August 31
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39
This week Trinity is providing meals for Lunch Together. That mostly means that we pick up food at The Hub, and then hand it out to people at the Congregational Church. I believe that we could use someone to help with this on Friday. You can call me if you’d like to help with that… We can all pray for those whom we serve and we can give thanks that we are a part of this important work.
Over the years I have set aside one liners and short quotes. I joke that I am planning to write a book with the title: 10 Seconds With God, a Devotional for People with Short Attention Spans.
Among the lines I’ve saved is this quote by Mahatma Ghandi which speaks to the basic importance of feeding the hungry: “There are people in the world so hungry that God can appear to them only as bread.” I am grateful that Trinity does so much to feed our neighbors. Sharing our bread has been an important ministry of the Church since New Testament times.
This week I’d like to share a thought provoking quote each day. Today, I will share this from writer Anne Lamott, from her book
“Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith."
“It’s funny: I always imagined when I was a kid that adults had some kind of inner toolbox, full of shiny tools: the saw of discernment, the hammer of wisdom, the sandpaper of patience. But then when I grew up I found that life handed you these rusty, bent old tools – friendships, prayer, conscience, honesty – and said, Do the best you can with these, they will have to do. And mostly, against all odds they’re enough.”
August 29
Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
Psalm 85:10
With the beginning of the school year, we want to join together in prayer for our students, as well as joining them in learning about God’s wonderful creation.
Yesterday, we had a funeral service for Harvey Miller, let us keep Sylvia and her entire family in our prayers.
A prayer from our hymnal, the ELW, for Young Persons
Lord God of our ancestors, we thank you for what you have done and will continue to do with our daughters and sons. Walk with them in life, and keep the evil one from obstructing their path. You see all; you know where the water is deep. Keep them from danger. Order their steps and guide their feet while they run the race of faith. May the good work that you have begun in them be brought to completion at the day of Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.
ELW page 83• Tomorrow and and Sunday, September 6th, worship will be at 9:00. Beginning Sunday, September 13th we go to our 8:30 and 11:00 worship schedule.
• We are serving Lunch Together next week. If you would like to help please give me a call.
August 28
Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people,
to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.
Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.
Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
Psalm 85:8-10
With the school year beginning, we want to join together in prayer for our students…
As we see unrest in our country, as we grieve loss of life and destruction and violence and racism, we pray for justice.
We trust that our students will learn and grow in compassion. Let us pray that students may join us in our calling; as stated in the liturgy of the Confirmation service: “to strive for justice and peace in all the earth.”
A prayer for Social justice from our hymnal, the ELW
Grant, O God,
that your holy and life-giving Spirit
may move every human heart;
that the barriers dividing us may crumble,
suspicions disappear,
and hatreds cease;
and that,
with our divisions healed,
we might live in justice and peace;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
ELW page 79This coming Sunday, August 30th and Sunday, September 6th, worship will be at 9:00.
Beginning Sunday, September 13th, we will go to our school-year schedule, with worship at 8:30 and 11:00. Weather permitting, we will meet outside. Some Sundays, we may well have the first service inside, and the 2nd out…
August 27
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God.
Let your good spirit lead me on a level path.
Psalm 143:10
With the school year beginning, we want to join together in prayer for our students…
From A prayer for Young Persons from our hymnal, the ELW
God of all good gifts,
your Son gathered children into his arms and blessed them.
Help us to understand our youth
as they grow in years and in knowledge of your world.
Give us compassion when they face temptations
and experience failures.
Teach us to encourage their search for truth and value in their lives.
Help us to appreciate their ideals
and sympathize with their frustrations;
that with them we may look for a better world
than either we or they have known; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
ELW page 83August 26
Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning,
for in you I put my trust.
Teach me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
Psalm 143:8
With the school year beginning, we want to join together in prayer for our students…
A prayer for The Care of Children from our hymnal, the ELW
Almighty God,
with a mother's love and a father's care
you have blessed us with the joy and responsibility of children.
As we bring them up,
give us gracious love, calm strength, and patient wisdom,
that we may teach them to love whatever is just and and good,
following the example of Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Amen.
