Sunday after Trinity is the miracle of Jesus Feeding the Four Thousand from Mark 8:1-9. This account may seem more familiar than it really is because a similar Feeding of the 5000 occurs in all four Gospels. So let us highlight a few details in this account. 

As is the case in many New Testament miracles, we see that our Lord is moved with compassion. Besides having a general concern for human need, Jesus cares for particular people in particular circumstances. The  people in this account have shown interest in Christ's spiritual message and have come out into an unsettled area to hear the Gospel. Any food they brought is gone, and Christ is concerned that they return home safely.

We should also note the location. It happens in the Decapolis, a predominately Gentile region beyond the Sea of Galilee. So the crowd that listens to Jesus is probably a mixture of Jews and Gentiles. While Jesus’ earthly ministry focused on the Jews, this is one of several examples where He also ministers to Gentiles.

In addition to these details, let us highlight two points. Point 1) - This physical miracle has spiritual and symbolic importance. The meal Jesus provides points toward the Messianic kingdom of God. People from various places and backgrounds come together, grow in faith, and are fed by God and His Christ. They are fed from seven loaves, and there are seven baskets of food remaining. Seven is a biblical number representing fullness or completeness. This means that Jesus the Messiah brings fulfillment or completion. Those who follow Him may not always have lavish feasting, but they do receive good, satisfying, and strengthening nourishment.

Point 2) – The miracle of Feeding 4000 teaches us what Jesus Christ continues to do for people from all sorts of backgrounds. He provides us bread from heaven. He Himself is the very bread of life. He provides us the bread that nourishes, strengthens, and satisfies our souls. He meets our deepest needs as spiritual and moral beings. He feeds us through Word and Sacrament. Whenever we are open to His Word in Scripture and His Presence in the Eucharist, He offers us forgiveness, grace, and renewed strength to follow Him. Thanks be to God for His Son Jesus Christ, the living bread from heaven!

Pentecost, commonly called Whitsunday- John 14:26

This Sunday is Pentecost or Whitsunday. the fiftieth day after Easter, This Christian feast commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ's disciples in a powerful new way, and it has sometimes been called the birthday of the Christian Church. There are many things that we can say about the Holy Spirit, but today I would like to focus on one verse from the Gospel of John. In John 14:26, Jesus tells the disciples, "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."

As Jesus looks toward the end of His earthly ministry with His approaching death, resurrection, and ascension, He promises His followers that divine aid will continue. God the heavenly Father will send the Paraclete, Comforter, or Helper to the disciples in Christ's name. Christians will still need teaching. In particular, they will continue to need reminding in a lively way of the teachings that Christ has already given. In other words, the central work of the Holy Spirit among Christians is to help them remember and apply the Gospel.

Unfortunately, through the centuries and into our time, many people have misunderstood and distorted this main work of the Holy Spirit among believers. Some have gone to emotional and imaginative extremes. Some have neglected Scripture and Christ's Sacraments in favor of some nebulous "spirituality." However, true spirituality inspired by the Holy Ghost must never be separated from the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no other Gospel that can save souls. So the Holy Spirit never contradicts the revelation in Christ. Rather the Holy Spirit recalls the Scriptural message, makes it alive, and helps us apply it in our situations! 

Trinity III- Seeking the Lost

The Gospel for this Sunday is Luke 15:1-10 and contains two brief parables- the lost sheep and the lost coin. The context makes it clear that our Lord is talking about sinners lost to God. Some extreme approaches to this theme have left a bad aftertaste among both believers and non-believers. Because of this aftertaste, some sincere Christians hesitate to speak of people lost in sin. Yet, Scripture is not hesitant to speak of the lost and the condition of lostness. Indeed, all human beings have been lost, and apart from divine grace, remain lost. As the general confession in the Prayer Book Daily Office says, "we have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep" (based on Isaiah 53:6 and 1 Peter 2:25). So all human beings participate in being lost and in needing to be found by Christ and His Church.

