What difference does it Make?
Our Collect today really is an attention getter, for it sort of cuts to the chase and says it all. “O God… increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal.”
I thought about the Collect for much of the week. Friday night I was home enjoying a quiet evening and was ironing my two albs. I guess I was not patient enough to let the iron fully heat up and I I ruined the back of one of my two albs. They are not cheap - so It was disheartening. I sighed. The temporals things were a little discouraging that evening.
Temporal things are those “temporary” things - the things that are not going to last too long - they shall pass. The Collect is asking God to give us mercy so that as we go through this life - as we live our days - we don’t get so caught up in these temporary things that we lose sight of the eternal things - the things that really matter.
I then went upstairs and pulled down some streamers that my daughter Abbey had put up above her brothers door (something she does every year to celebrate his birthday and is very sweet - something just between the two of them) and as I pulled them down - the tape pulled some paint off the wall - a wall that was not too long ago painted. I sighed again. I decided it may be time for me to go to bed because the temporal things were sure tugging at me…
Those were both minor things in life — disheartening a bit, but not earth shattering. I can one day buy a new alb - you can look at the back of my alb and know what happened - maybe it will remind you to not be caught up in things temporal like burning your robe - and one day I will motivate myself to paint the spot.
But it can be harder to not get caught up in temporal things when those things are so much more serious — an illness or sickness that takes your health or the health of a loved one; loss of a job and we are struggling to support family —car repairs or house repairs that are unexpected and we do not have the money to cover them — so many of these “earth” things that consume our minds, spirits and hearts.
It is easy to lose sight of things eternal. It only takes a second. A phone call. A coworker saying something crass or mean. A divisive politically conversation that really got your blood boiling.
This past Friday and Saturday Alice and Steve Gualtney cooked 50.5 pints of barbecue for outreach here through this parish. They took their day - their time and energy to smoke this pork. All the proceeds are being given to the Louisa Emergency Fund. They did not do this for their sake and they did not do it so I would stand up and here and mention it - they did it because they love God. It is their way of giving back to the community and those in need. They were able to focus on things eternal, give of themselves for others in faith that God will use it.
Have you met the guy who was so extremely leery of doing too much for others? “They" take advantage of the system. You can’t give too many handouts, “they” will just return for more. “They” won’t take responsibility for themselves and their own lives.
That may be true. There will always be those who take more than their share, who abuse systems, who only look out for themselves. We are not responsible for those others. We are responsible for ourselves. We are responsible for how we handle ourselves and what God has called us to.
It is not new, this feeling of the needs of the people being too much to handle or deal with - of feeling like what is our little bit going to do. In our Gospel passage today Philip felt the same, the crowds were following Jesus and they were hungry. It was wondered where they would get enough food to them.
Philip said, “Six months wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” There is no point. Why even try? Why try to feed the masses when what we have is so little, “There is a boy here with a couple loaves of bread but I don’t know what that is going to do?”
What is it going to do? I don’t know. What will 50 pints of barbecue do? I don’t know. The money will be given to be redistributed. But Jesus didn’t ask us to determine what it would do - how it would be distributed. We have to show up and start passing out bread. It may not solve everything. But it can solve something. For this temporary moment, for this fleeting moment in this fleeting time and space - that loaf to that boy or family who receives it- that will make a difference. And that boy or family, may get a glimpse of eternity.
A glimpse of abundance and love. A glimpse of God’s love. In order to have those glimpses of eternity, in order to see beyond this present moment, in order to lift up our eyes upon the fields as we were commanded, (John 4:35) we have to look beyond ourselves and focus on eternity.
The rest of the story of the day as recorded in John’s gospel account (John 6)…
When evening came, it was dark. and Jesus had not yet come.
The sea became rough. A strong wind was blowing. They had rowed about three or four miles.
They were tired and afraid.
There are going to be days when we are tired and afraid. When it is dark. The sea is rough and the wind is blowing. And Jesus has not yet come.
Remember in those times - on those days - that Jesus came.
“They saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat.”
“It is I; do not be afraid.”
Once we see Jesus, once we are aware that Jesus is walking toward us, once our eyes can get a glimpse - we can be assured that we will reach the land to which we are going.
“It is I; do not be afraid.”
Our portion of the book of Ephesians today is mainly a prayer.
And the prayer is,
“(that)… according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.”
I pray all those things for each of us. I pray that we will be grounded in love.
“I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, to know the love of Christ that surpasses all knowledge; so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
To know the love of Christ that surpasses all knowledge; so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Six months wages would not buy enough bread to feed them all.
But Jesus took what was available and multiplied it.
The boy offered what he had to be multiplied.
Lord help us to keep eternity in our sight, that we may be filled with all the fullness of God - that we would have faith in multiplication; and that when we are afraid, we have eyes to see you walking across the water to us.
