Pentecost 9, 2020

 This morning we’re starting with a math problem.  I’ll see if you can figure it out.  5 plus 2 divided by 15,000 equals fullness, remainder 12.  Got it?  No, it’s not new math.  It’s math plus Jesus.  There are 5 loaves plus 2 fish, divided among 5000 men times 3 to include women and children.  All the 15,000 are filled and they gather 12 baskets of leftovers.  It doesn’t make any mathematical sense.  But when you add Jesus into the mix and add community, the body of Christ, into the mix miracles abound.

In the Isaiah reading, too, we have people who are thirsty and have no money.  They are at zero or even in the negative.  Those whose balance is at zero are invited to add food without cost.  Those who do have more than zero often make a shopping list full of junk food that does not satisfy.  Rich food is not excluded, something special now and then—food is meant to be enjoyed.  There is also another way to add value more long-term, and that is by listening to God.  We need food for our bodies.  We need food for our souls.  We need to find nourishment that is satisfying—that sticks to our ribs.

In the Roman’s reading, Paul is in anguish.  There are great debates going on about whether one must be Jewish to become Christian, or whether the Gentiles are heirs of God’s promises, too.  The community of Christ is divided, willing to subtract believers and faithful followers because some give rules and traditions more power and weight and worth than Jesus love and grace and acceptance. 

You and I, too, do the math and we can see it isn’t going to work.  We’ve been asked to help distribute food if HelpLine has a Covid-19 outbreak.  If we just looked at our immediate resources, we’d say no without a 2^nd thought.  But we look at the need and the people who might go hungry if we don’t at least consider it, then it is harder to say no, even though the math falls far short.  When we start to ask some of you if you would step up for a one or two-time event on a large scale, we start to get encouraged.  When we start to ask if you have friends or neighbors who would step up for a few hours, if HelpLine has volunteers or friends, if preschool families might want to contribute or if they have friends or neighbors, we start to see how God’s math works.  When we start to include Jesus in our equations, we start to see how God might work with practically nothing to make a huge difference, and this is on top of the feeding ministry we already do here, God’s multiplication, God’s math, at work each week making something out of almost nothing.

Janet and the quilters, too, had all these fleece blankets to tie.  We’re used to gathering in a certain way, but stuffing ourselves into the Trillium Room just didn’t make sense, didn’t add up.  So she passed out blankets to different people in the congregation who took them home.  Sterling tied one side of the blankets while he waited for me one day in my office.  I tied the rest of it while I attended Zoom meetings.  Others went home for the work to be shared.  And these blankets, will go to people in the community in need, who are shivering and cold, afraid, alone.  Something as small and insignificant as a blanket will help someone know their worth, that people took time to make something new and warm to let them know their life has value and to give them hope.

Spirit of Life has known many times when God took something very small and grew it into something strong and beautiful.  Our daycare director, Dawn, gathered her faithful crew of 4 staff when Covid-19 quarantine hit.  They cleaned the church from top to bottom and changed everything around to keep the kids safe.  They’ve adjusted their rules every time the state or county adjusts theirs to be up to date and safe.  They had 50 kids before all this.  They first started back with 8-10 kids.  It has grown to over 45 kids in 140 days and Dawn is looking to hire another teacher because Little Doves is exploring how to serve elementary age children with their schooling needs.  If you know of someone with experience with kids who is trustworthy and seeking employment, I hope you will ask them to contact Dawn for an interview.  I also hope you will thank Dawn when you get the chance for all her hard work. 

 

I don’t know how many times I’ve opened my lunchbox to find only a few crumbs.  Or I’ve opened my toolbox and found just a broken crescent wrench and one of those tools that’s only good for fixing a screen door.  Maybe you, too, have found yourselves coming up short even though you’ve tried to be prepared.  Life sends us situations that we can’t be prepared for.  That’s when we get to look up at those around us.  We get to ask for help and accept it, as hard as that is.  And when we look up at community, we see that Jesus has been there all along.  Sometimes we feel so small and insignificant, like a mere 5 loaves and 2 fish that is stretched thin.  When we feel like that, we need to remember that the community of the body of Christ is part of the equation, and that Jesus is part of the equation.

We need a serving of humility—to know we can’t and shouldn’t do it all ourselves.  We need humility to remind us not to worship false gods, our own power, our own money, our own influence.  We need humility to help us accept help from others and to see their gifts.  We need humility to take our proper place in the family of God with Jesus at our head.

We need a serving of prayer—time of gratefulness to thank God for our many blessings, to take an accounting of God’s generosity.  We need prayer to admit our bank balance is getting low, there isn’t much we can do on our own.  We need prayer to put our needs and our neighbor’s needs in God’s hands.  We need prayer to listen for what God is teaching us, showing us.

We need a serving of Jesus, every day, our Bread of Life—to know how we are valued, that he came to be one of us, to give us new life.  We need Jesus because he shows us how to relate to other people, how not to let people with money and power distract us from the little ones, how to look on the fringes for those who know him best, how to wash feet and allow our feet to be washed.  We need Jesus who loves us, forgives us, and raises us to new life.

God loves taking next to nothing and making something out of it.  God took the word, and the darkness and created the heavens and the earth.  God took Abraham and his barren wife Sarah and made a great nation that numbers greater than the stars.  God took the slaves in Egypt and made a holy nation.  God took the remnant in Babylon and brought them home to love and serve their neighbors.  God took little David the shepherd boy and made him a king.  God took a baby and grew him into a savior, who, because he was small and poor and ordinary, could reach everyday people with the good news that they matter to God and they are powerful with God’s love.  God took that man and made his life an example to us all—not to ignore or discount foreigners and criminals and people with nothing at all to their name, but to remember that we are stronger together and that we all have gifts to share. 

The church, too, started with 3 women who went to the grave to anoint Jesus’ body but found he wasn’t there, and the 11 Disciples, who refused to believe them, but hid, shaking in fear in the upper room, after the crucifixion, fishermen, nobodies who were ready to throw in the towel.  But remember the community is there crying out for justice and a different way of being powerful and having gifts from God to share.  And Jesus is there.  Add him to the equation and that power spread and challenged dictators and cared for widows, and shared property and possessions and food so that none were in need.  The church grew because of word of mouth of how God had transformed nothing or nearly nothing into something, and empowered nobodies like you and me to be the body of Christ, the hands and feet showing and receiving God’s love.

                God’s love and grace has nothing to do with who is deserving.  We are all sinners, hungry on the shore, in need.  The good news this morning is that grace abounds!  There is more than plenty when Jesus is part of the math.  I hope you will count him in your equations, not just when you’re running on empty, but to follow his commands, “You give them something to eat.”  When we find that Jesus has filled us, we turn and fill others, or we share from the little we have.   May God’s grace abound to you and through you, until all are satisfied.