Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

Donna G. Joy

2 Samuel 11:1-15, John 6:1-21

In June, 1990, after having been ordained only one month I attended my first ever diocesan clergy conference. Our keynote speaker that year was The Rev. Dr. Louis Weil who is one of the most highly honoured and celebrated liturgists of our time. Even though that was twenty five years ago, I still remember some of the pearls of theological, scriptural, liturgical wisdom he shared with us at that time. For instance, I remember him saying that although he was raised primarily an Episcopalian, he learned much about liturgy from his Jewish grandmother. Apparently every night she would lay out on the kitchen counter pieces of homemade bread that that had not been eaten that day. The next morning she would break up the stale bread into pieces, take them to her back door, reverently kiss each and every piece then carefully, lovingly, place them on the ground for the birds to eat. He said it was from her he learned that if we dare to receive the sacrament of the Eucharist, we had better be prepared to treat all bread as sacred; even the bread that is distributed among the birds of the air must be blessed and lovingly shared.

Throughout that conference Louis Weil also spoke about the personal challenges he had faced, along with the challenges he believed the church was facing going forward. And as he spoke of these things he said that he faced every challenge with the same words: ‘Thanks be to God. There is still work to be done.’

I was reminded of these words while reflecting on our first reading for today, where King David exemplifies some of the worst of human behaviour, as he has an affair with Bathsheba, another man's wife. When she gets pregnant he tries (unsuccessfully) to get her husband, Uriah, (who's engaged in battle at the time) to come home, sleep with her so it would look as though she was impregnated by him. But when this plan doesn't work David then plots to have her husband killed. Who needs x-rated movies when the bible is so close at hand?

God has created the world with a particular plan to live in relationship with these humans he has also lovingly created, and ever since Adam and Eve these same humans, over and over again, rebel against his plan for us to love him and others as He loves us. I have to think that the only way to comment on this kind of behaviour is to say, ‘Thanks be to God. There is still work to be done.’The whole of salvation history, it seems to me, is full of moments where that is the only thing that can be said. ‘Thanks be to God. There is still work to be done.’

We were created to live in a covenant relationship with God. We break that covenant relationship, and repeatedly God discovers ways to redeem it; ways to redeem us to Him. And continually, there is still work to be done.

And, not just in reading passages such as our first reading for today, but over the years since I had the great privilege of being with him 25 years ago, Louis Weil’s words have echoed in my mind as our Christian community, the Anglican Communion, has faced one challenge after another. Some challenges have been of our own making as we have become more influenced by Hollywood and a self-indulgent, narcissistic culture than the teachings of our faith. This has created a type of identity crisis within the church. Other challenges have not been of our own making as we have experienced the social, cultural and economic changes of the past fifty years; changes that have created church decline and caused us to rediscover who we are as a people of faith. St. Peter’s has been diligently addressing this challenge through our intensive visioning process which is beginning to bear significant fruit in terms of rediscovering who we are called to be as disciples of Christ and how we are called to live.

Communities respond to challenges in different ways. Some faith communities retreat, hoping that the ‘good old days’ will return but gradually fading into complete irrelevance. Other faith communities abandon their identities completely and join whatever bandwagon seems to be garnering the largest number of followers. It seems that St. Peter’s is increasingly uninterested in either of these extremes. Healthy communities face their challenges squarely and assess what the challenge tells them about themselves and about their future. And – once again - through our visioning process I believe this is how St. Peter’s has chosen to address these current challenges. Indeed, healthy communities face their challenges squarely and assess what the challenge tells them about themselves and about their future.When we do this, we can then identify what resources we have to meet the challenge with integrity. I am tempted to call this the ‘Louis Weil Option’ – ‘Thanks be to God. There is still work to be done.'

In today’s gospel we hear the story of Jesus choosing the ‘Weil Option.’ Instead of following the advice of the apostles and leaving the hungry crowd to feed itself, Jesus assesses the situation, identifies his resources – a few loaves and some fish – and then meets the challenge squarely. Instead of staying safely on shore and letting his disciples fend for themselves, Jesus assesses the situation, identifies his resources and then meets the challenge head on. By choosing the ‘Weil Option’, people are fed and frightened disciples are rescued from stormy waters. This, of course, is a wonderful foretaste to what is to come: that is, a time when Jesus will become the food that will feed and nurture all who follow.

It is no secret that belonging to any community of faith is not an easy sell in today’s culture; at least in this part of the world. During the week families struggle to earn enough money to put food on the table and a roof over their heads. By the time the weekend arrives, the priority is quality family time and for all the various household and yard chores that need to be done. Many people feel that ‘organized religion’ is too restrictive and that communities such as ours do not welcome or adequately address the questions and concerns contemporary Canadians have. Thanks be to God. There is work still to be done.

And we are not people who turn away from the challenges we face. We know what we face. We have the resources to help us reach out and invite others to join us in offering help, hope and a sense of belonging to all. We have good news to share. Our message is one of compassion for all God’s people, a commitment to care for ‘this fragile earth’ our home, and a vision of a future where every creature, human and non-human, will have the opportunity to be fully alive as God wishes us to be.

We have a path to follow. The Scriptures speak to us of the experiences of many and various peoples over the course of thousands of years as they attempted to follow the path woven by God into the tapestry of the universe. We have the gift of Jesus who is the culmination of this gift. We have the gift of minds that ponder the mystery of God in our own lives and in our own time, and help us integrate that wisdom into the fabric of our own lives. We have a tradition of pastoral care, worship and learning that sustains us in our journey. We have each other. Every person here - each and every one of you - brings the riches of experience, depth of insight and varied gifts that enrich our common life. Whether young or old, whatever our station in life, we share a commitment to love God, each other, and those in our communities (local and global); to take care of each other and to take care of the neighbourhoods in which we live.

To be sure there are moments when we feel discouraged and when we wonder about the place and purpose of the church in today’s context. But that cloud passes and with God’s help the light of the Spirit reveals to us an opportunity previously overshadowed.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, there are many hungry people who have full stomachs and empty hearts and minds. There are people who seem to be sailing smoothly but whose passage is troubled. They are all around us. We know some of them. Perhaps we find ourselves among them. Our challenge is to feed them – perhaps allow Jesus to feed them - and to join them on the stormy waters. In Christ we have what we need to do so and God gives us the opportunity to respond. Thanks be to God. There is still work to be done.