ELW page 82Tonight we have our last 7:00 Wednesday evening service for the summer
I have other 4 announcements to share with you…
We are serving Lunch Together next week. Presently, we need two people to hand out the lunches each day. (I am not certain of which days we need volunteers…) If you would like to help please give me a call, and lets see if you can be a part of this important ministry.
Tomorrow evening, we will begin discussion of the book “I’m Still Here” by Austin Channing Brown. We will look at the first 2 chapters of the book, 7:00 p.m., Thursday August 27th. Simply email me and I will send you a link to our Zoom class.
I shared this last week - but I am afraid it wasn’t sent to everyone on my mailing list. We will follow our usual schedule this fall.
Beginning Sunday, September 13th, we will go to our school-year schedule, with worship at 8:30 and 11:00. Weather permitting, we will meet outside. Some Sundays, we may well have the first service inside, and the 2nd out…
When we gather in the sanctuary, masks will be expected, and we will have minimal singing, with services lasting around 40 minutes. While it is admittedly inconclusive; anecdotal evidence suggests that masks can help reduce the spread of Covid-19, and this seems to fit under the rubric “best practices.”
As people have been saying for a while now, things have to be “fluid.” I am grateful to our Council and to our Worship and Music Committee for all they have done to help us as we seek to make the best decisions we can during these past several months.
We are changing our internet provider, so that we don’t have to rely on Pastor Jim Barth of the UMC to help us so much. That means our actaccess.net email addresses won’t work any more. So - for me, send email to philwold@gmail.com. For the church office, we have this address - tlcosheridan@gmail.com.
August 25
Teach me your way, O Lord,
that I may walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart
to revere your name.
Psalm 86:11
Our children have begun their school year, and I hope you will join me in praying for our kids, their families, teachers, staff - everyone. As we consider the extra challenges posed by the pandemic, we see in fresh ways, how interconnected we all are.
A prayer for Schools from our hymnal, the ELW
O God, source of all goodness:
we give you thanks for the gift of reason and the opportunity for education.
Bless our schools, that they may be places of learning and safety
where teachers challenge the minds and nurture the hearts of students.
Grant that teachers and students may work together in mutual respect
and find joy in the challenges of academic life;
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
ELW page 78August 24
Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all day long.
Psalm 25:5
Sheridan schools begin tomorrow, and I suspect Big Horn schools are already underway.
Let us pray for teachers as they prepare for the challenges and possibilities of the year ahead.
A prayer for Teachers from our hymnal, the ELW
God of wisdom, your Son came among us as a teacher.
Send your blessing on all who are engaged in the work of education:
give them clearness of vision and freshness of thought,
and enable them so to train the hearts and minds of their students
that they may grow in wisdom and be prepared to face the challenges of life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
ELW page 78August 22
So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart.
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Psalm 90:12, 14
Someone mentioned Psalm 90 to me the other day. It is a beautiful meditation on life with God our creator, and a nice Psalm to turn to at the beginning of the school year. “So teach us to count our days…”
As the school year begins for many children - and adults as well - let’s join together in prayer for students, teachers, those preparing and serving meals, those who take care of school building and those whom we refer to as “support staff” (the ones who run the show behind the scenes!). Let us pray for those facing difficult decisions in the face of this pandemic, who are seeking to keep our children and our communities safe.
As our kids go back to school to learn, let us pray that we all might learn and grow in grace. (2 Peter 3:18)
Peace to you, Pastor Phil
Here is the “blessing of the backpacks” that we have used the last few years…
BLESSING OF THE BACKPACKS
Dear God, as we get ready to start another year in school, we ask your blessing on these backpacks, and especially on these children who will wear them.
As they do the very important work of being students, bless them with:
eagerness to learn, that their world may grow large;
respect for teachers and students,
that they may form healthy relationships; love for nature, that they may become caretakers of your creation;
happiness when learning is easy and stick-to-it-iveness when it is hard;
faith in Jesus as their best teacher and closest friend.
We ask that you would protect these, your own children.
Watch over them and keep them safe as they travel to and from school.
As they learn, help them also to discover the different gifts that you have given each one of them to be used in your work in the world. As they hear the many voices that will fill their days, help them to listen most carefully for your voice, the one that tells them you will love them always, no matter what. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
August 21
Then Jesus answered her,
“Woman, great is your faith!
