 |
| He took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people |
The Law –Then and Now
Seventh Sunday after Trinity
Saint Andrew’s
Anglican Orthodox Church
3 August 2014, Anno Domini
The
Seventh Sunday after Trinity.
The
Collect.
|
L
|
ORD of all power and might, who art the author and giver of all good things;
Graft in our hearts the love of thy Name, increase in us true religion, nourish
us with all goodness, and of thy great mercy keep us in the same; through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Collect for today
rightly acknowledges that the Lord is the “Author and Giver of all good things”
– including LOVE. The prayer appeals for a grafting into our hearts a love for
of “Thy Name” as well as a natural practice of “true religion” – not that false
and apostate religion that passes for Christianity in most mainline churches.
The term ‘Graft’ is used because love of God and true religion do not naturally
exist in our hearts, but must be imparted by Grace, through faith, by Him who is
an Author of Love and the Finisher of our faith. Whatever good is imparted to
our hearts must be constantly nourished by His Word and Love.
The Gospel
for Holy Communion for this Sunday:
|
I
|
N those days the multitude being very great, and
having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples unto him, and saith unto
them, I have compassion on the multitude, because they
have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat: and if I send them
away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of
them came from far. And his disciples answered him, From whence can a
man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness? And he asked them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven. And he
commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves,
and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and
they did set them before the people. And they had a few small fishes: and he
blessed, and commanded to set them also before them. So they did eat, and were
filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets. And
they that had eaten were about four thousand: and he sent them away. (Mark 8:1-9)
The text from mark today follows in every important detail the same event
described in the Gospel of St. Matthew, Chap 15, verses 29-39. Each Gospel
sheds a variant of beauty to the occasion. The setting is both serene and
majestic – a mountain overlooking the pristine waters of Galilee. The crowds
have flocked to hear Jesus, far more hungry for the Word of God than for the
physical bread required to nourish their own bodies. The miracle of Jesus in
feeding so many souls from meager crumbs is preview for that Last supper which
He served the night of His betrayal. It is to be observed that these thousands
of soul-hungry souls represent our own souls if we have thirsted for that
matchless grace and love of Christ. This is the second such miraculous feeding
of the multitudes. In this act are represented two perspectives: 1) that of the
crowd (you and me); and 2) the perspective of our Lord in dealing with the
multitudes.
Though I have preached from this text many times, the Word of God lends itself
to variant colors of brilliant light when held up to the sun, as a diamond with
many facets, and turned about to view those complementary colors of stark gold,
blue, green, and blue – each represented a single component of that white light
of the Sun of Righteousness.
Let us
first observe the nature of the MULTITUDES that followed Christ:
1. The hunger was great in those days to hear the Word: “In those
days the multitude being very great.” Why is it not so in our own day?
Those attending churches that adhere to the Word of God have dwindled
significantly due to the self-righteous nature of modern man. They come in
dozens to worship in true reverence today rather than by the thousands in those
days in which travel was difficult.
2.
These thousands did not come to
satisfy the physical, but spiritual, senses: “they
have now been with me three days.” It is a great accomplishment
in our day to hear a minister preach longer than 20 or 25 minutes, but an even
greater accomplishment to witness worshippers willing to sit through a sermon
that is as long as the Holy Ghost would have it to be. These multitudes came to
hear the Word until it was finished being spoken. They did not mind their
physical needs during the preaching of the Word.
3.
Their sustenance was not
physical, but spiritual: “have nothing to eat.”
There is no record of any glances often at their watches, or running to and fro
for water or other nourishment. They were fixed on the Lord, and nothing else
mattered in their hearts.
4.
Though they were actually
famished for bread, they had not murmured or complained of it: “. . if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they
will faint by the way.” The soul is always satisfied when coming
into the Presence of the Lord, but faints in His absence. In our partaking of
the Supper of the Lord, do our hearts not burn in our breast when the meaning
of the elements of Bread and Wine are contemplated?
5.
Many of the multitudes did not
take a casual stroll to hear Jesus. Most had traveled from far villages and
lands to hear the Words of Jesus. How far, friend, did you travel to hear this
Word, and how far are you willing to travel if necessary? “. . for divers of them came from far.” How far will we go in questioning the power
of God? “From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the
wilderness?” A mere man cannot satisfy, but a man who is the Son
of God can, indeed, feed all who are hungry.
6.
