The
Sunday next before Advent
The Collect.
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S
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TIR up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the
wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit
of good works, may by thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.
5 When
Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith
unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these
may eat? 6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what
he would do. 7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not
sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. 8 One of
his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, 9 There is a
lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are
they among so many? 10 And Jesus said, Make
the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat
down, in number about five thousand. 11 And Jesus took the loaves; and
when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to
them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. 12 When
they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather
up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. 13 Therefore
they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of
the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.
14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said,
This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.
(John 6:4-14)
What a wonderful Season of the Church Year is Advent. All good things in the
lives of men – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the Apostles, and us – begins with the
Coming of Christ, both spiritually and physically, to us. Having longed to see
the fulfillment of God's promises in the Seed of Promise, Abraham hoped in the
Gospel of Christ and was blessed to see His Coming. Christ comes to us that we may
be enabled to come to Him. We see this truth enacted in today's Gospel sermon
text. Those who hunger for Christ will find Him if even on the mountain heights
of the Galilean coasts. Those who hunger for Christ will 1) discover (through
the Word and Spirit) where He may be found; 2) they will leave the place where
that are presently (sin and error) and GO to Him; 3) they will not give thought
of what the morrow may bring, but trust in Him to provide their every need;
and, 4) they shall be fed with the Bread of Heaven.
When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company
come unto him This is most prophetic of that company of souls that
will come, over the expanse of centuries and millennia, to Him in faith and
trust. They shall come seeking that Bread of Life which will satisfy
eternally and not temporarily. They shall, on the day of God's own choosing –
and not that of greedy spiritual speculators – come to meet Him in the air, and
not a mountain, on His glorious Second Coming. For the Lord himself
shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and
with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we
which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds,
to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1
Thess 4:16-17)
Christ often challenges the faith of His chosen vessels just as He tests that
of Philip. Knowing the mind of Philip in His spiritual growth, Jesus asks: Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? A lesser prophet than Christ once asked the
same question of God in the Wilderness: Whence should I have flesh to
give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that
we may eat. (Num 11:13) It is certain that Christ wants us to know that
a greater prophet than Moses stands before us. Without the presence and power of Christ, the world is in constant worry
about this matter sustenance. Shall we have bread to eat and raiment to wear?
Of course, the world takes the matter a step further: How can we enjoy the most
opulent of cuisine and the most fashionable and elegant raiment – delicacies
and raiment that will set us apart from the common people and that will exalt
us in our pride? The starving child on the backstreets of Calcutta does not
wish for delicacies, but only a morsel of bread to appease his gnawing hunger.
It is so because the starving child knows not of delicacies or of elegant
silken robes, but only his desperate NEED. So the sinner (rich or poor), when
he comes face-to-face with his depravity, can recognize no righteousness at all
in his feeble works, but starves for the Redemption made available in Christ.
Rather than the bread of wheat, he starves for the Bread of Heaven. This Bread
cannot be bought with money, so Christ gives Philip a thought to nourish his
soul.
Philip's mind has not progressed to that perfection of understanding, as yet,
that might be expected from so close a disciple! Clearly, under the terms of
the world, a small fortune would be required to buy sufficient bread to feed so
many. There were many more than five thousand present for there were five
thousand men alone, plus women and children. Has Philip forgotten that He who
provides food and lodging for the sparrows of the field is in his presence? Philip
answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that
every one of them may take a little. Two hundred pennyworth of
bread would cost two hundred days of wages - And
when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his
vineyard (Matt 20:2) And even at such an expense, there would
certainly be no leftovers for each would only "take a little."
All of our labors and wages from our birth until now will not purchase a single
morsel of that Bread from Heaven. The combined wealth of the world would not do
so. It is a gift of pure Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
There was one disciple among the lot who accepted that there was a mystery in
the Person of Christ that enabled Him to provide plenty from little of nothing.
He knew not the manner in which might do it, but he nonetheless believed that
the mystery would be realized even in a meager amount. God takes our talents
and multiplies them when we are willing to share them. One of his
disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here,
which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so
many? What are five barley loaves among a multitude so great, yet,
Andrew suspected that Christ would use even a small amount to supply a great
need – and He did! Now, we must recognize the innocence of youth in this
circumstance. The little lad had labored to bring his two fishes and five
loaves over a great distance and even up the slopes of the mountain. Were he a
mature man of wisdom, he probably would have refused to share so little
claiming that it would not suffice so many hungers and, moreover, he had the
foresight to bring them for himself and it would be consumed by him. But the
little child has a heart that is closer to the Kingdom of Heaven and has not
grown calloused by the world. The child willingly shared his small treat with
the Lord. Though we have little, if we share what we have, the Lord will multiply
the gift an hundredfold, or more!