Let it be done for you as you wish.”
Matthew 15
More -“What I Could Have Said…" about the story of the Jesus and the Canaanite woman.
Pastor Janet Hunt writes a weekly reflection on the Gospel text. She offered some thought provoking questions concerning this story. I thought I would share these with you, and perhaps, like me, you might enjoy how this old story might kindle fresh insight into God’s great love for you, and for all…
• Are we called to be like the Canaanite woman? To not let any barrier to stand in the way of love?
• Are we to learn to see Jesus in a new light — as one who could be changed — and so therefore we can, too?
• Or are we to stand still in the end of the story where the Canaanite woman’s faith is commended as ‘great?’
• Are we to be like Jesus in this way — that we are those who are able to learn anew that faith can be discovered and lived out in and with people whom we might least expect?
• Are we called to recognize that the boundaries of who belongs and who does not are ever-expanding? And are we to wonder at what that looks like for us now in this world where the forces of hate and fear and bigotry would exclude and destroy those who differ from those of us who tend to dominate?
• Is it any or all of the above? Or is the point simply to be open to such holy surprise?
August 20
Then Jesus answered her,
“Woman, great is your faith!
Let it be done for you as you wish.”
Matthew 15
More -“What I Could Have Said…" about the story of the Jesus and the Canaanite woman.
This morning, I was listening to a guided reflection - “Pray As You Go” - and the narrator invited us to “ask the lord for openness of heart… ask the lord to guide you in the way God would want you to go.”
As I thought about that - I could see a connection to the story of Jesus and the Canaanite woman. Was Jesus able to see that this woman, in showing her great faith, and contending with him on behalf of her daughter, did Jesus see this helping to steer him in the way God would want him to go?
Let me echo this encouragement - “ask the lord for openness of heart… ask the lord to guide you in the way God would want you to go.”
As we look ahead, we have decided the we will follow our usual schedule this fall.
Beginning Sunday, September 13th, we will go to our school-year schedule, with worship at 8:30 and 11:00. Weather permitting, we will meet outside. We suspect that some Sundays, the first service will be inside, and the 2nd out…
When we gather in the sanctuary, masks will be expected, and we will have minimal signing, with services lasting around 40 minutes. While it is admittedly inconclusive, anecdotal evidence suggests that masks can help reduce the spread of Covid-19, and this seems to fit under the rubric “best practices.” As people have been saying for a while now, things have to be “fluid.” I am grateful to our Council and to our Worship and Music Committee for all they have done to help us make wise decisions these past several months.
August 19
Then Jesus answered her,
“Woman, great is your faith!
Let it be done for you as you wish.”
Matthew 15
Today,"What I Could Have Said…" about the story of the Jesus and the Canaanite woman.
Reflecting on the story of the Canaanite woman, Pastor Mary Hinkle Shore, (professor at Luther Seminary when this was written) said: “I have thought that fear makes it impossible to imagine things. 'Perfect fear casts out all imagination,' I have thought….” She went on to say, that this mother’s fear for her daughter moved her to imagine that Jesus could reach across boundaries, and make her daughter well.
Fear can paralyze, it can drive people into tribalism and oppositional camps. It seems that faith helped transform the Canaanite woman’s fear so that she could see new possibilities, and in her conversation with Jesus, from deep fear, she called forth hope.
May we, too, be ever faithful and ever filled with hope.
If you would like to join us in our conversation based around the book “I’m Still Here” by Austin Channing Brown we will be gathering to converse about the first 2 chapters of the book, 7:00 p.m., Thursday August 27th. Simply email me and I will send you a link to our Zoom class.
August 18
Then Jesus answered her,
“Woman, great is your faith!
Let it be done for you as you wish.”
Matthew 15
Today,"What I Could Have Said…" about the story of the Jesus and the Canaanite woman.
Rev. Todd Weir is a UCC Pastor and blogger serves a church in Northampton, Massachusetts. Years ago, I set aside this concluding line from a reflection he wrote on the Canaanite woman. I like the reminder that scarcity is not a category that fits when it comes to Jesus and his gracious dealings with others.
