Laetare Sunday, The Fourth Sunday in Lent, 2019
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The Hymn #25:1-3 Gerhardt I Will Sing My Master's Praises
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 #316 O Living Bread from Heaven
Living Bread from Heaven
The Communion Hymn #508 Thou Whose Almighty Word
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 # 50 Lord Dismiss Us
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.
Sermon Background, John 6:1-15, God's Abundance
In God's Creation we see countless examples of His abundance, many so numerous we think nothing of it, though our lives depend on it.
An exotic example is the famous Saguaro Cactus, which produces one million seeds in order to produce one new cactus. The rest are carried off by insects and birds for food. At the same time, this cactus has shallow roots that extend a distance in every direction, to absorb every drop of desert rain. In addition, the cactus fills up with moisture to live through extended droughts, but cannot live through slightly colder weather. The cactus is doomed to live only in the Senora desert.
Far more common is bacteria. One dental hygienist said she hated bacteria, which I thought was odd, since she made her living from the growth of bacteria. They grow and split so often that bacteria would consume the world if left unchecked. For that reason they are the staff of life. Many important creatures, like the earthworm, depend on bacteria. One writer described earthworms as cows that graze on bacteria. The reason is that the bacteria inside an earthworm consumes the organic material, digesting it, which the worm cannot do on its own. The worm is a shredder, and bacteria digests. The result is a major improvement of the soil as the worm mixes, tunnels, sweetens (with calcium), and aerates the soil.
God provides incredible abundance and variety in His Creation. The springtail may outweigh all living creatures on earth, but it is so tiny few have ever noticed the insect, which helps break down plant material.
The Ichneumon wasp has over 100,000 varieties, and most readers have never spotted them hovering around their flowers, killing pests. (Source - The Snoring Bird)They are not the hover flies - that is another beneficial insect. Hover or flower flies look more like tiny bumble bees. (Walliser - Beneficial Bugs)
We can go deeper into the garden with fungi, which are even more powerful in breaking down organic matter than bacteria are. Soft things are vulnerable to bacteria. Wood products need fungi. Leave a tree stump on the garden surface a year or two - the solid chunk of wood turns into crumbling cork. The fungi deliver food and water to the roots of plants, and the plants swap carbon to get that food and water. (Source - Teaming with Microbes)
All these inter-related forms of life were created by the Word of God, The Son, in the Six Days of Creation. Those who doubt this are going against John 1, which is a commentary on Genesis 1, and more than a commentary - a revelation of the meaning of the origins of life.
John 1 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.2 The same was in the beginning with God.3 All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made.4 In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.I am not going to use logic to prove Creation, but we can look at the issue as the kind of evidence we would expect as a result of this fundamental teaching of the Scriptures (the basis for law in the USA, too - the laws of nature and of nature's God).
For all these relationships to work perfectly well together and be timed for the season and adjusted for climate, soil, and precipitation, there could only be instantaneous Creation over a very short period of time rather than billions of years. Otherwise the beneficial insects and spiders have no pests to eat, or the pests have no enemies to control them.
Gardening based on man's wisdom means toxins that do not work, or work against all the good creatures with the bad, though the bad ones come back first. Creation Gardening saves enormous amounts of money and lets the divine balance created continue to work as designed by the Creating Word.
Living 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. 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.
In order to understand the miraculous, we also need to appreciate the everyday abundance God provides every day. As soon as we start looking at how God coordinates all of His Creation, we see that this power is embedded in our universe - something to view with awe and wonder.
We take things for granted and get a distorted view because of it. I was talking to a gardener at the oncology clinic. She was startled that she could plant daisies near her roses to devour the aphids. Rose growers hate aphids, but Japanese beetles even more. I suggested another natural cure, Milky Spore powder, which infects only the white grubs like Japanese beetles. The two points I made were basic to gardening, especially roses, so essential to know. Most do not know these things and suffer from it.
In the same way we need to know the basics of Scripture to benefit from its wisdom, which is far above the practical knowledge of man.
The multitude could not all follow on boats, so Jesus and the disciples saw them come around the Sea of Galilee from their raised view, since they crossed first by boat and had a straight path from shore to shore.
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?
This illustrates Jesus being concerned about the physical welfare of the great multitude, before anyone asked or thought of it. We should remember this when we think God is not concerned with our material needs. He answers before we think to ask, as Isaiah says, and gives us more than we can imagine.
This feeding, about to happen, is an illustration - material abundance and spiritual abundance. The people came to Jesus in faith, seeking first the Kingdom of God.
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 was testing His disciples because He already had plans. Philip suggested they had some money but dismissed the amount as not enough.