And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. The rubrics of the Prayer
Book indicate when we are to kneel, stand, or sit, and we must comply with each
and every rubric of the Prayer Book if we are able. The Lord expects all things
to be done in good order and, here, He is about to feed the multitudes with His
Bread. The Bread of the Prayer Book is the Sermon delivered from the Lectionary
appointed for the day. So the people sit to hear the Word preached. It is the
means by which faith is received and increased. So then faith cometh by
hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17) Contrary to the
Romanist approach, preaching takes precedence over every other act of worship
including Communion for, without the Word, Communion is meaningless. So Christ
asks that the men be seated to receive His blessing of Bread. When men receive
from the Lord, they do not stand in their own power as if they contribute to
His miracle. "Stop your labors, have a seat, and see the works of the
Lord!"
The Lord will always comfort our needs in green pastures - He maketh me
to lie down in green pastures (Psalms 23:2) Now there was much
grass in the place (vv 10), So the men sat down, in number
about five thousand. Obedience before the Lord comes most surely
when men realize their need. These men were hungry and were expectant that
Jesus could, indeed, feed them. They obeyed Him.
And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks
Here, Jesus gives us the perfect example to follow in returning thanks for the
blessings of Heaven. He never failed to thank His Father in Heaven for every
blessing of food and drink. Do we do so, Friends? "….he distributed
to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of
the fishes as much as they would." Please observe a stark lesson
here for us. We do not serve ourselves at the Communion Rail, but kneel
reverently (according to the Prayer Book form of worship – and the Holy Bible)
to be served the Cup and the Bread. We do not innovate and do according to what
seems right in our own eyes, but serve according to the good order required.
The Lord allows His servants to have a hand in assisting in His important work.
They serve the bread, but the Bread is given by Christ – it is not their
own. We, as ministers, preach the Word, but the Word is His and not OURS! Note
also, that each person on the grassy slopes received as much as they wanted of
the bread and fish. The cupboard of the Lord has no bottom of blessings. There
will always be more than enough to satisfy our hunger. We must return to the
Bread Table daily for our "Daily Bread."
When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Notice that all were FILLED! You
never come to the Lord hungry and go away hungry. He fills you with the
desperate need of your heart. Another important lesson in this verse is the one
of stewardship. We are to be good a faithful stewards in the economy of
resources with which God has blessed us. We are to use His blessings of talents
we receive in satisfying the hunger of those God has placed in our hands
(parents included) but we are to waste nothing! When we travel
field and forest to gather souls for Christ, our efforts do not end at the
early confession of faith – we must continue to teach and nourish the soul in
the Word so that the convert will grow strong spiritual bones and muscles. We
must not lose a single flower from the bouquet….that
nothing be lost!
Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve
baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and
above unto them that had eaten. Let us count the balance sheet of
the Lord here: there were a mere five loaves at the start. Now the remnants
taken up fill TWELVE BASKETS! Do you believe this is too amazing?
Do you believe that the Creation of the stars in the expanse of space too
amazing, or the earth with all of its wondrous beauty too amazing, or billions
of people – all with different faces and features – amazing? What is so amazing
that the Word which created all that has been created could multiply a few
morsels of bread into such an immense supply? He is able to likewise multiply
the smallest mite of the widow's heart when given out of her need to Christ! He
is able to multiply that love scattered abroad from that heart brimming over
with the love of God so that the residue is always of plenty.
What is the result of receiving the blessed Bread of Heaven? How should our
hearts respond to so mighty a miracle as salvation, forgiveness, grace, and
faith? Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did,
said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.
Faith is confirmed from pillar to post when we have tasted the Bread of Heaven.
The multitude recognized that Christ was a prophet of even greater miraculous
power and virtue than Moses – their greatest prophet beforehand. The LORD
thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy
brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken (Deut 18:15) Christ
is, indeed, that Prophet! In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing
made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men……
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his
glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and
truth (John 1:1-4,14) Friend, believest
thou this?
AMEN
