Ryan Underwood's Sermon Notes - Fourth Sunday in Advent - Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide - 22 March 2020, Anno Domini

Bishop Jerry asks you carefully consider this sermon from Rev Ryan Underwood of the Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide.  You should find this interesting and instructive.

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ESUS went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. 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? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. 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? 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. 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. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, 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. 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.

We live in uncertain times. Our countries are afflicted with sickness and want. Governments are ordering businesses to close, putting thousands out of work. Go to the grocery stores, and it is likely that you will not find your favorite foods and drinks. Churches of all denominations are closing everywhere. Your 401Ks are crashing. In some places, whole states and countries are placed on quarantine. In such trying circumstances, do we doubt the ability of our Lord to provide for our every need? If so, then let us be comforted and our faith strengthened by this text of Holy Scripture. 

In the Gospel for today, we see Our Lord ministering in the lands around Tiberius. It appears that there are a number of sick persons in this locality. After Our Lord crosses the sea of Tiberius, he performs miracles in this area which impress the people, and which cause them to follow Him out into a mountainous area. What are these impressive miracles? John does not say. He says only that they were done on those that were diseased, and that they resulted in masses of people following the Lord Jesus Christ. 

But in Chapter 6, Jesus tells us to search the scriptures which testify of him. What do we find in these Scriptures concerning the ministry and miracles of the Lord? We read that Our Lord is the Sun of Righteousness who comes with healing in his wings (Malachi 4:2), to heal the broken in heart, and to bind up their wounds (Psalm 147:3). Indeed, from the Scriptures we learn that Jesus, the Word made Flesh, is sent to heal and deliver His people, He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. (Psalm 107:20)

Thus, God heals and delivers through His Word. God gives us poor and miserable sinners, dead in our tresspasses and sins, the healing food of His quickening Word so that we may live in Him, For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. (John 6:33) Jesus is sent to heal, to heal men of their sins and of those illnesses and deprivations which men suffer on account of sin. He does this by bearing the punishment of our sins in His own body on the Cross, so that we might be counted righteous before God in Him and thereby gain eternal life, Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.  (1 Peter 2:24) If you are sick or are in want during this time of social turmoil, then look to Jesus, for He offers all you need. His Word, as preserved in the Holy Scriptures, is that Bread which gives health and life of body and soul to all who faithfully partake by His Holy Spirit. This heavenly Bread is not like your earthly food which so swiftly disappears from the supermarkets the minute difficulty comes. No, rather if you have His Word in your heart, then the Holy Ghost will feed you by it even when the supports of this world seem to fail. Look at the earthly bread given by Our Lord to the multitudes on the mount. It fills them all, and yet there is more to spare! If it be so with earthly bread, how much more so with the heavenly Bread, the Word of God, which comes down from heaven and gives life unto, not just a few men, but the world. How glorious is the healing power of God’s Word! You need only look at the many Christians who suffered in this life, from disease and want, in the communist concentration camps. They had nothing in terms of this world, but they had food which comforted and preserved them through it all, namely God’s Holy Word. What a glorious thing it is to know that Jesus offers true health and the food of eternal life to all who believe in His name. Even if you suffer in times of disease and famine such as today, He will give you the grace to bear your sufferings so that they do not crush you, but rather strengthen you, turning grievous illness into an opportunity to carry your crosses and follow after Our Lord in loving service to Him unto eternal life. 

At this time, there is much talk about health and wellness. We frequently wash our hands to prevent the spreading of the coronavirus, but let us also pray that God may continually wash us in the laver of His Blood and Holy Spirit, so that as our bodies are clean from the contaminations of this world, so may our souls be clean from the contamination of sin. For bodily disease only lasts for a season, and ceases forever at death. But sin will remain with you for all eternity if you are not healed and cleansed by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Pray that God may continually forgive you your sins on account of His Son’s blood. Pray that He may fill you with the spirit of thankfulness, that as He has satisfied all of your necessities, perhaps not your wants but surely your necessities, that as He has given you the promise of eternal life through faith in His Son, so too may you follow Him and convey His healing Word to all men in the spirit of true Christian charity and brotherly love.

Friends, we hear so much about social distancing today, and there is much good sense in it, but let us as a Church remember when men were sick with contagious diseases, Our Lord did not distance Himself from them, but came to them and healed them. When the Lord saw men who were sick or hungry, He cared for them and gave them bread which satisfied body and soul. We are called to do the same. Bearing in mind proper health and safety precautions, let us remember our loved ones, our neighbours, and our fellow men who are affected by the virus. Let us pray for the sick, and make sure that their physical and spiritual needs are met. Let us remember those who lost their jobs and are in need because of the virus, and see how we can help in providing food for their families and spiritual comfort for their souls. Let us remember those doctors and nurses who are busy caring for the sick, that God may bless the work of their hands in the way of healing. Let us pray for our President and Governors, that they may neither neglect their duty nor use the virus as an excuse for the extension of unlawful governmental powers. Those of us who are healthy and well, let us give thanks to God, and seek to be useful for His glory and the application of His saving health by His Holy Spirit to all sorts and conditions of men. Those of you who are unhealthy or suffering deprivation at the present time, pray for the grace to carry your crosses faithfully, and so endure unto the end. Let us all strive to be helpful to those worse off than ourselves in the hope of everlasting life through the Lord Jesus Christ. Above all, let us remember to give those in illness and want not only that bread and medicine of the world, for it must eventually perish, but also the eternal and life-giving bread and medicine of God, the Holy Scriptures, the Word of God which leads to everlasting life.

Brethren, examine the Scriptures, and see that the Bread and health which God gives to men in Christ involves the call to repentance, the call to turning away from sin and to a lively faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. From the Scriptures we know that God visits rebelling nations with sickness and death on account of their sinfulness. We all have rebelled against God’s Holy Law, and have much to repent of individually and as a nation. If we do not repent, then we will never find true and abiding health of body or soul. Therefore, pray for God to give you and our whole country the grace of repentance, that we may turn from sin and to the Lord Jesus Christ as the only way, the only truth, the only life, the only source of true and everlasting health, that we may fall before His throne and say with the children of Israel, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day. As we prepare for Easter during this time of illness and trouble, let us remember that before the Resurrection came the Cross. 

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AY God give us the grace to accept His Will for us, to carry our crosses and sufferings in this life, so that at the last we may pass through death into eternal life with God in happiness and peace, through Jesus our Lord and Saviour.   Amen.