Happy Saturday afternoon Children of God! Here is your Sunday Message:
August 2, 2020
9th Sunday after Pentecost
Prayer of the Day
Glorious God, your generosity waters the world with goodness, and you cover creation with abundance. Awaken in us a hunger for the food that satisfies both body and spirit, and with this food fill all the starving world; through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
First Reading Isaiah 55:1-5
Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21
Second Reading Romans 9:1-5
Gospel Matthew 14:13-21
Grace to you and peace, from God our Father and the Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.
It has been hard for me to get excited about the new, shortened, stadium-empty, COVID impacted Major League Baseball season which started recently. I have decided that if I need a baseball “fix” I will watch the movie Field of Dreams. If you haven’t had the joy of seeing that 1989 film, you most certainly have heard the saying which it made popular: “If you build it, they will come.” The actual line from the movie is: “If you build it, he will come.” Either way it is a mighty fine phrase, and in the movie, both conclusions occurred.
(A word of caution: spoilers are coming if you haven’t seen the movie.) Field of Dreams is a story about a struggling farmer in Iowa who while standing in his cornfield hears a voice say “If you build it, he will come.” This becomes the impetus for Ray (played by Kevin Costner) to replace some of the cash crop with a homemade baseball diamond. True to the words of the voice, ghosts of great players from the past appear in and emerge from the cornstalks to play ball on Ray’s diamond. The “he” from the catch-phrase is none other than Ray’s father. But others (the “they” from the revised phrase) come also as the movie ends with an endless stream of cars lining up on the country road leading to Ray’s farm.
If you build it, they will come. I can imagine that being a grand thought within the heart of the Holy Trinity. The “it” in this case is Jesus. “If the word is made flesh and dwells on earth, they will come” I can picture God thinking, and so Jesus was given to the world. He came as the long-awaited Messiah (Christ, Anointed One) of Israel, “who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.” (Romans 9:5)
What was built in Jesus was a savior, friend, and brother for the human race. He “came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28) Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, God made an everlasting covenant with all people; a promise grounded in love and grace and resulting in forgiveness and eternal life. What was built in Jesus was spoken of by Isaiah as the waters, the wine, the milk, and the bread which alone can satisfy the human spirit that hungers and thirsts for God. He is freely given to all who come. (Isaiah 55:1-2)
They will come. It is written, “nations that do not know you shall run to you.” (Isaiah 55:5)All manner of people eager to experience the nearness and love of God are invited to flee to Jesus. All those in need of compassion and goodness are welcome before him. All who have fallen and are bowed down by life and desire God’s helping hand are found by him. All who are ignored in the world do not escape his watchful eye. “Ho, everyone who thirsts; come to the waters.” (Isaiah 55:1)
His company and salvation are not to be earned, but rather are received by grace alone. “[Y]ou that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come buy wine and milk without money and without price.” (Isaiah 55:1) It is in running to Jesus and arriving in the shadow of his power that we find true life. “Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live.” (Isaiah 55:3) Other destinations are waterless deserts of death that cannot possibly satisfy a heart that yearns for God. “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?” (Isaiah 55:2)
Put yourself in the field of dreams recorded in Matthew Ch. 14:13-21. Jesus is there with his disciples along with more than five thousand other people who came to him. They were drawn to the word made flesh which had been built by God. They came in pursuit of their hearts’ desire to live with hope and healing in the presence of God.
When the disciples urged Jesus to send the crowds away that they might fend for themselves, Jesus said “They need not go away.” (Matthew 14:16) These are sweet words for anyone who is in need of God. You are never sent away. There is a place for you at the side of Jesus. As it is written, “You are near to all who call upon you, to all who call upon you faithfully. You fulfill the desire of those who fear you; you hear their cry and save them.” (Psalm 145:18-19)
Instead of being sent away, the crowds were to be fed. “[Y]ou give them something to eat” Jesus directed his disciples. The task seemed insurmountable but this is what God wanted and purposed. “If you build it, they will come.” Well, the people had come and communion with God was desired. Long odds and doubting disciples would prove to be no match for the power of God. Likewise, the hungry crowd was no match for the generosity and abundance within God’s provision. “You open wide your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.” (Psalm 145:16) With God’s grace there are always leftovers.
Do you remember the early days of the pandemic when toilet paper was nowhere to be found in the stores? For some reason folks were convinced that demand would overwhelm supply and they began to hoard that important product. The shortage that ensued was the result of a self-fulfilling prophecy. If people had just maintained their normal buying habits instead of hoarding, all would have been well. I raise this sad memory only to say that when it comes to the grace of God, when it comes to love and forgiveness, there is no need to panic. There is plenty of grace to cover the sins of the world. The life of Jesus is that valuable. There is endless love to sustain God’s creation for eternity. The shelves of God’s grace will never be empty.
The pandemic has elevated the use of a heretofore seldomly used word, “transmissible.” This word has been employed in speaking about the highly contagious nature of COVID-19. The etymology of the word “transmissible” is interesting. It is from the Latin “trans” which means across and “miss” which means send. For example, the virus spreads as it is sent across a community, person to person.
The “miss” in transmissible, of course, can also be found in the word “mission” (a sending) and “missionary” (one who is sent). When Jesus told his disciples that they were to use five loaves and two fish to feed more than five thousand people he was sending them on a mission and he was counting on the transmissibility of God’s grace. The gift of God would be sent across the crowd, person to person, starting first in the hands of Jesus, then in the hands of his disciples, and then to each person in the crowd. It is strange to say but the grace of God acts like a highly transmissible virus. It is highly communicable and everyone possesses the potential to be involved in its transmission.
The grace that the world so desperately needs begins with Jesus. Before the feeding of the crowd, he took “the five loaves and the two fish, he 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 14:19) The blessing prayed by Jesus might have followed the traditional words: “Blessed are you Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who causes bread to come forth from the earth.” His hands held the gift of God and his mouth spoke words acknowledging and thanking God and power was built and the grace did come. “And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full.” (Matthew 14:20)
If you build it, they will come. We are among the throng who throughout the years have been drawn to Jesus. In this community of faith to which we belong, a fellowship that transcends place and time, we receive grace and we share it, “remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:35) God is still building and people are still coming to Jesus and God’s grace remains transmissible.
If you build it, he will come. For those who find within themselves a building desire for companionship with God, Jesus comes. The one who “is all and in all” (Colossians 3:11) never fails and will not disappoint us. The closing verses of the Bible remind us that Jesus has testified, “Surely I am coming soon.” And with the church in heaven and on earth we say, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20-21) He will most definitely come. Amen.
Praise the One Who Breaks the Darkness (Rusty Edwards)
Praise the One who breaks the darkness with a liberating light; praise the One who frees the prisoners, turning blindness into sight. Praise the One who preached the gospel healing every dread disease, calming storms and feeding thousands with the very bread of peace.
Praise the One who blessed the children with a strong yet gentle word; praise the One who drove out demons with a piercing, two-edged sword. Praise the One who brings cool water to the desert’s burning sand; from this well comes living water quenching thirst in every land.
Praise the One true love incarnate: Christ, who suffered in our place; Jesus died and rose for many that we may know God by grace. Let us sing for joy and gladness, seeing what our God has done. Praise the one redeeming glory; praise the One who makes us one.
Peace and blessings,
Pastor Bill