Luther left a funny remark about he monks of his day pretending to have nothing, which was a lie to support their begging. Every monastic order is a franchise that must support itself and pass extra money to the Vatican. Jesus had some provisions but Philip was chair of the finance committee, whom I called The Bad News Bears in the parish. The finance committee is always assuring everyone of the shortages, the crisis, the reasons for giving up any plans.
Philip's response is typical of accounting, proving that the little they have is not enough to give more than a fragment to everyone.
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?
Andrew is no more optimistic than Philip, who has spotted a lad with five loaves and some small fish. So there is not enough money to buy food and not enough food to share. Jesus asked to draw out their doubts about His ability to provide. In John 21, when they were fishing - after the Resurrection - Jesus had food prepared before they brought in the catch. That was a clear message of miraculous fishing but also God seeing in advance their needs - and providing for them.
This reminds us of our inward anxieties about lack of material support. Ever since we left the LCA in 1987, there have been difficulties that loomed large but were always resolved one way or another. The path of pay and benefits was welded to false doctrine of the worst kind, which pastors chose to ignore until 22 years later, when it was all too obvious (2009 decisions).
Likewise, business has no particular loyalty to anyone so making a living is like walking on those logs that float in the river - slippery, dangerous, always damp and ready to dump us overboard. And yet God watches over Christians and gives them enough and more to share with others.
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.
Specifically, the men (andres) were 5,000 in number, so the total for the entire crowd was much higher.
This does not represent Holy Communion directly, but the concept of the miraculous abundance is quite similar. If we rationalize the Lord's Supper as merely symbolic, then so is this. If we think everyone shared his hidden lunch (a rationalistic and rather comical suggestion) then the Real Presence is limited, too. The Sacraments are as miraculous - if not more so - than the miracles we often discuss.
These miracles are not only astonishing in regard to numbers, but also as a reflection of God's mercy and love. How many sins are forgiven a believer each day? Some or all. The rational mind is inclined to say only those for which we are really, really, really sorry for - or only those we have conquered (which is not possible for man). The miraculous abundance of forgiveness is - all. All sins are forgiven Christian believers. And like our indifferent gardening friends, we can take that miraculous abundance for granted in forgiveness, too.
The grass reminds us that Jesus chose a place where water was abundant, because grass is not a desert plant but an oasis plant. When people live in or near a desert, they pay close attention to where the pools of water are. In Phoenix we had the White Tank Mountains nearby. The term White Tanks refers to stone formations that held snow melt and rainwater. In the Western novels, the cowboy pays attention to where the tanks are, for his horses and his survivors. Check out the Louis L'Amour novels.
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.
Jesus gave thanks, as He did at the Last Supper, and distributed the food through the disciples, which suggests their future role in the Sacraments and training pastors to carry out those Sacraments of Baptism and Communion - the miraculous abundance of God's mercy and forgiveness.
This is done in an organized way, first to the disciples, then to the people through the disciples.
When did God the Father prepare a remedy for our sin and weakness? - Romans 5 - when we were without strength, while we were yet sinners, when we were enemies of God,
That God is so merciful strengthens our trust, and our spiritual strength helps us in dealing with material challenges.
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.
The abundance leftover in both cases reminds us first of God's grace. It is so great that plenty is leftover for sharing with others. That is the very meaning of gracious - not getting even or counting the score, but being freely forgiving, especially about the everyday conflicts that divide people for no reason.
Because of the abundance of grace given to Christians, there is always an impact on society, even when that society is unbelieving, pagan, or antagonistic. This is shown when missionaries bring the Gospel to areas that are not clamoring for it and may even chase the missionaries away for a time.
On the material side, having more food than the multitude started with is an illustration of God taking care of our earthly needs. I often think of that when things are hauled away. "That cost money once upon a time." But the most fun is giving things away to make room and to share the enjoyment of having that article of furniture, dishes, or books. A young couple really wanted something like our antique shelves, which I remember back to my childhood. They were my first library. The shelves are now awaiting their new home. They had a limited lifetime with us but a much longer lifetime with them.
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.
Unfortunately, the crowd wanted to make Jesus their leader immediately, which was not God's timing.
We should keep this miracle in mind when we think God is not paying attention to our material needs. I have seen many plans and hopes blown to pieces, but God has provided better than those plans. At the very least, roses are still growing where we once lived, and the Word had a chance to take root and grow - or be driven away, as it often is today.
What God does with a few is truly remarkable. If someone had said, "This and this is possible with only a few people," I would question it. But I have seen it happen so often that I just wait and watch.
Forgiveness comes down in great abundance, and this is the primary emphasis of the Gospel.
