Laetare Sunday, The Fourth Sunday in Lent, 2014
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship
Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time
The Hymn # 151 Christ the Life 2:78
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 Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #429 Lord Thee I Love 2:54
Bread from Heaven
The Communion Hymn #508 Thou Whose 2:72
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 # 45 Now the Hour 2:95
KJV Galatians 4:21 Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? 22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. 24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. 25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. 27 For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. 28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. 29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. 30 Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. 31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.
KJV John 6:1 After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. 2 And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. 3 And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. 4 And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. 5 When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? 6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, 9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? 10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. 12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. 13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. 14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. 15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.
Fourth Sunday In Lent
Lord God, heavenly Father, who by Thy Son didst feed five thousand men in the desert with five loaves and two fishes: We beseech Thee to abide graciously also with us in the fullness of Thy blessing. Preserve us from avarice and the cares of this life, that we may seek first Thy kingdom and Thy righteousness, and in all things perceive Thy fatherly goodness, through Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God world without end. Amen.
Bread from Heaven
KJV John 6:1 After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. 2 And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.
Lately I have seen people answer this question - "Who would you spend an hour with, if you could sit on a park bench and talk to anyone in the world, past and present?"
Several have said, "Jesus."
I answered once or twice, "You can listen to Him every day, in the Word of God."
John's Gospel is the best example of that truth. The Fourth Gospel assumes the reader knows the basics from the other Gospels. He has given us, through the Holy Spirit, the most important sermons of Jesus.
Most importantly, this great supplement is written down by the disciple closest to Jesus, the one entrusted with caring for Mary His mother.
John's Gospel naturally reads like an eye-witness account, because it is - and it is personal and intimate.
There is an important explanation in the opening of this famous miracle. An enormous crowd followed Him because of the miracles He had already performed.
This is an important observation, because there is a constant reference about two numbers.
One - God has done this for all people - Creation, providing for material needs, giving His Son to pay for the sins of the world.
Two - The much smaller number who believe in Christ, are forgiven through faith in Him, have the status of saints (holy, sanctified by Him) and will enjoy eternal life if they continue in faith.
Readers and listeners will note that everyone was fed, although not everyone was a believer. In fact, this chapter of John shows that "many disciples" fell away because of Jesus' hard sayings. Who can listen to this - and they went away.
John 666 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
Although people may believe at first, they do not continue. Therefore, many are called (invited) but few are chosen (elect).
Likewise, this Gospel miracle is generously given (without being requested) to everyone present, but not everyone appreciated it, understood it, or believed because of it.
3 And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. 4 And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.
This verse gives us a clue about the timing of this event and also a glimpse at how it looked for Jesus and the Twelve. They were up on a low mountain and saw the vast crowd coming around to continue being with Jesus. So, with words, we have a picture of what they saw.
5 When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? 6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.
Jesus knew what He would do, and He also knew what the disciples would say when He asked. But He asked to bring out the shortcomings of the disciples, to teach us about that miracle and also to remind us of our similar reactions.
Philip should have answered - "God will provide. And You are the Son of God." But Philip stayed within the bounds of human reason, concluding that a large sum of money would not be enough to buy the crowd a few morsels. Left unsaid is the name of the bakery that would provide the food and deliver it immediately.
Here is the state of every Christian and every congregation. I remember a "mission leader" saying, "We will build a chapel that we can turn into a doctor's office if it fails." That was before it started. They were already betting against it.
And this miracle is aimed at us as individuals, so we are not too anxious about our material needs. Even when nothing seems to be there, God is already taking care of the problem - before we even ask.
That is sad, when people act as if God needs us to ask before He can do anything. He says in Isaiah and Ephesians that He is already acting before we ask, that He provides far beyond anything we can imagine. Why does He say this? - so we are filled with confidence in Him to ask anything we need.
Thus faithful Christians have always trusted in God and they have done extraordinary things, miraculous things, by relying on Him rather than themselves. So it is oddly humorous to find church leaders relying on business practices instead and not trusting in the Gospel Promises.
God provided ways to buy land and build a chapel in New Ulm, which could have been called Ishmael Lutheran Church, because everyone was against it. One day the heating bill was paid by a check sent randomly by someone - not even a member.
God allows us to feel the want, so we appreciate how He provides without us even comprehending how that could happen. We often have to give up on all our wisdom and work before we realize what He does in an instant.
8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, 9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?
This is the most ironic comment, since the answer to the rhetorical question is - "That is irrelevant Andrew. God can do everything with nothing, let along a tiny amount like this."
The small amount is significant. Because we start with so little - a few members, a tiny rented dirty building, a few dollars, an ordinary man entrusted with the everlasting Gospel. And God turns that into something great through His Gospel and Sacraments.
The Gospel swept through the Roman Empire with manuscripts and preachers.
The Gospel took over Europe in the Reformation - with only "words" and the printing press. The Lutherans were nothing. They were few, poor, scattered, and persecuted. God provided the Muslims at the gates of Europe to keep the Roman Catholic emperor busy until the Lutherans got entrenched in their little zone.
Now the mission experts and Church Growth experts take the accomplishments of the past and turn them into rubble, proclaiming, "Look at how wise and great we are."
10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
This is a telling detail. It was done in an orderly way, to serve the starving people for one thing. They also needed aisles to get to the fresh water. It was an oasis, because there was a lot of grass there.
11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. 12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.
Jesus gave thanks. Why would the Creating Word give thanks? He is God, but also as God's Son He was always obedient to the Father and did everything in accord with the Father.
Jesus is also an example. If he gave thanks to God - as God - why should we eat without giving thanks to God, who provided the bounty for us?
This is also a foreshadowing of Holy Communion, where believers receive the Body and Blood of Christ, across the centuries, among millions. How can this be? Denying the miracle of Feeding is a denial of the Lord's Supper. And denying the Lord's Supper is a rejection of this miracle.
A miracle is not answered by - how can such things be? A miracle is something God performs because of His gracious will for us. The more we open our eyes to miracles, the more miracles we see. And those who take a rationalistic look at the Gospel see without seeing and hear without comprehending.
The essences of the Protestant Reformation comes from Luther - justification by faith alone. The Catholics opposed this. Today, the famous Babtist Rick Warren says, "Faith is not enough." Many Protestants say that, sinking right back into Romanism and works salvation. Some Lutherans like it so much, they hop the fence.
13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.
Luther has a great comment on this - It shows how we should be frugal with what God has given us. Those apostates who believe nothing are entrusted with vast resources given by God. They waste them. They have no regard for them. Their only request is to have even more, so they beat the drums for estate gifts.
The churches that want to astonish everything with their luxury - gold, marble, computer screens - will often disappear faster than a morning fog. "You have to spend to grow." No - God's Word is the foundation and He will determine the results - not man.
14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. 15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.
This was not the time for Jesus to be proclaimed Messiah. God provided the calendar and everything was fulfilled exactly as the Old Testaments.