Seeking the lost has two important applications in our lives. First, each Christian should acknowledge that in differing ways and at different times we have all been lost and that we have tendencies to get lost repeatedly. As an old hymn says, we are "prone to wander," and we all depend upon divine mercy, grace, and persistence in seeking us out in the past and in each new day. God uses many means to seek us such as subtle promptings of the Spirit, life events, readings, or contacts with others, but chiefly He seeks us through Word and Sacrament. Thus, we should be aware that God is always seeking us, and we need to be open to being found by Him.

Secondly, as members of the Body of Christ, we are called to participate in the Lord's work of seeking and finding the lost. We are not to approach this calling with the wrong attitude. We are not to pretend to be some perfect paragons of virtue. Rather, we are to be humble. As sinners ourselves, we have benefited from the mercy and grace of God. We rejoice in divine mercy and grace, and we want to share that good news with others. We want each lost person to be found and to know the joy of returning to God. May each of us be found and do our small part to help others be found by God!

Misuse of the Word "Worship"

As many contemporaries talk or write about church, they like to use the term "worship." However, as I look at what they mean by the word, I realize that they do not mean what I and any literate English-speaking Christian of the last several hundred years would mean. Among some people, worship is no longer a theological term but a musical style.

So what does "worship" mean?  Although there were some archaic meanings about general worth, the predominant idea is a religious expression of devotion to God. Such devotion to or worship of God is both an internal attitude and an external activity. Historically, common private and public expressions of worship have included Scripture reading, prayers of various kinds, the Sacraments, psalms, hymns, creeds, sermons, spoken meditations, and silence. Among traditional Christians of varied persuasions, worship has usually referred to formal or informal liturgies, rites, and orders of divine service.

Unfortunately, this traditional application of the word "worship" has been overwhelmed in some recent expressions of Christianity. Thus, many people no longer seem to have Scripture reading and prayer in mind when they talk about worship. They don't seem to include private devotions. In fact, they don't seem to include even historic hymns. In their mass market view, some poorly informed people only seem to have in mind certain recent varieties of music that involve electronics, guitars, and percussion. Furthermore, when some people speak of a "worship leader," they seem to mean a musical director, a song leader, or a band leader. This is contrary to traditional Christian terminology where the worship leader is an ordained minister or in some situations, a layperson. And although music has long-standing importance in Christian worship, the heart of Scriptural worship has been and remains Bible readings and prayers.

So what? Isn't the difference just a matter of semantics or word usage? Perhaps, at times, but I fear that often a more serious change in doctrine is involved. Our understanding of worship involves our whole understanding of Christian faith and church life. The heart of worship must remain our devotion to almighty God through Holy Scripture and prayer, and the primary worship leaders are not musicians but ordained pastors and their lay assistants in Word and Sacrament.

The Feast of the Nativity

Finally, it's Christmas Eve, and for both secularists and traditional Christians, Christmas is at hand. Soon there will feasting and opening of packages across the land, and those who have not been saying it all month will say "Merry/Happy Christmas" (or for some the generic "Happy Holidays"). Yet that is about as far as the common elements go. Popular culture tells us that Christmas is about over. It's easy to understand why people may feel that way. Indeed, even those of us who truly appreciate Christmas can be glad that the commercial and media season is ending. A month of holiday sales, shiny packages, secular winter songs, reindeer cartoons, and so forth is too much.

However, for traditional Christians, this is not the end of Christmas. In fact, it is the beginning. The first celebrations of Christ's Birth will occur as evening comes, and the twelve days of Christmas begin. And the twelve days are not about partridges in pear trees and other strange gifts. The twelve days celebrate our Lord's Nativity, the surrounding events, and the meaning of the Nativity for our faith. We need to focus on this great and unique event. Jesus the Christ, God the Son incarnate, the eternal Word, was born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem. This historical event is more than a birthday celebration. It has the greatest theological and spiritual significance. Christ has come "to save us all from Satan's power." And He can still "cast out our sin and enter in" to be born anew in our hearts, minds, and souls.

So as Christmas truly begins this evening, let us look beyond all the pleasant mundane distractions of the holidays. Let us find some times of reflection to center upon the Incarnation of the One who has come, still comes in Word and Sacrament, and will come again to save us. Gloria in excelsis Deo!