The God of Abundance

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Episcopal Church
August 3, 2014

The God of Abundance: 13 Proper A

By 8:30 on Wednesday morning, I had fielded four phone calls from people asking if our Food Pantry would be open that afternoon.  At 9 o'clock, a growing stream of volunteers began bringing case after case of food into the building and by 11 o'clock people were lined up well into the parking lot waiting for the pantry to begin serving.  Our volunteers are infinitely kind and patient, sitting with each client to get the necessary information, helping the clients pick out what they need when there are choices, and handing out the bags of groceries with a smile and a thoughtful word.  The workers are also hoping that the food will hold out until the last person is served so that no one leaves empty handed.  The vast majority of weeks, there is plenty of food and everyone is served.  But once in a great while, we run out.

So, when I hear the story of the Feeding of the 5000, my thoughts naturally turn to the Food Pantry.  We hear Jesus say "You give them something to eat" and we do.  Like the disciples, we know that the food we distribute does not belong to us. The food belongs to God and the people, and we are God's distribution mechanism.  We try to have faith that there will be enough food, even when we feel overwhelmed by the need, and generally there is enough.  Rarely is the equivalent of 12 baskets full leftover, but there is always more for the next week.  We can easily and understandably hear Jesus calling us to have a little more faith, work a little harder, and feed a few more people.

But to hear this story only as a call to have faith and feed people is to hear the story far too narrowly, both in terms of the Gospel story and in terms of our story at Christ Church.  Last February, while I was away, you began talking about ministry at Christ Church, ways to grow our ministry, and the direction you would like to see this church take in the next few years.  Conversations and surveys showed interest in new outreach ministries, more adult formation experiences, and more opportunities for fellowship.  Since May, we have had focused conversations about Adult Formation and Outreach.  As I have listened and watched this summer, I have heard a deep commitment to serving our community either by expanding and bolstering current outreach ministry, or developing new outreach initiatives.  Outreach is in our DNA here, and the desire to do more and serve better is a driving force.  But I have also heard a deep longing for more time outside Sunday morning for prayer, Bible study, conversation and reflection about our life of faith.  Turn out for some new experiences like Flash Mob Compline at City Hall plaza and a spontaneous gathering for lunch at National Trail Commons has been great.  Talk about developing Pub Theology for adults is animated, and energy around gathering for fellowship as the Body of Christ is high.  We know we are called to serve the community.  We long for a deeper understanding of how and why we do that as people of faith.

The story of the Feeding of the 5000 begins with these words "Jesus withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself."  Jesus has been hard at work teaching and healing, and he has just heard that his cousin, John the Baptist, has been beheaded by King Herod.  Only when Jesus had finished his time alone did he go ashore where the crowds were waiting for him.  The crowds had apparently gathered around Jesus so that Jesus could cure their sick, not so that Jesus would feed them. Jesus fed them because at the end of a long day, the people were hungry and there was no place to buy food.  The people were probably not without resources, just without food at hand.  The Feeding of the 5000 is less a story about curing physical hunger and more a story about Jesus taking time away, then re- engaging his work of healing and teaching through which the people encounter the God of Abundance.

This morning, we also hear about Jacob's encounter with God.  Jacob has sent his two wives, 2 maids and 11 children on ahead of him, in different directions.  What we don't hear this morning is that Jacob is waiting to encounter Esau, his brother who he cheated out of the elder brother's birth right some 20 years ago.  Last Jacob heard, 20 years ago, Esau was furious with Jacob and wanted to kill him. Jacob can only imagine that Esau's fury has multiplied with time, and Jacob is petrified.  He has sent his wives and children ahead with mixed motives: to protect them and to send Esau off Jacob's trail.  Jacob has also sent an abundance of gifts ahead for Esau, hoping to appease him and lessen his anger.  The Jacob who we find alone today is not the cocky, trickster Jacob.  This Jacob is terrified of meeting his brother, and he is alone in his terror when he wrestles with God.  As a result of that encounter with God, Jacob is changed.  Jacob limps away from his encounter with God, changed from the Jacob who would deceive his brother into the Jacob who will follow in Abraham and Isaac's footsteps.  Jacob is changed by his encounter with God, as I imagine the disciples and the crowds were changed by their encounter with God in the Feeding of the 5000.

When I sent out the Newsnote this week with the photo from our compline in front of City Hall, Bob Partlow, our former rector, emailed back to ask if a) we had really prayed compline, and b) if anyone had participated.  I emailed back and said that a)yes, we really did pray compline, and b) while all of us who attended participated, those who passed by participated primarily by staring.   Bob's response was that lives will be changed by our prayer, and my response to Bob was that the lives that will be changed may well be our own.

The gospel gives us permission to satisfy our longing for more time for prayer, Bible study, conversation and reflection even as we look at ways to better serve our community.  Jesus withdrew to a deserted place, and Jesus calls us to do the same.  Jesus then re-engaged his ministry to the crowds.  Jesus calls us to do the same.  Like Jacob, we will be transformed when we encounter the God of Abundance in worship, outreach, and reflection.  When we take the time to withdraw as Jesus did, our life together and with God will be enriched and our ministry to the world will grow deeper.

Amen.