GOSPEL MESSAGE & RECORDING
During these uncharted times, we may encounter financial hardships caused by the loss of a job, salary furlough, or salary reduction. The price of groceries and other goods has increased causing our budgets to shrink. We are hesitant to spend money as easily as before the COVID-19 outbreak because we are unsure what the future holds. Due to business closures, the economy has taken untold damage and it may take years to recover. Additionally, the unrest that our nation is experiencing has also brought on a sense of unease and worry. Life in this country does not look or feel like it did in 2019. Though life in our nation (and our world) has changed, God has not! God has not left this world to fend for itself. God has not abdicated his throne. He is still on the throne and ruler of all that is visible and invisible. Though we may face financial hardship now, and though there is unrest in the nation, God is still in charge. This should give us a sense of hope in these scary times. Hope – that God will provide. Hope – that God will not abandon us. It might seem that there is not enough but God will always provide. God will never leave us nor forsake us.
In the Gospel reading today, taken from Matthew 15: 32-39, we hear how Jesus fed the four thousand. After a long day of preaching and teaching, the crowd that was with Jesus was starting to get hungry. Jesus expressed his desire to feed them. The disciples said, “Where could we get enough bread to fill the multitude here in the wilderness?” Jesus asked them, “How many loaves are left?” They said, “Seven and a few little fish.” Jesus took those loaves and fish and looked up to heaven and multiplied them. Then, the disciples were able to feed the crowd. What is interesting here is that the disciples asked, “Where could we get enough bread…?” If we were the disciples of the Lord we would ask the same question. But what the disciples (and even us in 2020) don’t understand is that there is “always enough” when Jesus is around. This not only applies to food and material but in spiritual matters it is also applicable.
Here are a few examples:
More than enough: We have all sinned. Whatever the case maybe we often feel extraordinary guilt. We sometimes let the feelings of guilt and shame take over our thinking. We might even think we are not good enough. No matter the sin, when we seek genuine repentance through prayer, fasting, Holy Confession and Holy Communion, there is always enough forgiveness, grace, mercy, and compassion that flows from the heart of Jesus into our lives. Jesus never runs out. In the Lilyo prayer for Sunday, there is an amazing stanza that has stood out to me over and over again. It never gets old: “You have come in with sin, and you will go out loaded with grace.” Notice in the Gospel reading today there were fragments left over. Jesus not only provides us with enough grace, but he also provides us with more than enough. More than enough grace that you are loaded with it. The Psalmist David says, “And my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house Lord.” (Psalm 23:6)
Just enough: We sometimes think that we don’t have enough talents or spiritual gifts to do ministry for the Lord. We might think: I can’t sing well…I can’t teach well…I’m not intelligent enough…I’m not smart enough. Often these thoughts come into our mind when we want to serve the Lord because we don’t understand that God has given us enough of what we need to serve him. In other words, we have enough smarts and enough talents to do what God has called us to do. It might be that we have not figured it out; and the struggle is within us and less of what God didn’t give us. For example, notice in the Gospel reading that it doesn’t identify that when Jesus prayed the bread and fish multiplied. It can be inferred that when the disciples started to take the baskets toward the crowd the bread and fish started to multiply. This means that God has given us intelligence and talents but it is on us to go out and use it. The disciples had to do the work of carrying and giving the bread and fish to the crowd. Similarly, we have to work on refining our intelligence and talents. That is, we have to work hard to learn, pray, and fast. We have to work hard on getting better at the gifts the Lord has given to us.