The Seventh Sunday after Trinity, 2014
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time
The Hymn #9 O Day of Rest 1:89
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #427 How Firm a Foundation 1:7
Warning and Faith
The Communion Hymn #308 1.63
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn # 533 Nearer My God to Thee 1:34
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn # 533 Nearer My God to Thee 1:34
KJV Romans 6:19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. 20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
KJV Mark 8:1 In those days the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples unto him, and saith unto them, 2 I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat: 3 And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far. 4 And his disciples answered him, From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness? 5 And he asked them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven. 6 And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people. 7 And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed, and commanded to set them also before them. 8 So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets. 9 And they that had eaten were about four thousand: and he sent them away.
SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY
Lord God, heavenly Father, who in the wilderness didst by Thy Son abundantly feed four thousand men besides women and children with seven loaves and a few small fishes: We beseech Thee, graciously abide among us with Thy blessing, and keep us from covetousness and the cares of this life, that we may seek first Thy kingdom and Thy righteousness, and in all things needful for body and soul, experience Thine ever-present help; through Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
Warning and Faith
KJV Mark 8:1 In those days the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples unto him, and saith unto them,
The multitude being very great -
Some details just seem to walk past us, and then we stop and think about the implications. These implications are the foundation for this miracle.
The multitude followed Jesus because His Word and His gracious personality attracted them. He taught them the Gospel - faith in Him - and He performed miracles to confirm His divine mission.
This faith meant they followed Jesus as He traveled, without thought for their practical needs. Heaven and earth would take care of them, because they trusted in Him. They had nothing to eat.
When we have no food, we are restless and anxious. Parents know - when a child is going crazy, good food will effect a transformation. When we drove high school students from Ohio to Michigan and back, we started with a big meal. They promptly fell asleep.
Warnings are growing everywhere. California is so drought-stricken that they have talked of sending people out of the state. Toledo has shut down its water because the city water is toxic. No bottled water can be found for miles around, because people need so much and depend on the tap.
Only a little bit of disruption is needed to send us from comfort to despair. These warnings show us the power of God and the blessings of God. When people ignore this power and these blessings, they lose them.
The Roman Empire was already falling apart during the public ministry of Christ. Julius Caesar became the first real dictator, and he was killed. Augustus followed him, and then Tiberius. The Republic of Rome made it a law that a male citizen must marry, but the Roman emperors were all deviants. Fifty years ago, parents and teachers warned we could go the way of Rome. Now the media stars revel in following the Roman model of intoxication, wasteful wealth, and deviant behavior.
The people following Jesus were enslaved by the Roman system of taxation. They had to pay for the soldiers to occupy their country. They had a King David and Maccabeans kings, but now Israel was dried up stump. Satan had pursued it, looking for Messiah, ever since the Promise in Genesis 3:15 - as Luther observed.
The scepter had passed from the House of David and Herod sat on the throne, the symbol of Israel's decline but also the promise of a Savior. He would not appear until a descendant of David was no longer on the throne.
Jesus called his disciples unto him, and saith unto them, 2 I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat: 3 And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far.
In faith, the people followed Jesus for three days; now they were completely out of food and starving. This detail shows show completely they trusted in Him, and also how miraculous this way. The rationalists have people sharing their hidden food after the little boy offered up his food to share.
The funny thing about human reason is that it shuts off so quickly. If this is an explanation for how so much food appeared at once, then how much were they hauling for three days as they followed their Savior? They had enough to eat and then to eat again (once they were ashamed of not sharing) with an enormous amount of leftovers. My imagination staggers at what this multitude looked liked as they dragged all this food along - an complete fiction to prove to the rationalists that it was not a miracle from God, but a miracle of shaming people into sharing on their own - good works based on guilt.
Gulf between faith and doubt.
To understand this miracle, one must have a child-like faith. Luther argues that if we cannot understand God taking care of our material needs, then we certainly cannot have any faith in the spiritual matters, which are far more significant.
