Dear Friends,
Well, here it is, Wednesday and lo and behold, my sermon is written for Sunday! Honestly, it is a very RARE occurrence for which this week, I am deeply grateful. What happened was unanticipated as I had not even decided on the focus for my sermon let alone the appointed biblical text from which I would draw inspiration. As I sat before my computer thinking I was about to jot down some random thoughts, I began to type in full sentences! What, I thought, was going on? I went with it, or should I say, the Spirit, and at the conclusion of four typed pages, there it was, a sermon on Ephesians 3:14-21, the lectionary text for Proper 12B, July 29.
I am, of course, continuing to pray with the Scriptures and reviewing the written text of my sermon as I make my way to Sunday and the privilege it is to dialogue with you and the living Word of God. I believe preaching is an extraordinary privilege and is rooted in spiritual discipline. It is a dialogue, always. It is never to be considered an exercise in delivering a speech but rather, of entering into the Mystery that is the work of the Holy Spirit. Each week I preach, you accompany me throughout my week. Every encounter, every conversation, every thought, are woven into the tapestry that becomes the foundational practice and discipline of preaching the biblical text. I love the process and I love that this dwelling in the Word is accompanied by your prayerful presence throughout the week.
Since I know that my focus on Sunday is the text from St. Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus, I am writing this email note with a focus on the Gospel, John 6:1-21, the appointed gospel for Sunday. It is the familiar feeding of the five thousand which includes Jesus' escape from the crowd as they approach to take him against his will and declare him king.
I invite you to dwell with this text this week, immerse yourself in the story and listen for what it invites you to think, to say, to feel, to become. If you were there, how might you be responding to Jesus? To the disciples? To the boy? To the crowds all around you? How close would you try to get to Jesus? As you hear Jesus say, "Gather up the fragments left over so that nothing may be lost." What do you think Jesus means? The crumbs? Or something else? What do you see and feel as the baskets are still being filled with leftovers from five loaves and two fish? Are you one of those who are gathering the miraculous leftovers?
The conclusion of the story comes with Jesus escaping alone, refusing to be taken by the crowd and refusing to climb into the disciples' wind and wave-swept boat. Instead, as Jesus walks on the water, he speaks these words, "It is I; do not be afraid." How do you hear those words spoken to you? Have you heard them before? Do you hear them as if for the first time, spoken with great love and compassion?
Mary Oliver, as you know, is one of my favorite poets. Here is her poem, Logos, a meditation on this gospel. Enjoy!
Why worry about the loaves and fishes?
If you say the right words, the wine expands.
If you say them with love
and the felt ferocity of that love
and the felt necessity of that love,
the fish explode into many.
Imagine him speaking,
and don't worry about what is reality,
or, what is plain, or what is mysterious.
If you were there, it was all those things.
If you can imagine it, it is all those things.
Eat, drink, be happy.
Accept the miracle.
Accept, too, each spoken word
spoken with love.
Blessings on your way to Sunday!
Judy+
