Standing for Liberation

7/28/24 ~ St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Encinitas, CA

Proper 12 (Year B): 2 Kings 4:42-44; Psalm 145:10-19; Ephesians 3:14-21; John 6:1-21

As your rector, one of my favorite things to do is to meet-up with new members for coffee or lunch. Over the course of an hour, I learn a lot about their family, their faith journey, and what drew them to St. Andrew’s. I’m always pleased to hear that the rest of us did a good job of helping them feel welcomed into this community. Equally as important, I’m thrilled to learn that people choose to worship with us because of what they’ve read on our website, or heard in the community: that we are a parish who lives out our faith.

I’ve had newcomers tell me they see St. Andrew’s as a church where their young children can, not only be an integrated part of the congregation, but also a place where people visibly value caring for those who have less than they need. A newer member recently said it this way: “I want to be a part of a church that reminds me that in order to be truly liberated, I have to help liberate others.” 

Isn’t that powerful? That our actions and decisions, on this path of discipleship, call us to choose that which is life-giving, not just for our personal salvation, but for the liberation and salvation of all! Followers of Christ, choosing the path less taken, so that others might have more of what they need: that’s the miracle that happens around us every day.

I find it interesting to think of miracles in this way. The miracle stories in this morning's readings range from Jesus walking on water to two different scenarios where countless people are fed with what began as a small amount of food. To better understand how the miracles of God work, it’s helpful to examine the context in which they occur. 

In 2nd Kings, there's been a famine, and people are starving. The prophet Elisha…(remember, a prophet is one who points out the reality of situations as they speak truth to power)…Elisha says, “These people are hungry. Let’s get them fed.” What’s really intriguing, about this story, is that the man who brought his tithe to the temple was experiencing the same blight in his fields as everyone else, yet, he is still willing to share what little he has with his community. He was—as we say—returning his first fruits to God. 

But, as any of us might do, Elisha’s helper questions the command he’s been given. There are only “twenty loaves of barley and [some] fresh ears of grain in [the man’s] sack,” so the assistant asks, “How can I set this [meager amount of food] before a hundred people?” To which the prophet Elisha assures the people in his own way, “Through you, God will provide.” In other words, through our efforts as a community, God will help us work toward liberating others, as we ourselves are liberated. 

That same message is echoed in our Gospel passage. Miracles happen in the context of community, and in the midst of suffering. In this case, people who haven’t been helped with their physical ailments have been seeking Jesus as a last resort. We can surmise that the lack of medical attention is due to financial insecurity, which is probably why they are now at this remote location without anything to eat. So, once again, those who don’t have all they need are given some of what they really need. 

This is hard to wrap our brains around, because we intellectually know that there are—even today—many, many people in this world whose physical needs are not met. And, yet, God’s grace working through and among us, meets the needs of others—in the midst of their crisis. Our part in such miracles help assure that others experience more justice, dignity and equal opportunity. 

When we’re willing to face our fears, and take a stand anyway, we work toward the liberation of all. Some theologians suggest that this is one of the marks of righteous living—that righteous living is more than simply avoiding sin. Righteous living means we lean into our trust in God, which allows us to do the right thing in challenging circumstances. 

That’s why Jesus often says to his followers—as he does in this morning’s Gospel, "Do not be afraid." He says that because he is very much in-touch with the all too common tendency of us humans to avoid the complexities of life. We’d rather stay out of the mess, but that’s exactly to where Jesus calls us. It’s hard choosing others well-being over our own comfort, so Jesus assures us in two ways. One, that we’re not making it up—discipleship is often scary work. And, two, that when we surrender our fear to God, we can achieve so much.

This is the type of miracle that happened on July 29, 1974. At a time when only men could be ordained in most Christian denominations, eleven Episcopal women, who could no longer keep silent, spoke out. Eleven women, who were willing to put their professional futures on the line, so that others might also be able to answer God’s call to serve the church, took a stand. These women, now known as the “Philadelphia Eleven” did what they knew to be the “right thing”, so that future generations would also be liberated.

And because priests can’t be ordained without a bishop, three male bishops stood in community with these women, recognizing the injustice of the church’s restrictions regarding gender. They, too, risked their vocation as bishops, in order that others might be liberated. Not only did their combined efforts help open the way for more seekers to answer their calls to ministry, their efforts benefited the people in the pews as well. Having women priests has expanded the ways we do ministry. As the author of Ephesians indicates, diversity in church leadership helps us all better experience the “breadth, length, height and depth” of God’s grace.

So, in the midst of suffering—as women were being denied the opportunity to answer their calls to the priesthood—others stood in community with them to bring liberation to all. The miracle of the Philadelphia 11 event is just one of the many reasons I’m proud to be an Episcopalian. Our denomination has often failed, but, just as often, we are a church that repents, correcting the errors of our ways, as we strive to be a faithful body, distinguished by inclusivity and justice.

I came across a quote the other day that sums up what I’m getting at. Henri Nouwen, a theologian and priest wrote: 

As we keep our eyes directed at the One who says, ‘Do not be afraid,’ we may slowly let go of fear. We learn to live in a world without zealously defending borders. We will be free to see the suffering of other people, free to respond not with defensiveness, but with compassion, [and] with peace.”[1]

-AMEN

Collect of the Day:

O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

2 Kings 4:42-44

A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing food from the first fruits to the man of God: twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. Elisha said, “Give it to the people and let them eat.” But his servant said, “How can I set this before a hundred people?” So he repeated, “Give it to the people and let them eat, for thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat and have some left.’” He set it before them, they ate, and had some left, according to the word of the Lord.

Psalm 145:10-19

10 All your works praise you, O Lord, *
and your faithful servants bless you.

11 They make known the glory of your kingdom *
and speak of your power;

12 That the peoples may know of your power *
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; *
your dominion endures throughout all ages.

14 The Lord is faithful in all his words *
and merciful in all his deeds.

15 The Lord upholds all those who fall; *
he lifts up those who are bowed down.

16 The eyes of all wait upon you, O Lord, *
and you give them their food in due season.

17 You open wide your hand *
and satisfy the needs of every living creature.

18 The Lord is righteous in all his ways *
and loving in all his works.

19 The Lord is near to those who call upon him, *
to all who call upon him faithfully.

 Ephesians 3:14-21

I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

 John 6:1-21

Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. 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?" He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, "Six months' wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?" Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. 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. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost." So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. 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."

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.

When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. 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. But he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.

[1] You Are the Beloved, Nouwen, Henri, p. 226.