“This bread of life is not a scarce commodity
to be jealously guarded or eaten only in times of crisis.
God's banquet table is abundant,
there is enough for you and more than enough left over to invite others.
Come to the table now, receive this bread and be reconnected with God,
receive this cup and be reconciled and whole with one another.”
Todd Weir
https://withallmysoul.com/2018/09/03/the-syro-phonecian-woman/August 17
Then Jesus answered her,
“Woman, great is your faith!
Let it be done for you as you wish.”
Matthew 15
Today, "What I Could Have Said…" about the story of the Jesus and the Canaanite woman.
Have you noticed that when Jesus encounters faith he praises it highly? “Great is your faith!” he says to the woman.
I wonder. Might Jesus make a similar exclamation in response to your faith?
Often, when Jesus criticizes those of “little faith” - it is those whom we expect to receive praise, like the Disciples. When those on the margins, like the Canaanite woman, show faith, Jesus praises them.
I think Jesu has two words (at least!) regarding our faith…
When we see ourselves as insiders, it might be good to hear Jesus’ words of challenge. Like his reply to the Disciples when he calmed the sea; “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?”
Alternatively, when we are feeling on the margins, Jesus’ praise of the Canaanite woman might ring out a word of affirmation and encouragement. “Great is your faith!”
Faith in God is a simple thing, it is true, yet it is also a praise-worthy gift that you bear.
Great is your faith! May you bear God’s great love faithfully and well wherever you go!
August 15
So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus.
Matthew 14
More of - "What I Could Have Said…" about the story of the Jesus walking on the water from the Gospel of Matthew.
I wonder what would happen if we spent a good long while asking “in what ways is Jesus inviting us out onto the water?”
Where might Jesus be inviting you, as an individual… ??
Where might Jesus be inviting you - Trinity Lutheran Church… ??Where is Jesus inviting you to step out, take a chance, trust God, and do wonderful things?
The answer might surprise us all, and it might bear great blessings for the world around us.
Prayer: O God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
prayer from ELW page 304August 14
So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus.
Matthew 14
More of - "What I Could Have Said…" about the story of the Jesus walking on the water from the Gospel of Matthew.
Oops. I didn’t send my Trinity Connection!
You see, I am distracted right now. (More distracted than usual.) David is getting ready to leave for college, and I quick ran home to be with him as he got some things going, and then, one thing led to another. . .
A life transition like going off to college is sort of a big deal, and we are enjoying this time with him. However, I don’t think this is a “get out of the boat and walk on the water with Jesus” sort of thing. It’s more a simple (and marvelous) life milestone.
As our kids go off to school, as they take their next steps, we pray that they do so, mindful of God’s love, and filled with a sense of God’s presence. We pray they will see that God has called them to bear God’s love to whatever place life takes them.
THAT, is the step out of the boat, into the waves with Jesus. The bearing of love, the sharing of hope, the caring for all.
And so I pray that David, AND YOU, will step out - wherever you are, and boldly bear God’s love into this world that desperately needs you to serve God in that way!
August 13
But when the disciples saw [Jesus] walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear.
But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid."
Matthew 14
More of - "What I Could Have Said…" about the story of the Jesus walking on the water from the Gospel of Matthew.
The disciples receive the comforting promise from Jesus, “Take heart, it is I…” It is after the word of comfort and promise, that Jesus invites Peter out of the boat. The promise of comfort that we are given in the Gospel, is not so that we can sit back and stay safe. It is a gift given, so that we can step forward in faith, to bear God’s redeeming love into the world.
These past months have been a time of peril, a time of much to raise our concerns. Among the issues at hand is our nation’s reckoning with racism. I have said often that I think that as Christians, we should be able to address this well. We can confess our own sin, our own failure, our own need to grow and heal, because we know the promise of forgiveness as well.
This evening I am inviting you to consider joining me for a racism conversation centered around the book, “I’m Still Here” by Austin Channing Brown.
Simply email me if you would care to join the Zoom conversation at 7:00 tonight.
Here is a quote and a prayer we used in LOGOS a few years ago in a session we had addressing this important part of our lives.