5. But “to feed on milk” means, to taste the favor and the kind grace of God. “To taste the goodness of God” means, to experience it in one’s life.
The multitude followed Jesus in faith and took in His Word. Then he fed them and they experienced the earthly blessings of faith in God. That is what helps people when they live close to the earth and raise some of their food. They see how God's creation works according to His plan and offers us great abundance.
Those who have no faith in His guidance will rely on man-made cures for everything. I was amused that a woman said her roses were spent and looking bad on manufactured fertilizer, while her friends were doing well on organic soil amendments.
As Luther wrote, faith means trusting that heaven and earth will be moved to help one believer. That happens all the time, yet lack of thankfulness makes us blind to those everyday miracles.
Jesus had compassion on the multitude and decided to feed them all. That was impossible - except for His Word.
4 And his disciples answered him, From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness?
Human reason cannot grasp how God works. That is why we call the important lessons of the Bible - "mysteries." They are revealed to us through the Holy Spirit at work in the Word. We grasp the meaning, trust the truth, and know God has revealed this to us.
This is a dry place, a desert. There is no possible way to obtain enough bread to feed the multitude. They really needed Army trucks full to satisfy the crowd.
The disciples had many demonstrations of the divine power of Jesus, but they still had moments of doubt. He built upon their faith, step by step. In the same way Christians learn more about the faith as they study the Word, worship, and experience life through the eyes of faith.
10. But when one inquires of reason for counsel it soon says: It is not possible. Yes, you must wait a long time until roasted ducks fly into your mouth, for reason sees nothing, grasps nothing, and nothing is present. Just so the apostles do also here who thought: Yes, who will provide food for so many, no one is able to do that; but had they seen a great pile of money and in addition tables laden with bread and meat, they would soon have discovered good counsel and been able to give good consolation; that would. have gone according to their thinking very reasonably. However, since they saw nothing they could find no counsel, but held it to be impossible that one should thus feed so many people, and especially since no provisions were at hand.
5 And he asked them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven. 6 And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people. 7 And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed, and commanded to set them also before them.
No wonder the rationalists have their own version of this - they do not understand Creation either. Yes, this is impossible by our standards. So are many other things I see and experience daily.
When I had a maple tree covered with cottony maple scale insects, I had no idea what to do. Spraying oil all over the tree was one solution. No thanks.
Unbidden by me - a vast armada of ladybugs arrived. They almost covered the tree. I looked up their diet. They love maple scale insects. How did they know I had them? Do they have a nice perfume or send signals? And why did an entire air wing of beetles arrive together? Who organized them and sent them?
If you have not had an experience like this in gardening, then you are probably still buying little boxes of fertilizer and little cans of bug spray.
But if you have experienced this, then you can see how interwoven are the individual parts of Creation, from the minerals in the soil to the clouds in the air, from the birds preying on insects to the moon affecting weather.
The panic about the climate has more to do with doubt than with the facts. People trust that man causes everything, so man is the cure. Believers conclude that the climate is in God's hand. We can be wise in our use of His Creation, but He can change things in a moment according to His purpose.
8 So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets. 9 And they that had eaten were about four thousand: and he sent them away.
This conclusion helps us realize that God gives us such an abundance that we can share with our neighbors. That becomes a blessing many times over. In our neighborhood we help each other out in various ways, and that leads to many good experiences and greater friendship. Each little event is not big in itself, but the overall atmosphere is changed by a number of people being thoughtful about the needs of others.
We should take note of this. Although there was an abundance, it was not treated as waste, but gathered into baskets. So we should be careful with the abundance given to us and not take it for granted.
Now, since he rejects our offering, what will he then have? The Psalmist in the verses immediately following says: “Offer unto God the sacrifice of thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the Most High; and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.” That means, I wish to have thy heart, rest thou in me and believe me to be a kind and gracious God, that I am thy God: then you will have enough.
