May the grace, mercy and love of God be with us all. Amen.
Collect
Lord God, your Son left the riches of heaven and became poor for our sake: when we prosper save us from pride, when we are needy save us from despair, that we may trust in you alone; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Confession
Trusting in his forgiving love, let us make confession to our heavenly Father.
Heavenly Father, we confess to you and to each other the wrong we have done, and the good things we have failed to do. Grant us the courage to admit our faults, the strength to amend our actions, and the hope that your grace awaits us, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
May God our Father deliver us from our sins, heal our hearts, and kindle within us the flame of his love, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.
God’s Word - Ephesians, chapter 3, verses 14 to the end :-
I kneel in prayer to the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name, that out of the treasures of his glory he may grant you inward strength and power through his Spirit, that through faith Christ may dwell in your hearts in love. With deep roots and firm foundations may you, in company with all God’s people, be strong to grasp what is the breadth and length and height and depth of Christ’s love, and to know it, though it is beyond knowledge. So may you be filled with the very fullness of God. Now to him who is able through the power which is at work among us to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or conceive, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus from generation to generation for evermore! Amen.
John, chapter 6 verses 1 to 21 :-
Jesus withdrew to the farther shore of the sea of Galilee (or Tiberias), and a large crowd of people followed him because they had seen the signs he performed in healing the sick. Jesus went up the hillside and sat down with his disciples. It was near the time of Passover, the great Jewish festival. Looking up and seeing a large crowd coming towards him, Jesus said to Philip, ‘Where are we to buy bread to feed these people?’ He said this to test him; Jesus himself knew what he meant to do. Philip replied, ‘We would need two hundred denarii to buy enough bread for each of them to have a little.’
One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, ‘There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what is that among so many?’ Jesus said, ‘Make the people sit down.’ There was plenty of grass there, so the men sat down, about five thousand of them. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to the people as they sat there. He did the same with the fish, and they had as much as they wanted. When everyone had had enough, he said to his disciples, ‘Gather up the pieces left over, so that nothing is wasted.’ They gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves that were left uneaten.
When the people saw the sign Jesus had performed, the word went round, ‘Surely this must be the Prophet who was to come into the world.’ Jesus, realizing that they meant to come and seize him to proclaim him king, withdrew again to the hills by himself.
At nightfall his disciples went down to the sea, and set off by boat to cross to Capernaum. Though darkness had fallen, Jesus had not yet joined them; a strong wind was blowing and the sea grew rough. When they had rowed about three or four miles they saw Jesus walking on the sea and approaching the boat. They were terrified, but he called out, ‘It is I; do not be afraid.’ With that they were ready to take him on board, and immediately the boat reached the land they were making for.
Thanks be to God, for this his holy word. Amen.
Reflection
on the Readings (a shorter version of the sermon preached at the Sunday service)
A year ago, when we last had the Feeding of the 5,000 as our Gospel text, I found myself reflecting in this slot about the strangeness - for me - of spending months not able to receive the bread and wine of communion. Some of my colleagues had celebrated communion in their own homes, but I didn’t feel I wanted to, because for me the fellowship of communion is of overriding importance: not just the closeness to God I feel when receiving the bread and wine, but the fellowship I share with those around me.
The hospitality of the table is part of the joy of friendship, and it’s also a duty of community, and I’m glad that we are now able to share in these ways again, though I do hope we will continue to act with real thought and care for those around us, and therefore with caution - and I’m also very aware that there are many people still excluded. In today’s story, it’s clear that for Jesus, not to have offered hospitality to those who’d come out to hear him in the wilderness would have been unthinkable.
Scholars tell us that the feeding of the 5,000 should not be thought of as the same thing as Holy Communion, but it still feels a lot like it to me. This miraculous meal and the Lord’s Supper both share a message to do with God’s gracious and abundant provision. We learn that God is a generous God, and perhaps that helps both bond us in fellowship and encourage us to act with grace and generosity ourselves.
The distinctive thing about the story as John tells it, is the small boy brought forward by Andrew. “Here’s a lad who has five barley loaves and a couple of fish.” While Andrew might have just spotted the boy, I’ve always liked to think he came forward and offered his loaves and fish, with the naïve generosity of a child. For, as Andrew went on to say, what is that among so many?
The story, though, adds a simple message to what otherwise is just a demonstration of miraculous powers - and it’s this: we may not have very much, but if we offer it all, it’s amazing what God is able to do with it. Everyone ate well that day, including the lad who offered the bread and fish in the first place. But what would have happened if the offer had never been made, of those five loaves and two fish?
Bread is also divided and shared at the last supper. “Take this and eat it - this is my body,” said Jesus to his surprised and shocked disciples. Jesus at that event, and at every celebration of Holy Communion, offers himself to take our place, and to bear the weight of our sin, and to lead us to life. As the darkness closed in around them, he shared bread with his friends to make them part of that story of redemption. He opened to them the generous heart of God, and he does the same for us; at every communion service we gather at the same table.
So of course, last year I was missing it terribly, and I still long for our services of Holy Communion to be back to how they were pre-Covid. So we’re gathered at the table itself, and not stuck in our pews. But taking care and keeping safe in church is also part of our generous response to God’s generosity, and our care for each other within the fellowship of the Holy Communion. And, whatever we’re able to do in church, the important thing is that the message of communion and of today’s Gospel remains at the heart of our faith. Our God is generous and hospitable God whose glory and love is revealed in Jesus; and what we offer of ourselves to him becomes something so much greater as it is touched by his love.
Statement of faith - We believe in God the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. We believe in God the Son, who lives in our hearts through faith, and fills us with his love. We believe in God the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us with power from on high. We believe in one God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Prayers - Pray for the Church in every place to reflect in its action and its fellowship the generosity of our God. Pray for Christians in Scotland, and for the Scottish Episcopal Church. In our own Diocese, pray for Bishop Richard, and for the churches and communities of the Bromyard deanery, including the Camino trail in that deanery being inaugurated today on the Feast of St James.
Pray for peace in our world: for all who are exploited or abused by others, or treated unjustly, and for all who are tempted to misuse the power they hold. In the week of the World Day against the Trafficking of Persons, pray for all who are caught up in the various forms of slavery that still exist in our world. Continue to pray for strength and unity of purpose as the world faces up to the threat of Covid 19, and for vaccines to be made available to all.
Pray for all who are ill today, especially those whose situations we know, and all who are in hospitals and other places of care. Pray for those whose diagnosis or treatment has been delayed by the Covid crisis, and also for any directly affected by the Covid virus, as cases again increase. Pray also for the safety of healthcare workers.
Pray for families and friends, and for the life of our communities. Give thanks for the new opportunities allowed by the easing and removal of restrictions, but pray too that we may continue to act with responsibility and care, looking out for one another, and keeping safe ourselves.
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. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Blessing - May the generosity of God support, encourage and strengthen us, and open our hearts to be generous in all we offer and do; and may the blessing of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be with us always. Amen.
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