Blessings to you. - Phil
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
God of Unity, awaken your Spirit within your people
that we may work to magnify your name and live as doers of your word.
God of Healing and Salvation,
provide within each of us a place for your love and mercy to live and grow.
In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
August 12
Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water."
He said, “Come.”
So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus.
Matthew 14
More of - "What I Could Have Said…" about the story of the Jesus walking on the water from the Gospel of Matthew.
“Suffering and love are intertwined. That is the Christian path. And I think the best of Christianity.” These words struck me this morning, as I listened to a podcast conversation with Ilia Delio, a Franciscan nun and Catholic theologian. She is a very interesting scholar and eloquent speaker.
I couldn’t help but think of the story of Jesus (and Peter) walking on the water. The invitation to join him walking on the water, might well be seen as similar to Jesus’ invitation to you to enter into our world, with its challenges and hurts and brokenness and pain.
What a suggestion, that the best of Christianity is known in the connection of suffering and love. To be baptized into Christ is to be united with Jesus in his death and resurrection. United to his pain, we are also united to Jesus victory over death. Connected to our crucified Lord, we are called to care for this hurting world. The chaos and waves threaten, the world is a place of deep need. You are called out of the safety of the boat, into the presence of Jesus who calls you out, and will bear you up along the way.
August 10
Peter answered him,
"Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water."
He said, "Come."
Matthew 14
More of - "What I Could Have Said…" Today about the story of the Jesus walking on the water from the Gospel of Matthew.
I think as a child the most amazing part of this story was Peter actually joining Jesus in walking on the water.
Now, I wonder if the most amazing thing is that Jesus invites Peter out of the boat.
In fact, I’m pretty sure that is the most amazing.
Yes, Peter is scared by the waves and begins to sink, but it was pretty frightening in the boat a few moment earlier. Now, in the midst of his fear, he calls out to Jesus: “Lord, save me” and knows the gift of being caught up in Jesus’ arms…
We can see in Peter being called to walk with Jesus, a sign that you and I are called to live in faith. We are called to live with courage inspired by being with Jesus we can risk giving ourselves in love for this world Jesus so loves.
August 8
And all ate and were filled; and they took up
what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full.
Matthew 14
In our Confirmation service, in the Affirmation of Baptism, after proclaiming the creed, we ask our young men and women quite a question.
“You have made public profession of your faith. Do you intend to continue in the covenant God made with you in holy baptism: to live among God’s faithful people, to hear the word of God and share in the Lord’s supper, to proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed, to serve all people, following the example of Jesus, and to strive for justice and peace in all the earth?”
The confirmand responds: “I do, and I ask God to help and guide me.”
That is an astounding ask, and quite a response; “to strive for justice and peace in all the earth?” - “I do, and I ask God to help and guide me.”
The Feeding of the 5,000 is is the only miracle that is included in all four Gospels. It is, in many ways; THE story for the Church.
Do you intend to strive for peace for all the earth? To serve all people. To seek justice for all? To see yourself, not as simply a cog in the machine, but as a citizen of the world, called to care for each and every one of your neighbors?
Knowing that you belong to the one who fed 5,000 with five loaves and two fish, that makes a certain kind of sense, doesn’t it?
August 7
Jesus said to them, "They need not go away;
you give them something to eat."
Matthew 14
Dr. Thomas Long is a well known preacher whom I have been able to hear a few times. He can be funny and insightful, and he often has an interesting way of looking at a biblical text. In a commentary on the Feeding of the 5,000 he says:
With desperate and hungry people camped all over the church lawn, Jesus turns, then and now, to his followers and speaks what is either a cruel joke or lavish divine humor: "They need not go away; you give them something to eat" (v. 16). The disciples, fully aware that their own resources are not up to the magnitude of the need (v. 17) nonetheless trust that the jest is a divine one and obey Jesus.
Thomas G. Long, Matthew: Westminster Bible Companion Series (Louisville, KY, 1997) p. 165I think, in part, Dr. Long is inviting us to consider that the Feeding of the 5,000 might be more than a miracle in the past. It is a way to view the world. A way to see our walk in God’s love, and our calling to serve. Jesus meant it when he asked the disciples to feed the people. Jesus also knew that he was asking them to feed the people from the abundance God would supply.
