The story in today\u2019s Gospel has a familiar ring to it. Well, of course, it is one of the better known stories in the New Testament, appearing in all four Gospels, and, in some cases, more than once. But beyond that, it is familiar because it reminds us of the way things still happen in the church-at least if we\u2019re doing things right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First of all, there is a need. In this version of the story, Jesus himself takes the role of the one stating the need and asking for a possible way to address that need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The next thing that happens is that someone \u2014 in this instance, Philip \u2014 fills the role of the practical person. \u201cSix months\u2019 wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little,\u201d he explains. Notice, he doesn\u2019t exactly say, \u201cNo way, Lord.\u201d What he is saying, basically, is, \u201cJust the facts, Lord.\u201d However, we certainly hear the voice of caution from Philip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Next Andrew enters the picture. Andrew has apparently conducted an assessment of the available resources. \u201cThere is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish.\u201d Actually, Andrew seems to be in basic agreement with Philip\u2019s practical assessment. \u201cBut what are they among so many people?\u201d However, he was, perhaps, willing to go a little farther than Philip along the path of faith. The very fact that he has found out about the five loaves and two fish and has taken the trouble to let Jesus know that they are there, might lead us to believe that Andrew has at least a glimmer of the possibilities. He takes one small step towards that leap of faith which is necessary if one would entertain the possibility that five thousand people could dine on five small loaves of bread and a couple of fish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We would like to know more about the boy who had those loaves and fish, wouldn\u2019t we? Just how old is this boy? Is he here alone, without his family? And why does he have this amount of food with him? Inadequate though it is for the crowd, it\u2019s a lot of lunch for just one boy. But none of these things are answered. We are left to infer that this boy who, for whatever reason, is on the scene with this small amount of food, is at least willing to share it. Of course, it is a ridiculously meager thing to offer, but he makes what he has available to all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And finally, we go back to where he started. Jesus is there, \u201cPlease be seated,\u201d he tells them \u2014 just like we hear in church! And, as always, he gives thanks. The food is distributed and the people ate, we are told, \u201cas much as they wanted.\u201d And when they have all been satisfied, the fragments that are gathered up fill twelve baskets. No wonder the people began to say, \u201cThis is the prophet who is to come into the world.\u201d Jesus had come into the world and nothing was ever going to be the same again. It was the presence of Christ that, in the end, made the whole thing possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s look at how these dynamics apply to the way we operate in the church, on the vestry, or on any committee. There is a need to be addressed. If we are being called by God to address this need, most likely it is God who, in one way or another, makes us aware of the need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once this happens, we need practical people, people who can assess the need and count the cost of addressing that need. (And, yes, we do need those practical people. The voice of caution must be heard as well as the voice of the dreamer,) You know who those people are. Maybe you are one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then we need those who can tell us what resources are available, and we must be ready and willing to put those resources at the Lord\u2019s disposal. That\u2019s not as easy as it sounds. What does God want, after all? Surely God doesn\u2019t want it ALL? Can\u2019t we keep back a little for ourselves? Wouldn\u2019t that be more prudent? (There\u2019s that voice of caution again.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All right, maybe we can\u2019t spend all our resources on one project because the Lord may well have other needs for us to address. Some discernment is necessary. But the point is that all we have and, for that matter, all we are, must be available to God. And then we must pray and pray and pray for guidance; pray for discernment of God\u2019s will in what we propose to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And, yes, sometimes that leap of faith is required. Sometimes putting a toe in the water isn\u2019t enough. Sometimes we just have to jump in, and believe that Jesus will be there to catch us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus IS with us. We must remember that it is the presence of Christ that makes possible anything we may be able to accomplish. We come bringing our meager resources, our meager selves, saying, along with Andrew, \u201cBut what is this when the need is so great?\u201d And Jesus takes what we offer and somehow it becomes enough-not just barely enough, but overflowing \u2014 just as the fragments of leftover loaves and fishes overflowed and filled twelve baskets. Our offering is transformed \u2014 and so are we, because now God can use us to make a difference in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is one more thing we must remember to do. Following the example of Christ, we must never forget to give thanks for all that we have been given. Most especially, let us give thanks for the opportunities we are given to be instruments of God\u2019s love and peace, right here in the little corner of God\u2019s world where we find ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This sermon was written by the Rev. Barbara Beam<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The story in today\u2019s Gospel has a familiar ring to it. Well, of course, it is one of the better known stories in the New Testament, appearing in all four Gospels, and, in some cases, more than once. But beyond that, it is familiar because it reminds us of the way things still happen in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":201212,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1963,43,52,1953],"tags":[321],"class_list":["post-511268","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lent","category-sermons","category-sermons-that-work","category-worship-and-prayer-menu","tag-cuaresma-4b"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":1963,"label":"Lent"},{"value":43,"label":"Sermons"},{"value":52,"label":"Sermons That Work"},{"value":1953,"label":"worship_and_prayer_menu"}],"post_tag":[{"value":321,"label":"Cuaresma 4B"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":[],"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/511268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/sermon"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/511268\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3474585,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/511268\/revisions\/3474585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=511268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=511268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=511268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}