Sermon July 26, 2015, Proper 12

Christ Church, Eureka

Starting today and for four more weeks, those who designed the
lectionary the readings appointed for each day have decreed that we
will spend quality time in the sixth chapter of the Gospel according to St.
John. You might, in fact, find it helpful to give yourself the gift of slowly and
prayerfully reading over the entire sixth chapter a few times and paying
attention to where it calls to you, challenges you, confuses you, delights
you. You never know where open, curious engagement with the Bible will
take you. For example, what leaped out at me was leftovers.
In both the story of Jesus feeding of five thousand people with two
dried fish and five loaves of barley bread, and in the brief story we heard
from 2 Kings a few minutes ago, a small and seemingly insufficient offering
of food is shown to be not only enough, but more than enough. The story in
2 Kings about Elisha doesnt specify how much was left, but John tells us
that Jesus disciples gathered twelve baskets full of leftovers. Thats a lot of
fish sandwiches.
So what are we to make of these stories of someone giving what is
clearly not enough to solve a problem and ending up with leftovers?
Leftovers say that there is more than enough. No one has to go
hungry so that others may eat when Christs followers take that conviction
seriously. These stories of leftovers are reminders of Gods overflowing,
loving generosity. They emphasize that we have even more love to give
than we can ever imagine. And they tell us something else important. The
food does not magically appear out of thin air. Were not talking about a
conjuring trick here.
In 2 Kings, a man of whom we know nothing, except roughly the area
in which he lived, brought a gift of food to the prophet Elisha. It wasnt just
any food. It was the first fruits of that years harvest. We have lost the
meaning of first fruits, because at any time of the year, we can run over to
Safeway or Winco or Costco and buy a huge variety of food in season or
out. Food is readily available for those who can afford to buy it.
In contrast, the first fruits of the harvest were a big deal. To make an
offering of the very first part of the harvest, after a long, lean time of waiting
and doling out what was left from the previous year, was an act of faith that
there would still be enough.
Likewise, the boy who offered his lunch basket was not offering half
his sandwich. He was giving everything he had with no guarantee that he

would still have anything to eat. Needs are met through the risk-taking of
Gods people.
Our privilege as Christians is to be part of Gods overwhelming
generosity, offering more of what we have and who we are. That can be
challenging. It can be blocked by fear. We may fear that we will not have
enough for ourselves. We may fear that what we have to offer cant
possibly be enough or good enough. We may fear losing control of what
happens with what we give. These are fears we have the opportunity to
turn over to God so that we can get on with our job of living Gods love with
risky generosity.
There is a wonderful concept in Judaism known as tikkun olam. A
rough translation is repairing the world. According to that conviction, every
human being has the responsibility to repair what is broken to bring
goodness where there is evil, companionship where there is loneliness,
love where there is hatred. There is, of course, much more depth to tikkun
olam than I can explain in a few minutes, but I wonder if you are hearing
anything familiar. If youll pick up a prayer book, turn to page 833 and look
at prayer number 62, youll see what I mean.
Lord, make us instruments of your peace . . .
when confronted with hatred, help us sow the
seeds of love
when people struggle with doubt, help us
sow the seeds of faith
when we or others have suffered injury,
help us sow the seeds of forgiveness
and healing.
Tikkun olam repairing the world.
How do we live this seemingly impossible challenge? How can the
stories of leftovers help us share in tikkun olam? Some of it were already
doing and doing well. We support a number of organizations that help to
feed and clothe those in need. We have people among us whose love and
passion have been used by God in the annual Music and Arts camp for
children who would not be exposed to such creative gifts in any other way.
We bring in fresh produce, we bake for summer camp and make quilts for
the sick. Many of us quietly volunteer in one place or another without
making a fuss about it. We try to live our faith in real and practical ways and
we make a difference.
But how can we take this deeper? How many of us are willing to
make an offering of our busy-ness entrust God with the time it takes to
grow in a real relationship with God that is the true basis for anything we
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might do to heal the world? Earlier I suggested that we all take the time to
read slowly over the 6th chapter of John during these next few weeks. Are
we willing to offer that valuable commodity, time, in order to listen, reflect,
question, struggle, maybe talk with others about what gets our attention or
leaves us wondering or feels challenging? Are we willing to risk trusting that
there will be time and time left over for what we need to do if we make
regular offerings of the first fruits of our time rather than what we think we
can spare?
What about making an offering of our prejudices and dislikes? Is
there any group of people race, religion, political, social, other about
whom you find yourself making dismissive or negative comments more
often than not? What about making an offering of taking the risk to get to
know them, to learn more about them and trust that God will give you the
love you need to do this with plenty of love left over?
What about healing relationships among ourselves, among our
families? What do we need to risk offering of ourselves, our egos, our
wounded souls in order to heal divisions and grow into deeper love? If we
stick our necks out to do that, we can trust that we will be able to find in
ourselves enough compassion and forgiveness and desire to be living
examples of Christs love for others with plenty left over.
In the collect for today, we prayed to God to Increase and multiply
upon us your mercy. In the letter to the Christians in Ephesus, Paul prayed
for them and for us to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge
and reminded us that God working within us is able to accomplish
abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine. We have so much to
give and can count on the leftovers because of that incredible love. We
have the freedom to choose to give our first fruits, moment by moment
throughout the rest of our lives as part of the enormous privilege and
responsibility for tikkun olam for healing the part of the world we can
touch. Awesome!
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Amen