Let Us Keep the Feast!

Bible Readings

By the Rev. Darren Miner

As you may recall, last week’s reading from the Gospel of Mark skipped over a large chunk of text. As I mentioned then, the missing text consisted of two very important accounts in the life of Jesus: the story of the feeding of the 5000 and the story of Jesus’ walking on the sea. Well, today we get those missing stories, albeit from the Gospel of John.

It seems that word has spread that Jesus is miraculously healing the sick. And in an age when only the very wealthy could afford to consult a physician, there were many people who were sick. And they were besieging Jesus. Needing a little respite from the crowd, he climbed to the top of a hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee. When he sees that the crowd is following him even there, he doesn’t get angry. He doesn’t even complain. Instead, he expresses concern that the people will suffer hunger.

Now, Philip and Andrew, who are there with Jesus, are practical men. They know that there is little they can do for a crowd of 5000 people. Andrew points out that all they have on hand is five loaves of barley bread and two dried fishes. Philip and Andrew undoubtedly knew the story of how the prophet Elisha multiplied 20 loaves so as to feed 100 people. But for Jesus to feed 5000 from only 5 loaves would require a miracle 200 times more powerful than Elisha’s. Clearly, they didn’t think it possible—even for Jesus. But they were wrong—very wrong! Jesus took the bread and the fishes, blessed them, and distributed them. All were filled, and there were even leftovers!

This great miracle is followed immediately by two more. First, we are told that Jesus took an evening stroll upon the Sea of Galilee in the midst of a windstorm. Second, we are told that he miraculously teleported a boatful of distressed disciples to safety on the shore.

All these miracles point to but a single fact: Jesus is divine. And we have been shown the evidence. He performs a feeding miracle 200 times more powerful than that of the ancient prophet Elisha. He walks on the sea and stills the storm, showing himself master over the elements. By the power of his will, he transports a boat to shore. In other words, this man Jesus does what only God can do. And John tells us these amazing stories, not to entertain, but so that we may believe and thus be saved.

Now, we Christians tend to think of salvation, when we think of it at all, as something in the future, something we experience only after death. We rarely think of salvation as something that happens to us in the here and now. But it is! We can experience salvation, what John refers to as “eternal life,” right now…through God’s grace.

Now, God saves by his grace in myriad ways. But for us Christians, the preeminent means of receiving God’s grace are the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Eucharist. For too long, we have been deprived of sacramental grace. But next Sunday, for the first time since March 2020, we will make Eucharist together. And on that day, we will rejoin the ranks of the 5000 men, women, and children fed by Jesus. Let me explain why I say this.

As some of you may remember, Mathew and I went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land three years ago. One site we visited was Tabgha, a now abandoned village by the Sea of Galilee. There, a church was built in the fifth century, commemorating the site as the very spot where Jesus miraculously multiplied the loaves and fishes. On the floor of that Byzantine church, just beneath the altar, there is a mosaic of two fishes and a basket of bread. But upon close inspection, something seems wrong. For there are only four loaves of bread in the basket, not the expected five. It was explained to me that the missing fifth loaf is none other than the bread on the altar, awaiting to be blessed, broken, and distributed in the Name of Christ. In other words, the miraculous feeding of the 5000 never really ended. And next week, we will have the opportunity to partake of the bread of Holy Communion once again. We will have the opportunity to participate once more in the very same miraculous feast that took place on that grassy hill in Tabgha some 2000 years ago. Brothers and sisters, let us keep the feast!

Amen.

© 2021 by Darren Miner. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Using the Promised Gifts

By the Rev. Darren Miner

Bible Readings

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today is the Day of Pentecost, and it’s an important day in the Episcopal Church for a variety of reasons. For one thing, today is one of only seven “principal feasts” in the liturgical calendar; these so-called principal feasts outrank all other celebrations or commemorations. For another, today is widely considered to be the “birthday of the Church.” (Of course, one can make a good case that the Church was born when Jesus called his first disciple.) Today also has the distinction of being one of four “baptismal feasts” on which baptisms, or the renewal of baptismal vows, are appropriate. In any case, one thing everyone can agree on is that it is a day to “pull out all the stops.”

Now, let’s move on to the appointed readings for the day. The first reading, from the Acts of the Apostles, recounts the story of that first Pentecost, when the disciples encounter wind and fire and the gift of the Holy Spirit. They miraculously find themselves able to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ in languages that they do not know. The heart of their message to the crowd is found in the very last line of the reading: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” So far as we know, this miraculous gift of tongues did not remain with the disciples, but even so, they were not left bereft of spiritual gifts.

In St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans, he reminds the Christians in Rome that the Spirit of God continues to lead and guide the faithful, so that they can live as God’s children are meant to live in the world, with courage and with confidence. He reminds his readers that in a real sense it is not they who pray but the Spirit of God who prays with, and through, them.

Then, we come to John’s Gospel, which somewhat confusingly  takes us back in time to the Last Supper, before the disciples had even received the gift of the Holy Spirit. There, Jesus makes this promise to his disciples: “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever.” Now, that word “advocate” is a bit problematic. Every time I hear it, I think of a trial lawyer. But that is not exactly the kind of advocate that Jesus is speaking about. What he means is that the Father will send someone who will stand by the disciples throughout the trials and tribulations of this world. That someone is, of course, the Holy Spirit. Jesus goes on to promise that the Spirit of God will continue to teach the disciples long after Jesus has returned to the Father and will guide them further and further into Divine Truth.