19 September 2018

Sermon John 6:1-21 29 July 2018 Proper 12 Year B


         If there were ever a chronicle about fear of scarcity, it’s today’s story of feeding 5000. All four of the Gospel writers include the story. And, both Matthew and Mark have what you might call alternative versions of feeding 4000 as well.
         The reason this is a story of scarcity, well…look how the story unfolds. Nearly everything the disciples say is tinged with fear of not enough.
The first question Jesus asks is, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” You’ll notice all it took was one little question and immediately the fear and scarcity start. Philip, to whom the question was addressed, replies, six months of labor would only buy enough for everyone to have a morsel, not a full belly.
Andrew chips in with his version of fear and scarcity. There’s a boy here with two fish and five loaves, but that sure isn’t going to feed everyone either. It’s starting to sound like an improv comedy act, with Jesus owning the punch line.
Let me tell you about two of the biggest lies around: fear and scarcity. There are plenty of hard times for plenty of people, and people die of starvation around the world. There is no getting around that. And yet there’s also no getting around the people who have the least give the most. In addition, we have the means worldwide to see that everyone I the world has enough to eat. What we don’t have is the will to make it happen. Sometimes I think prosperity breeds fear and scarcity.
I may have told this story before, after eighteen months and more than a hundred fifty sermons, I might repeat myself. But here’s what happens when fear and scarcity are banished by the willingness to step out into the unknown.
I was serving a church where the summers were unbearably hot and humid. It’s not unusual for homeless people there to die of heat and in the winter to die of exposure. We’d had about a week of days in excess of 105 degrees. And, another week or two of the same was predicted. I’d been thinking of what the church could do to be a cool place for people.
In walks the outreach chairperson to tell me the cool shelters where people could take refuge from the heat were full. She wanted to open the church to people who couldn’t stay cool in their own homes and to our homeless sisters and brothers. We had a nice cool undercroft, a fancy Episcopal word for basement. The space was also the parish hall and where we served free meals one Sunday a month.
The outreach chairperson and I started talking about what we’d need to open up the undercroft for shelter. We’d need lots of bottled water, we’d need things for people to eat, we’d need extra work from our janitor to keep the bathrooms clean, and let me tell you, the budget was tight and (I feel as though I should whisper this part), so was the congregation. But at some point in our conversation the outreach chair and I both realized we were giving in to fear and scarcity. We looked at one another and said, “Let’s go for it.”
Here’s what happened. As soon as it hit the local media we were opening an additional shelter, almost a dozen places called to offer donations of bottled water. A pizza place called offering to deliver all the pizzas not picked up by the people who ordered. Who knew that was even a thing? I can’t imagine ordering a pizza and not going to get it. Other food kept rolling in: a corporation had a big luncheon and brought us all the extra sandwiches from people who couldn’t attend. A soft drink distributor donated cans of soda. It just went on and on. We always had more than enough.
During that period, I walked through the undercroft at least once a day, talking to the people in the shelter, assessing any needs they might have. Many of the people asked me to sit down and pray with them. Notice: they didn’t always want me to pray for them, but with them. And people prayed in thanksgiving for the blessing of the church.
At one point, one of our regulars at the monthly meal, stopped me and said, “Pastor, what is the deal here?” I said, “What do you mean?” He said, “I don’t understand it. There’s people in and out all day and into the evenin’. When I come in here there was lots o’ pizza and other stuff and we all kep’ eating. An’ lots o’ bottled water and soda, and we all kept drinkin’ and stayin’ cool. An’ you come look at this pizza.” He took me over to the pizza and showed me all the full boxes. “See what I mean?” he said. “We just keep eatin’ an’ the boxes are alus full.”
I looked at him and he looked at me, and we both smiled. “My friend,” I said, “what you’re seeing here is the loaves and fishes story all over again. Only this time Jesus is doing it with pizza and cold drinks.” We laughed and hugged each other.
God may not provide exactly what we want. Sometimes it’s two fish and five loaves when we’d like to have something else for dinner or we think we need more for dinner. I would much rather have been able to offer those folks something healthier than pizza and soda. But I didn’t make the decision and neither did the outreach chairperson. We simply banished our fear, our scarcity, and our ideas that something had to be well planned and orchestrated to work. We opened the church to the work of God, and God made it better than we could ever have imagined.
(At the 10:15 service) or (In a few minutes) we will baptize Teddy and Lucas. Children have a way of believing impossible things. I like to think the boy with the two fish and five loaves was probably thinking something like this, “Let’s see what this guy people think is a prophet can do with my lunch.” I hope Lucas and Teddy will continue to grow into believing in God’s impossible loving actions.
My prayer for Lucas and Teddy is that they grow up surrounded by people who will help them learn Jesus is larger than any fear, greater than any scarcity, and brings us to shore immediately when we need it most.
These are my wishes for this congregation I love. To know and love Jesus ever more deeply. To be a place that draws people into that love. To be people who go out into the greater community to demonstrate that love. And to be drawn to shore by Jesus when you need it most. AMEN.

The Rev Nicolette Papanek
©2018

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