July 28, 2024

Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

10:00am

 

 

WELCOME

 

OPENING PRAYER

Gracious God, we gather this morning to add our human voices to the chorus of praise raised by your creation! We come as we are – distracted and weary, hopeful and open – knowing that you accept us and are ever mindful of our cares and joys. Still in us now, the many voices that clamor for attention, that we might center ourselves upon you. Speak to us in word and melody and quiet, that we may be renewed in our faith and strengthened for your service. This we pray through Christ our Lord, Amen.

 

PRELUDE

 

CALL TO WORSHIP

All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,

and all your faithful shall bless you.

The Lord upholds all who are falling

and raises up all who are bowed down.

You open your hand,

satisfying the desire of every living thing.

The Lord is just and kind,

The Lord is near to all who call on God.

 

*HYMN No. 54                     “Make a Joyful Noise to God”

1 Make a joyful noise to God!
All creation sings your praise!
Great your wonders here displayed,
unexcelled throughout our days.
Glorious is your sacred name,
ages old, yet still the same.

2 Come and see what God has done,
great the blessings to the just:
walked the chosen through the sea,
brought their enemies to dust.
Let us lift a thankful voice
for God’s mercies, and rejoice!

3 Bless the Lord, our refuge sure;
let our songs of praise be heard!
By whose justice, we are tried;
by whose grace, our guilt deferred.
When our life’s sure end shall come,
bring us to your heavenly home.

 

*CALL TO CONFESSION

We have been called to love our God with all of our heart, mind, strength and soul, and to love our neighbor as ourselves, but our lives are constricted and self-consumed. We have failed to love God, neighbor and ourselves as we should. Let us make the good confession before God and others.

 

*PRAYER FOR CONFESSION

Merciful God, you have commanded us to love you above all and to have no other gods. You have called us to love others as you love them. But we are personally and socially deformed by the love of other “gods” — the false gods of prosperity and materialism, of racial and ethnic privileging, of gender exclusivity, and of nationalistic imperialism. Forgive us our sins and transform us by your Spirit that we might learn to love as you love and to live as people who have been baptized as your own children. Amen.

 

*SILENT PRAYER FOR CONFESSION

 

*ASSURANCE OF PARDON

Friends, hear the good news of the gospel – God’s radical forgiving, transforming and justice-seeking love will not let us go, and is ever bringing resurrection and new life. Let us remember our baptisms and trust in God’s mercy to restore our right standing as God’s own. Thanks be to God!

 

*RESPONSE No. 582                       “Gloria Patri”

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen, amen.

 

*PASSING OF THE PEACE OF CHRIST

Since God has forgiven us in Christ, let us forgive one another.

May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

And also with you.

 

SPECIAL MUSIC

 

CHILDREN’S MESSAGE

 

UNISON PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION

Please join me in the unison prayer…

O God, pour out your Holy Spirit upon us so that the Scripture we are about to hear will become the Word of God for us in this day and time of our lives. Listen to what the Spirit is saying to the church.

 

SCRIPTURE              John 6:1-21

6 After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias.[a] 2 A large crowd kept following him because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. 3 Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. 5 When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” 10 Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was a great deal of grass in the place, so they[b] sat down, about five thousand in all. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. 14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.”

 

15 When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

 

16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. 20 But he said to them, “It is I;[c] do not be afraid.” 21 Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.

 

Pause…

 

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God!!

 

SERMON                   “They were satisfied”

Economist Milton Friedman once wrote: “There is no such thing as a free lunch.” And he’s right. Someone has to pay. Somewhere, sometime. The five thousand who Jesus fed in our Gospel reading might disagree. They certainly got a free lunch, didn’t they? Christ generated fish and bread right out of thin air! It was an occasion where the need far surpassed the available resources. It was also an occasion where Jesus had to perform “a sign” to satisfy the want. A sign is not just a miracle. It is a miracle that tells you something about Jesus. The question before us this morning: what does the feeding of the five thousand tell us about Jesus’ identity?

 

John tells us that the Jewish feast of Passover was just around the corner. It was late in the day. The sun was going down. Soon it would be dark. And the crowd of diseased and demonized and curious was there. The place was set, the table was about to be prepared.

“How are we going to feed all these people?” Jesus asked his disciples. He knew how, but he was testing them. They saw him turn water into wine. They saw him heal the blind, the lame, the demon-possessed with nothing more than a word from His mouth. Jesus was looking for some slight sign of faith from his disciples.