The multitudes came not only to
hear the Word, but to obey it as well: “. . he commanded the people to
sit down on the ground.” They obeyed not even knowing what to expect
later. Is our own obedience so prompt and unquestioning? After standing to hear
the Gospel for three days, why would they now sit upon the ground? They didn’t
know the reason, but they obeyed any way.
7.
The multitudes were filled both
spiritually and, now, physically, at the hearing of the Word. “So they
did eat, and were filled.” We are always filled when it is the Lord
that feeds us: “I am the bread of life: he
that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never
thirst.” (John 6:35) I will add
that the Bread which came down from Heaven is also the Word (from beginning to
end). (John
1:1) Do we hunger and thirst for
that Bread (Word) daily, or do we presume ourselves well-fed upon the bread of
our own unworthiness?
,
Today we live in abject luxury and opulence compared to the people of
Jesus’ day, yet we have no time to drive a few minutes to Church on the Lord’s
Day, or to take 15 minutes only from our leisure to read into the depths of the
Sea of God’s Word. Shameful! We need not traverse desert and mountain to hear
Christ – His Word is conveniently at our finger tips. We cannot even sit
patiently in worship until the Holy Spirit has spoken His Word to us. We are a
people in a hurry to go nowhere. We dare not deprive our souls of any desire
compared to our duties to God. We ask for short, simple sermons, fast food
style worship services, and a prompt release to go about our worldly pursuits.
We are not like those people who hungered for the Word of god, traveled great
distances by foot to hear it, lingered for three days without food, and left
filled with both the Bread of Heaven and the bread of sustenance. Those who
came at personal effort went away filled, and so will we if we approach worship
in the right disposition of mind, body, and soul.
We will now examine the manner in which our Lord viewed the multitudes:
1. Jesus recognized the need of the multitudes. He not only resolves to
satisfy their needs, but also allows his disciples (you and I) to assist in
satisfying His works of Mercy and compassion: “In those days the
multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his
disciples unto him.” Jesus takes note of our personal needs, and points
out to us the needs of others.
2.
Jesus has COMPASSION on those
who have grave needs. Compassion is not sympathy only, but the kind of sympathy
that evokes ACTION to satisfy. Compassion means to feel the pain of the
sufferer as that one one’s own pain, and to take action to remedy the need or
pain. Jesus ALWAYS had compassion on the sick, the crippled, the blind and
deaf. And He demonstrated His greatest compassion for the sinner in His last
act of mercy at Calvary in dying in our stead. “. . . because they have now been with me three days, and have
nothing to eat: And if I send them away
fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them
came from far.”
3.
Jesus asks us to serve Him with
whatever resources we have, and those resources will always be enough. “And
he asked them, How many loaves have ye?”
Truly, there were scarce resources, in the eyes of man, to suffice; but God
needs only our small resources combined with a mighty faith in Him. “…And
they said, Seven.”
4.
“6 And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he
took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to
set before them; and they did set them before the people.” Jesus asks us to rest in Him when He works because it is only by His
works, and not our own, that we are benefitted. Moreover, though He was God in
the flesh, He still gave thanks to His Father for every blessing. He also
allows His people to participate in serving others the Bread of Heaven and of
life. He allows His ministers to serve as servants to the people. Jesus not
only used the small supply of bread, but added variety to the feast by multiply
the few small fish that were there. “7 And
they had a few small fishes: and he blessed, and commanded to set them also
before them.”
5.
Jesus ALWAYS provides a full
meal. “8 So they did eat, and were filled:” All of the thousands present were filled
and satisfied. Numbers matter not to the Lord, it is abiding faith that He
expects of us.
6.
Jesus does not desire that we
waste aught of any blessings He showers upon us. “and they took up of the
broken meat that was left seven baskets.” They did not leave the scraps
in the field, but took up all that remained and, interestingly, that which
remained was many times the amount with which they began. God takes the meager
mites of the widow woman and multiplies those thousands and millions of times.
7.
It would be such a joy to fest
with the Lord always, but there is also a component of service that must be
satisfied by the disciple. Not only are we fed, we must seek others to be fed
as well. “9 And they that had eaten were about
four thousand: and he sent them away.” We must leave the mountain of our daily feats and go into the
valleys and meadows to spread the good news of the mercy and grace of the Lord.
Were we not
present in that mountainside multitude to be fed by the Lord? Have not the
multitudes of Christians since that time fed of the same Bread and drank of the
same Cup? Have we become more like that Bread of Heaven by consuming it through
God’s Word….so much so that we, too, have compassion on the multitudes and are
moved to take action? These are questions no other man can answer for us. It is
directed to the heart of every Christian.