Amen.
I thought about the Collect for much of the week. Friday night I was home enjoying a quiet evening and was ironing my two albs. I guess I was not patient enough to let the iron fully heat up and I I ruined the back of one of my two albs. They are not cheap - so It was disheartening. I sighed. The temporals things were a little discouraging that evening.
Temporal things are those “temporary” things - the things that are not going to last too long - they shall pass. The Collect is asking God to give us mercy so that as we go through this life - as we live our days - we don’t get so caught up in these temporary things that we lose sight of the eternal things - the things that really matter.
I then went upstairs and pulled down some streamers that my daughter Abbey had put up above her brothers door (something she does every year to celebrate his birthday and is very sweet - something just between the two of them) and as I pulled them down - the tape pulled some paint off the wall - a wall that was not too long ago painted. I sighed again. I decided it may be time for me to go to bed because the temporal things were sure tugging at me…
Those were both minor things in life — disheartening a bit, but not earth shattering. I can one day buy a new alb - you can look at the back of my alb and know what happened - maybe it will remind you to not be caught up in things temporal like burning your robe - and one day I will motivate myself to paint the spot.
But it can be harder to not get caught up in temporal things when those things are so much more serious — an illness or sickness that takes your health or the health of a loved one; loss of a job and we are struggling to support family —car repairs or house repairs that are unexpected and we do not have the money to cover them — so many of these “earth” things that consume our minds, spirits and hearts.
It is easy to lose sight of things eternal. It only takes a second. A phone call. A coworker saying something crass or mean. A divisive politically conversation that really got your blood boiling.
This past Friday and Saturday Alice and Steve Gualtney cooked 50.5 pints of barbecue for outreach here through this parish. They took their day - their time and energy to smoke this pork. All the proceeds are being given to the Louisa Emergency Fund. They did not do this for their sake and they did not do it so I would stand up and here and mention it - they did it because they love God. It is their way of giving back to the community and those in need. They were able to focus on things eternal, give of themselves for others in faith that God will use it.
Have you met the guy who was so extremely leery of doing too much for others? “They" take advantage of the system. You can’t give too many handouts, “they” will just return for more. “They” won’t take responsibility for themselves and their own lives.
That may be true. There will always be those who take more than their share, who abuse systems, who only look out for themselves. We are not responsible for those others. We are responsible for ourselves. We are responsible for how we handle ourselves and what God has called us to.
It is not new, this feeling of the needs of the people being too much to handle or deal with - of feeling like what is our little bit going to do. In our Gospel passage today Philip felt the same, the crowds were following Jesus and they were hungry. It was wondered where they would get enough food to them.
Philip said, “Six months wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” There is no point. Why even try? Why try to feed the masses when what we have is so little, “There is a boy here with a couple loaves of bread but I don’t know what that is going to do?”
What is it going to do? I don’t know. What will 50 pints of barbecue do? I don’t know. The money will be given to be redistributed. But Jesus didn’t ask us to determine what it would do - how it would be distributed. We have to show up and start passing out bread. It may not solve everything. But it can solve something. For this temporary moment, for this fleeting moment in this fleeting time and space - that loaf to that boy or family who receives it- that will make a difference. And that boy or family, may get a glimpse of eternity.
A glimpse of abundance and love. A glimpse of God’s love. In order to have those glimpses of eternity, in order to see beyond this present moment, in order to lift up our eyes upon the fields as we were commanded, (John 4:35) we have to look beyond ourselves and focus on eternity.
The rest of the story of the day as recorded in John’s gospel account (John 6)…
When evening came, it was dark. and Jesus had not yet come.
The sea became rough. A strong wind was blowing. They had rowed about three or four miles.
They were tired and afraid.
There are going to be days when we are tired and afraid. When it is dark. The sea is rough and the wind is blowing. And Jesus has not yet come.
Remember in those times - on those days - that Jesus came.
“They saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat.”
“It is I; do not be afraid.”
Once we see Jesus, once we are aware that Jesus is walking toward us, once our eyes can get a glimpse - we can be assured that we will reach the land to which we are going.
“It is I; do not be afraid.”
Our portion of the book of Ephesians today is mainly a prayer.
And the prayer is,
“(that)… according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.”
I pray all those things for each of us. I pray that we will be grounded in love.
“I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, to know the love of Christ that surpasses all knowledge; so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
To know the love of Christ that surpasses all knowledge; so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Six months wages would not buy enough bread to feed them all.
But Jesus took what was available and multiplied it.
The boy offered what he had to be multiplied.
Lord help us to keep eternity in our sight, that we may be filled with all the fullness of God - that we would have faith in multiplication; and that when we are afraid, we have eyes to see you walking across the water to us.
Amen.