We tend to see things in the way of Philip and Andrew. Money and resources. Philip thought in terms of money. They did not have enough money. “You’d have to work over six months to feed this crowd, and even then, they’d get barely more than a bite.” Philip saw the problem as a problem of the numbers – money. He knew how much bread cost, and he knew that there was no such thing as a free lunch. Someone would have to pay for it, and the disciples’ wallets were too empty.

On the other hand, Andrew thought about the resources. He found a little boy carrying his lunch bag – five barley loaves and a couple of dried fish. Maybe the kid was bringing them home to his mother. And now some guys were talking about how they could feed this massive crowd of people with his lunch! Andrew points out that it was not enough. You could barely feed one or two people, let alone 5000. How far will these go among so many? They didn’t have enough resources. “We don’t have enough money to do that,” we say with Philip. Then with Andrew we say, “We don’t have the resources, and what we have is way too little.”

The need far surpassed the money and resources. What the disciples had in the moneybag was insufficient for their needs. Money was not the answer. Resources were not the answer. The situation called for Jesus. Human solutions were inadequate, and that is the point. He can make five barley loaves and two fish enough for five thousand.

Jesus assumes responsibility for these people. He has the people sit down and rest. After all, he is good. He came not to be served but to serve. No crowd is too big for Jesus to feed. This is Jesus’ mountain, and on Jesus’ mountain, there is such a thing as a free lunch. Bread without a sweat. Fish without fishing. Here, all the people had to do was sit there on the cool, green grass.

Jesus took a little boy’s lunch and turned it into a feast for 5000. Notice how He works through means – ordinary, humble means: a little boy’s lunch. Christ doesn’t turn stones into bread. He was tempted once by the devil to do that when He was hungry in the wilderness. But that isn’t Jesus’ way to do things. He works through the creation, not around it or despite it. And so, He takes these humble means, five barley loaves and two fish, and He multiplies them far beyond what they could accomplish.

This was free bread. Enough to fill over 5000 growling bellies that day. The little boy even got his lunch back. This was without any cost to the consumer. This is bread no one works for, free, gracious bread. To drive home the point for the slow of heart to believe, the disciples gathered a perfect twelve baskets of leftovers. One for each disciple. They ate with God in the Flesh on the mountain, and their baskets were filled to overflowing.

That’s who he is. That’s the abundance of his grace.  He is the one who feeds us abundantly and freely. He does so without cost to us., He feeds us both physically and spiritually. We’ll look at spiritual food in the coming weeks, but for today, I want us to note how the Lord feeds us physically. Luther put it best in Catechism on the First Article of the Creed. “I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them. He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life. He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil. All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him.” That’s your God. The God who feeds you. The God who daily and richly provides for you, freely, without any merit or worthiness in you.

 

The crowd received enough food to fill their stomachs. How did they react? They interpreted the miracle as revealing who Jesus is. They call Jesus the Prophet. They mean the ‘prophet like Moses’, predicted in Deuteronomy 18, the coming great leader who would do for the people what Moses did, leading them from slavery to freedom. They were looking for a king who would deliver them, not from sin, but the tyranny of Rome. Thus, the people intended to re-establish David’s throne in all its former glory.

Jesus’ hearers quickly make the jump from ‘prophet’ to ‘king’. If Jesus is the great Prophet promised so long ago, then he will lead the people now. The people wanted to make Jesus king that day, by force if necessary. And who wouldn’t? Make Jesus king, they said, and he’ll put a chicken in every pot and a loaf in every bread box. Put Him in charge of the food supply, and we’ll never be hungry again. Set Jesus in charge, and world hunger would disappear in a heartbeat. An endless supply of free bread for all. Now there’s an economic plan that’s sure to please the voters! A man who could feed 5000 could do anything! In their mind’s eye, the masses probably saw Jesus multiplying swords to help fight the Roman legions. They could see the image of Caesar on their coins replaced with that of Jesus. Of course, the people wanted Jesus to be their king. Who would not want to be subject to a bread-king, a man that will gratify all your desires?

Like the crowds, we have been fed by God’s grace, fed with God’s mercy and care and covenant love, and, like them, we often fail to see what God is doing among us. We can look for the “wrong” kind of Jesus. We can look for a Jesus who will simply serve our programs, desires, and wishes. This passage reminds us to look at the real Jesus.

Yes, Jesus is the Prophet and the King, but not in the way the crowd thinks. Jesus will not be a bread-king. His kingdom is not of this world. Yet, despite their confusion, they are right. The sign that Jesus displayed in our reading declares him to be the Prophet and King. This sign points us to the identity of Jesus: he is the Prophet like Moses; he is the offspring of David. Jesus is the feeder of the multitude, healer of the sick, Savior of the world, bringer of new birth by the Spirit in Baptism, builder of the torn-down temple, maker of wine from water, and walker who treads the waves. But, that isn’t the king the crowd wants.

Milton Friedman was right. There is no such thing as a free lunch, including this one. Someone always has to pay. Jesus did. That’s the kind of king you have. He picked up the tab and paid it in full. The feast is on Him, and He is the feast. It was free to the diners, but it was costly to Jesus. Every miracle, the healings, the feedings, cost Jesus His life. Yet it is precisely this king—the Crucified King—that we must worship. The cross shows the kind of king that he is, fulfilling everything he promised as the Prophet. Jesus has come, the new Moses, the new David, prophet and king, incarnate God who walks on water. This miracle shows us that the kingdom of God has broken into this world with His coming. True and living bread had come down from heaven. He is the king who feeds us daily and richly. Jesus is showing us in word and deed how he rules and reigns. Instead of being served like a king, he serves food to the crowd. He’s a king who daily and richly provides for you, freely, without any merit or worthiness in you. He is the king who feeds you freely, but at great cost to himself. He is the king who continues to come to feed you, even today, with the very bread of heaven so that….

 

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, may guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

 

Commentary and Liturgy from the Book of Common Worship (PCUSA), “Call to Worship” Website, PCUSA Book of Confession, The New Interpreter’s Commentary, Roger Gench,

 

*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH          The Apostle’s Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.  I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy Catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting.  Amen.

 

*HYMN NO. 66                    “Every Time I Feel the Spirit”

Refrain:
Every time I feel the Spirit
moving in my heart I will pray.
Yes, every time I feel the Spirit
moving in my heart I will pray.

1 Upon the mountain, when my Lord spoke,
out of God’s mouth came fire and smoke.
Looked all around me, it looked so fine,
till I asked my Lord if all was mine.
(Refrain)

2 Jordan River, chilly and cold,
it chills the body but not the soul.
There is but one train upon this track.
It runs to heaven and then right back.
(Refrain)

 

THE PASTORAL PRAYER & THE LORD’S PRAYER

O God, Christ gives us direction for renewing our discipleship. Your Word enables us to enter more deeply into the Christian life. You call us not just to refrain from violence but to restrain hurtful and unkind words. Indeed, you call us to ponder deep flourishing for all of your children and for your entire creation. Empower us to live by your way in the world. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

Holy One, help us to embody the peace that we pass to one another. By so doing, may we be your peace in the world. We know too well our divisions based in gender, race, sexuality and class, but help us bear witness to a different reality. Help us begin the process of healing and deliverance. Help us form new ways of being in mutuality, love and justice with and through one another. Empower us to live out of your love in all that we do, healing divisions, addressing enmity, reaching out to those we perceive as enemies. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

God of all nations, we pray for all countries around the globe — for those who have been charged to exercise leadership on behalf of the common good. Help them to discern wise use of resources to address the needs of citizens suffering from wars and its grave economic strains. And move us all to attend to the cries of the marginal in our midst. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

We pray all these things in the name of Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray saying, “Our Father…”

 

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.  For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

OFFERING OF TITHES & OFFERINGS

The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. God has given us life and resources for it, so let us give in return.

 

OFFERTORY

 

*RESPONSE N0. 607           “Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow”

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
praise Christ, all people here below;
praise Holy Spirit evermore;
praise Triune God, whom we adore. Amen.

 

*PRAYER OF DEDICATION

O God, may these gifts be used as a witness to your love, peace and justice at work in the world, renewing the face of the earth.

 

*HYMN No. 756                   “O God of Every Nation”

1 O God of every nation,
of every race and land,
redeem the whole creation
with your almighty hand.
Where hate and fear divide us
and bitter threats are hurled,
in love and mercy guide us
and heal our strife-torn world.

2 From search for wealth and power
and scorn of truth and right,
from trust in bombs that shower
destruction through the night,
from pride of race and station
and blindness to your way,
deliver every nation,
eternal God, we pray.

3 Lord, strengthen those who labor
that all may find release
from fear of rattling saber,
from dread of war’s increase;
when hope and courage falter,
your still small voice be heard;
with faith that none can alter,
your servants undergird.

4 Keep bright in us the vision
of days when war shall cease,
when hatred and division
give way to love and peace,
till dawns the morning glorious
when truth and justice reign
and Christ shall rule victorious
o’er all the world’s domain.

 

*BENEDICTION

Go forth into the world in peace.
Knowing the God’s goodness and mercy follow us.
Lift us the broken hearted.
Stand with the oppressed.
And let us do everything out of the love of God which we know in Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.