One might add, that today as well, this is no cruel joke, but a divine invitation to join in the joy of bearing God’s abundance to this world in need.
August 6
And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces,
twelve baskets full.
And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Matthew 14
More of "What I Could Have Said…" about the story of the Feeding of the 5,000 from the Gospel of Matthew.
“We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.”
That is the answer the disciples give Jesus when he asks them; “you give them something to eat.”
We have nothing.
The miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 shows us that, often, God does not respect our analysis of things.
“We have nothing here.”
Jesus replies; “Bring that nothing to me” and he blesses and breaks it, he gives it to the disciples, and all ate and were filled.
This is a story of what God does to the lines we draw, the judgments we make, the limitations we put on love. When we conclude that there is no hope, that is our mis-judgment.
“We have nothing here.” Apparently, that means we have everything God wants us to have, to work God’s purposes in the world.
August 5
Taking the five loaves and the two fish,
[Jesus] looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.
Matthew 14
More of "What I Could Have Said…" about the story of the Feeding of the 5,000 from the Gospel of Matthew.
If we hear this great story as encouragement to share, our focus might well be misplaced. We are then considering what we can all accomplish if we just tap in to our better angels, or something like that.
Jesus “blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples.”
This is a story, not of how marvelous you and I can be. This is the story of what God can accomplish through you - that is, through you as one of Jesus’ disciples.
As we look at the many issues facing our country today, we know that we must do the hard work of striving for justice and economic opportunity. We must face the realities of our own failures, repent of our own part in injustice, forgive (by God’s help) and seek to build a better world. We must do what we are able to do. At the same time, we pray for the God who has created all things, to work God’s miraculous power of healing and hope, reconciliation and love, to lead us to a community of love that is only possible by the power of God.
August 4
Hey Friends! My computer is not cooperating with me right now, and so I missed providing a devotion yesterday. I am hoping to get Trinity Connections for Tuesday August 4th sent before the stroke of midnight…
There is a comedian who likes to use stories from his own life as the foundation of his performances. He had an entire show based on how he often says just the wrong thing. He titled it “What I Should Have Said.” That came from a situation where, looking back on it, what he should have said was… nothing. What he did say only made matters worse.
I was thinking that this week I might share a few things that I - maybe not SHOULD have said - but things I COULD have said in my sermon on Sunday. In a way, there is no connection to the comedian. There is no hilarity, nor big mistakes here, just the thought that one could say things differently, or add some insights that were not included…
So, here goes.
On Sunday we heard the story of the Feeding of the 5,000 from the Gospel of Matthew. As I stated in my sermon, this is the only miracle of Jesus that is recorded in all four Gospels.
The feeding of the 5,000 is important to the story of Jesus- to the story of the Church - to the story of you and me as God’s people in Christ. I said that on Sunday.
I could also have spoken more about the “miracle” aspect of this miracle. For many years, we who are thoroughly “modern” have had a problem with miracles. Many people find talk of miracles to be, if not crazy; at best, wishful thinking. Even the Gospel writers did not strive to portray Jesus as a “miracle worker” - rather, they pointed to him as one who bore authority and power from God.
Some have suggested that what really happened on that day Jesus fed the 5,000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish, was that Jesus inspired the people to share. One way to see that, is that it would be a miracle of God to get us to share. Another way to see that, is that sure sounds astonishingly boring.
Jesus was not crucified because, like a kindergarten teacher he encouraged us to share. He was not seen to be God’s Messiah because he suggested that the people of Israel open co-ops.
In the miracle of the Feeding of the 5,000, Jesus showed the Disciples and all gathered there, that God wanted abundance and life for the whole people of Israel, and all the world. The miracle of God working healing and life in and through you, shows that God continues to work God’s amazing gifts in the world.
August 1
This week, we had Vacation Bible School online: Compassion Camp
It will continue to be available for the entire summer.
As we look ahead to the school year, let us pray for those making important decisions, and let us trust that come what may, we will be able to make the necessary accommodations to keep people safe, and to educate our children.
Perhaps this prayer from our hymnal fits best…
Lord God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen