Feeding the 5,000

 

When I was growing up in California, our schools didn’t have cafeterias.  There were 22 elementary schools in our district, most of them built in the 1950’s during the post-war boom when everyone and their brother or sister wanted to move to the land of palm trees and movie stars.  Schools were built so fast, the districts didn’t have the money to include cafeterias.  They said they would add them later.  They never did.

Everyone brought their lunch from home, even the teachers.  Occasionally, someone forgot their lunch at home.  Without a cafeteria, what do you think happened to the students who forgot their lunch?  Did they go home?  Did they go hungry?  No, they ate like royalty!  Other children shared part of their lunches with the one who was without, and in the end, that child usually had the biggest, best lunch of anyone!

Today’s story involves a little boy who shared his lunch and helped Jesus to feed a whole bunch of people.

One time, Jesus and his disciples were on a large hill by the Sea of Galilee.  Jesus looked out and saw a big crowd of people coming toward him.  They had heard about the amazing things Jesus had done—like healing a blind man, for example—and they wanted to meet him.  It was close to lunch time, so Jesus asked his disciple, Philip, “How are we going to buy bread to feed all of these people?”

Philip said, “Are you kidding?  We don’t have close to what it would cost to buy just a little bit of food for each person!’

Another of Jesus’ disciples named Andrew said, “There’s a young boy here who has five rolls and two fish, but what is that when there are so many people to feed?”

Jesus told the disciples to tell everyone to sit down.  The people sat down on the grass.  There were 5,000 men, not counting the women and children!  Jesus gave thanks to God for the food, and then passed it out to the entire crowd.  Everyone had more than enough to eat.  When they were finished, Jesus told the disciples to pick up the leftovers.  They filled 12 baskets!

The people were amazed and filled with awe.  “Surely this man is the prophet sent by God,” they said.  

God's gifts are over-the-top!  He gives us what we need and then some.  

Thanks be to God!

MLK Remembered

    Tomorrow is Martin Luther King Day—a day we remember and celebrate the work and person of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  He was an important civil rights leader in the 1950’s and ‘60’s.  He inspired thousands of people to join him in the fight for equality in this country.  He was instrumental in getting the American Civil Rights Act passed.  This law makes it illegal for anyone to discriminate against someone else based on their race, color, religion, gender or national origin.  For example, a person who is qualified for a job—she has the education and experience needed to do the work—that person cannot be turned down for the job simply because of her skin color, or because she’s a woman, or because she is Muslim.  It didn’t used to be that way.  People could be refused jobs, or houses, or apartments, or seats at a lunch counter, on a bus or in a theater simply because the boss didn’t like the way you looked.  King was a gifted speaker and writer, and a firm believer in nonviolent protest as a means of bringing about change.  But I’m sure you learned all these things in school.  Here’s are a few things about Dr. King that maybe you didn’t know:

1.     When he was born, his parents named him Michael King, Jr.  Five years later, King’s father took a trip to Germany, where he was inspired by the Protestant Reformation leader, Martin Luther.  King, Sr., renamed himself and his son.

2.     King was a gifted student.  He skipped his freshman and senior years of high school and entered Morehouse College when he was 15 years old.

3.     Brother Martin was jailed 29 times, sometimes on civil disobedience charges, and sometimes on trumped-up charges.  Once he was arrested for going 5 miles over the speed limit.

4.     Martin Luther King, Jr.’s work was driven by his faith.  He knew that the world he lived in was not the world God wanted, and he felt called to do all he could to bring about change.

Dr. King’s work was successful in many ways.  He lived to see positive changes in the world, but his work—God’s work—is not finished yet.  I hope that as we celebrate MLK Day tomorrow, we will all take a good, long look at the world in which we live, and at ourselves.  What are the good things we see?  Where is change still needed so that all people have equal access to a rich and fulfilling life?  What can I do to help realize Dr. King’s dream of a free and equal world?

Let's pray.  God of all, we thank-you for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  We give thanks that he listened to and answered your call to work for equality and justice, even at the cost of his own life.  Help us to continue his work until the dream of an equal society might become a reality for everyone.  Amen.

Christ the King - Happy New Year!

 Prop: A noisemaker for each child, or each person in the congregation.  You may want to wait until the end of the story to pass these out.

I have celebrated New Year’s Eve in many different ways throughout my life.  (Share your variety of celebrations.)

·       Ocean-front condo at the Jersey shore with long-time friends

o   Dinner

o   Toast at midnight

·       Watched the ball drop, in Times Square with over a million others

·       Fell asleep by 10pm

·       Favorite—at Gram’s house with family

o   Gram gave all 12 grandchildren and their parents cooking pots, and spoons

o   At midnight, all went out into the front yard, banging our pots with the spoons and shouting “Happy New Year!” at the top of our lungs

You may be wondering why I’m talking about New Year’s Eve when it isn’t even Thanksgiving yet.  For the Church, today IS New Year’s Eve!  As a community of faith, we begin what is called the liturgical year with Advent—the four Sundays before Christmas.  Next week, November 28, is the First Sunday in Advent, and the start of a brand, new liturgical year.  We will begin the year anticipating—getting ready—for the birth of Jesus at Christmas.  Through the liturgical year, we will follow the life of Jesus, his death and resurrection, the start-up of the Church and all the wonderful blessings that this means for the world.

The whole story culminates on this New Year’s Eve, which we call Christ the King Sunday.  On this day, today, we remember that Jesus is not only an amazing teacher, a kind and compassionate healer, one who gave his life for the world, including us, but also that he is our King.  He is the king of Kings! He is ruler of God’s Kingdom and the ruler of all Christian hearts.  For this we are thankful, and we celebrate on this New Year’s Eve.

So grab your noisemaker and join me in wishing one another a “Happy New Year!”

Cinderella and David

Dear Storytellers,

I have switched from the RCL to the Narrative Lectionary!  This week's story is the call/selection of David from I Samuel 16:1-13.  Here is one way to approach it:

Today we’re reading a story about the prophet Samuel and the boy who would become king of Israel.  His name was David.  But before we get to that story, I want to tell you another tale—one you probably know well.  Cinderella.  There is a new Cinderella movie that’s showing right now.  It has several things in common with the story I heard as a little girl, but there are many updated parts of the story as well.  Cinderella dreams more of a career than a handsome prince, her stepmother is given a backstory which provides empathy for her cold-heartedness, and the step sisters are more plain than ugly, and not as mean as I remember.  It’s not your grandmother’s Cinderella story.

It starts out the same, though.  Ella’s father has died, and she lives with her step mother and two step sisters, who are not very nice to her.  They treat her more like a servant than a family member.  In fact, they have nicknamed her Cinder-ella because she is often dirty from the cinders in the fireplace where she cooks the family’s meals.

The king hosts a ball for the entire realm, so that his son, the prince, may find a bride.  Her step mother prevents Cinderella from going to the ball, but Cinderella gets there anyway, with the help of a fairy godmother.  The catch is that the magic which provides a beautiful gown, a horse-drawn carriage, horsemen, a footman and glass slippers wears off at midnight, so Cinderella has to be careful and watch the clock.

Of course she and the prince are smitten with each other.  She gets caught up in the romance of the whole thing, and has to run away from the prince and the ball as the clock is striking midnight.  In the rush to get away, she loses one of her glass slippers.  The prince is heartbroken, and vows to find his future princess by trying the glass slipper on every maiden in the land, until he finds the one it fits.

When he gets to Cinderella’s cottage, her stepmother has locked her in her room so that she won’t be able to meet the prince and try on the slipper.  The prince tries the slipper on one step sister, then the other.  Cinderella’s stepmother even tries to force her large foot into the delicate slipper.  It is the last house on the prince’s tour, so he asks, “Are you sure you have no other daughters?”  Cinderella escapes from her prison and appears just in time to effortlessly slip her foot into the glass shoe.  A perfect fit.

I invite you to listen to this morning’s story from the Bible and notice what Samuel and David's story has in common with the tale of Cinderella.

The Syrophoenician Woman and Other Gutsy Moms

Mark 7:24-30

YOUTH MOMENT

In 2019, a movie was released called Breakthrough.  Did anyone see it?  It was based on the true story of a 14-year-old basketball-playing kid named John Smith who was playing around on an icy Missouri lake one cold January morning with several of his friends.  The boys had tested the strength of the ice the day before by throwing a big boulder into the center of the lake.  When the ice didn’t show any cracks, they figured it was safe to walk on it.  But it was time to go home.  The next day, they each got up bright and early, and met again at the lake.  What they didn’t know was the temperature had risen overnight, and the ice was not as thick as it was the day before.  The ice cracked and broke under their weight, and three of the boys, including John Smith, fell into the freezing water.  This is an extremely dangerous situation.

Someone called 9-1-1.  When rescuers arrived moments later, one boy was almost out of the water, one was clinging to the ice.  John, however, was nowhere to be seen.  Using the techniques they had just practiced the week before in a training session, the rescuers used long poles to search for John.  When they found him and brought him to the surface, he had been underwater for 15 minutes and had no pulse.  The rescuers began CPR but couldn’t get a heartbeat.

John was rushed to the hospital, where CPR was continued for another 27 minutes.  Still no pulse.  The doctors called John’s mother into the room so she could say her “Good-byes,” but John’s mom wasn’t ready to let her son go yet.  She prayed out loud and loudly, 'Holy God, please send your Holy Spirit to save my son. I want my son, please save him.'

After a full hour of no pulse, John’s heart started beating again just seconds after his mother’s prayer.  Within weeks, John had made a surprising and full recovery.

In our Scripture lesson this morning, a mother is not ready to give up on her sick, little girl.  She comes to Jesus for help.  When it looks like he may not be willing to heal her daughter, the mom speaks up on her daughter’s behalf and in the end, Jesus makes her little girl well again.  It’s a good story!  Now let’s listen to Mr. David read it from the Bible.

Difficult Lessons

John 6:60

Prop: A poster board or newsprint pad on an easel, and a magic marker

When Kathy was in second grade, she had trouble understanding subtraction with numbers of two digits or more.  For example, 56-17 (write on the pad as shown below).

                      56
                    - 17
                       ??

How do you subtract seven from six when seven is the larger number?  There isn't enough to subtract!

Dianne was Kathy's older sister.  She was in fifth grade, and wanted to help out her little sister.  So, remembering the words her second grade teacher had used, Dianne did her best to explain how it worked.  "When the bottom number is bigger than the top number," Dianne said, "you have to go next door and borrow ten from your neighbor, number 5.  Ten plus six is sixteen, and now you can subtract seven and get nine.  But since you borrowed ten from the five, you are left with four.  Four minus one is three, so your answer is 39." 

Kathy didn't get it.  She tried real hard, but she just couldn't get it.  No matter how loudly Dianne tried to explain (using the same words each time), Kathy just couldn't get it.  Not that night.  However, Kathy kept at it and eventually she not only learned how to subtract all kinds of numbers, but she graduated Phi Beta Kappa, with honors, in (you guessed it), math.

There are a lot of lessons in life that are difficult.  Sometimes we need to look at a problem from a different direction, or hear the lesson using different words, or sometimes we need to grow a little older and have more life experience before we "get it."  Some of Jesus' teachings were difficult to understand.  In today's Scripture reading, Jesus' disciples say, "This lesson is hard!  Who can understand it??"  I encourage you to keep at it, even when you don't understand something right away--whether it be a school lesson or a life lesson. Keep at it and eventually, even if it's in the sweet by-and-by, when we get to heaven, the problem, the question, the lesson will make sense by the grace of God.

AMEN.

On Mother's Day

 May 9, 2021

I received a Mother's Day card a couple of years ago which was really funny.  I liked it so much, I kept it.  On the front it says, "A Thought for You on Mother's Day."  There's a picture of a half-filled glass, and then it says, "An optimist sees the glass as half full.  A pessimist sees the glass as half empty."  Then when you open the card, it reads, "A mother sees the glass of someone who didn't finish their drink, pick up their glass, or put it in the dishwasher.  Happy Mother's Day!"

Yes, today is Mother's Day.

A few weeks ago, our eldest son texted me and asked, "Any ideas what you'd like for Mother's Day?"  I answered, "World peace.  Would you like to cook lunch or dinner for us?"  (He's a really good cook.)  And so this evening, we are going over to his and his family's house for a vegetarian feast.

A friend of mine was 70-something years old.  When they asked, she told her children what she wanted more than anything for Mother's Day was a letter from each of them telling her what she had done right as a mom.  She said, "They were always quick to tell me what I'd done wrong.  I wanted to hear what they thought I'd done well."  I think it's too bad that she had to wait over 50 years for her children to show their appreciation to her!

Some women make better mothers than others.  I have no doubt that  my friend was an excellent mother, but no mom is perfect.  Yet every mother did at least one thing right--she brought YOU into the world!  She gave you the gift of life.  For that gift alone we owe our moms, and our God, thanks and appreciation.

AMEN.