July 29, 2012 - Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
It doesn’t take a miracle
A sermon by the Reverend Robert Bruce Edson in Emmanuel Episcopal Church, West Roxbury, Massachusetts, on July 29,
2012, the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost.
Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine
Ephesians 3:20 By this time Jesus’ popularity has grown to such proportions that people followed him everywhere. When a particularly large
crowd arrives to hear him speak, Jesus tells the disciples to find something for them to eat. The disciples are in a quandary
because they don’t have enough to feed so many people. Jesus uses this opportunity to test their faith.
He takes charge by having the people sit down. While the disciples are focused on calculating the impossibility of having enough money to buy food, Jesus focuses on doing what is possible. When by chance a boy appears with two
small fish and five loaves of bread they realize that this is hardly enough to feed that many people. Jesus takes the loaves and
the fish, says a prayer of blessing, and orders it to be distributed it to the people. All are well fed and with enough left over to
fill twelve baskets. This feeding of the multitude recalls the Passover meal and anticipates the sharing of bread in the Eucharist.
This miracle of feeding so many with so little is a sign of God’s abundance with the assurance that God provides us with all we
need. God has a way of providing for us in times of scarcity that defies what we think is impossible.
Those of us who didn’t live through the Great Depression will never really understand what it was like. People
made do with what they had and were always willing to share with those who had nothing. If anything good came out of that
experience of deprivation was that it produced a resilient generation that learned to be resourceful.
In January 1941, President Roosevelt delivered his famous “four freedoms” speech in which he envisioned a
world founded upon freedom of speech, freedom to worship God, freedom from fear and freedom from want. It is that last point,
freedom from want, that is the goal of those who seek the equitable distribution of food that none go without proper nutrition.
I am always fascinated with attempts to explain miracles. Miracles defy the laws of nature and all efforts to explain them. If they
can be explained, they aren’t miracles. When confronted with a problem, the first step in solving it is to have the right attitude.
If we begin with thinking that something can’t be done, it most likely won’t, but if we have the attitude that something can be
done, it most likely will. Most miracles begin with what seems to be an insurmountable problem and when it is resolved, it
seems miraculous because the skeptics said it couldn’t be done.
When it comes to approaching old problems with new ideas, I am a strong advocate of first considering why a new idea or new
approach can work before insisting why it won’t. When the positive approach is put to work, there is no telling the possibilities
for success. Faith is simply accomplishing what is possible in the face of what at first is thought to be impossible. As we turn the pages of magazines to see the faces of hungry and starving children in world, we wonder why God’s
abundance doesn’t reach them. It is not so much a question of lack of food, but of its distribution to those who need it most.
Oppressive governments use food to exploit the hungry. When food is left rotting in warehouses while people go hungry, it is a
crime against humanity. Our responsibility as Christians is to see that the food supply is distributed equitably and that none
should go without proper nutrition to have a chance to live. We are part of feeding the hungry when we bring non-perishables
here each week to be taken to food pantries. It has been shown over and over again that when Christians work together, we
make a difference because if we are not part of the solution, we are part of the problem.
In the town of Hull near where I live, the food pantry at Wellspring Multi-Service Center provides nutritious
food items for 250 clients every week. The food supply comes from the Boston Food Bank and other sources and is distributed
where it is most needed. There is always enough.
At Saint John’s Episcopal Church on Bowdoin Street in Boston, the homeless are served a nourishing meal
nearly every day as the focus of their mission. Volunteers from area churches, schools and fraternities prepare and serve the
meal to the homeless. When the doors open, all manner of humanity are welcomed where they find a hot meal, clothing and
fellowship. It was Mahatma Gandhi who once said that some people are so hungry they can only see the face of God in a loaf
of bread. That is because feeding empty stomachs goes hand in hand with feeding starving souls. Just as Jesus took what was
available and had enough to feed the large crowd, it is equally true that those who hold the basket also hold the power to share
the contents with others.
Miracles happen when people care. When people work together with what they have, problems become opportunities. It all begins with being resourceful and imaginative. If we learn to see problems as opportunities, there is no end to
the possibilities.
Following the devastating destruction of Hurricane Katrina that hit the Gulf coast in August 2005, several of the parishes in our
diocese went there to help with the relief work. We went to Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi to help rebuild homes near the shore
that had been devastated. Our first impression when we arrived was block after block of cement slabs that had once been foundations of homes that had been completely washed away. It was impressive to see how the churches worked in coordination
with other agencies to provide food, shelter and clothing to those who had lost everything. One homeowner was so appreciative
of our helping to rebuild his home that he provided us with lunch. He had little to offer, but he wanted to express his appreciation for our efforts.
Offering hospitality to friend and stranger is what the Christian faith is all about. When there is loss and suffering, whatever we
determine to be of practical help begins right here at God’s altar. Here is where we are reminded of the power and resources we
have to provide for those who have little or nothing. And when it seems impossible to explain, it’s called a miracle.