Exodus 16:2-21/Acts 2:41-47/St John 6:1-15
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
You have heard that Lent was a time of increased catechesis in the Church; during which the catechumens, the learners in the faith, received instruction in the saving doctrine.
From learning to invoke the Name of the Blessed Holy Trinity against all temptation, to the hard lesson of Reminiscere, when it seems as if even God is your enemy, to last Sunday and further instruction in the truth that the devil is real and he seeks to destroy you, to lead you into false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice. You overcome him only by sheer and utter dependency on Christ and His external Word. This may seem redundant, but as perpetual, lifetime catechumens we are in continual need of instruction in God’s Word and promises.
Today, Laetare, served as a respite from the strong emphasis on the existence of evil, as the Introit began, Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all you who love her; that you may be feed and be satisfied. I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.” The catechumens, in their white robes, are coming into the sanctuary, the earthly abode of the heavenly Jerusalem. Historically the Gloria may be sung this Sunday, the colors changed from the somber violet to a lively rose; even the collect prays for refreshment. Laetare; refreshment Sunday.
And so on this day in the ancient Church the catechumens received and learned to pray the Our Father for the first time. And the first three petitions - Hallowed be Thy Name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, all on earth as in heaven - would have reinforced these first three Sundays in Lent.
Likewise today’s readings serve to illuminate the fourth petition: Give us this day our daily bread. The Old Testament lesson presupposes the great redemption of the Exodus and the Gospel text says, The Passover was at hand. These are hints that Lent will soon be over. Easter is not far away!
For now we turn our attention to the Our Father, the prayer of the baptized. You learn in the Lord’s Prayer that God tempts no one. He guards and keeps you so that the devil, the world, and your sinful flesh do not deceive or mislead you into false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice. He does not tempt you. But He does test you. For the testing of your faith produces steadfastness (Ja 1:3).
And so in the wilderness the Lord who had rescued His children from bondage to slavery in Egypt, tests them. His earthly provision is a divine sign to them of His faithful redemption. He is their God. It is also a test for them; whether or not they would walk in His Word. Would the children of Israel trust that He who delivered them from evil, now give them all that is necessary for this body and life?
They would not. They failed. They grumbled against Moses and against the Lord. In gathering more than was instructed, they showed a lack of faith; they did not properly fear, love, and trust in God above all things. They doubted that He who provided for their needs today would neglect to care for them tomorrow.
But you are taught to pray, Give us this day our daily bread. “Only what I need for today; that is sufficient. I don’t need to horde it for tomorrow. Tomorrow will be anxious for itself.” With our constant planning and fretting and worry about the future, do we trust that “God certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayer”? We behave as if we do not. We fail just as Israel did. Thus the Lord’s Prayer is prayed against yourself; in all it’s petitions. For in this way the Lord tests you as He did the children of Israel; as He did Philip.
For the Gospel lesson is a relaunch of the Old Testament. Our Lord Christ taught the people and healed their sick all day long, the night was at hand. The synoptic Gospels tell us that the disciples stepped before Him to remind Him that He should dismiss the people so that they might go purchase some food. In essence the disciples say, “Lord, You have accomplished Your ministry and work - You have taught and healed and forgiven - now send them away so that they may fend for themselves and eat.”
But Christ answered them, “No. We must give consideration to feeding them.” St John has Jesus initiating the concern for food. In this way we see our Lord’s real heart for His sheep. It is as if He said, “Not only does My feeding them with God’s Word for eternal life belong to My office of Mediator; also I must care for the feeding of their bodies. They have to also receive their daly bread from the hands of their only Mediator.”
In the Our Father we are taught to pray not only for the forgiveness of sins, but also, even firstly, for daily bread and food. These two petitions are joined by that simple conjunction “and.” It is as if you are saying, Give us this day our daily bread AND forgive us this day our daily trespasses, as we this day forgive those who daily trespass against us.
For as often as we need the forgiveness of sins from Christ, so too do we need daily bread. Once again, you are taught to pray the Lord’s Prayer against yourself. As Bonhoeffer said, “If we are to pray aright, perhaps it is quite necessary that we pray contrary to our own heart. Not what we want to pray is important, but what God wants us to pray. If we were dependent on ourselves, we would probably pray only the fourth petition of the Lord’s Prayer. But God wants it otherwise. The richness of the Word of God ought to determine our prayer, not the poverty of our heart” (Psalms, 14-15).
Thus the Lord’s Prayer is a confession. As you confess that you cannot make payment for your sin before God the Lord, so are you unable to earn your daily bread. Instead we have to beg and petition God’s mercy for both the forgiveness of sins and daily bread. Such grace and mercy from God is found only in and through Christ. So then, just as we ask for and obtain the forgiveness of sins through Christ, so also we obtain our daily bread through Him.
He who did not use His creative power when He was hungry, now does so for the benefit of this hungry multitude. Like the Good Shepherd that He is, He made them to lie down in green pastures. Then He who is the Bread of Life took the loaves, gave thanks, and feed the people. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. Before they even prayed, before the petition was made, the Lord provided daily bread in abundance. He who fed Israel in the wilderness, now fed the five thousand on the hillside. Only here, He instructed the leftovers to be gathered up, for this is the super abundance of the Gospel, the grace upon grace character of the Word made flesh.
He provides for all our needs of body and soul. Bread and fish in abundance, even before we ask; more important, even when we fail to give thanks, and instead grumble and complain. AND the forgiveness of sins. Grace upon grace. Both reveal our utter dependance on Christ and our complete inability to do for ourselves.
But for this reason He withdraws from the crowds when they try to take Him by force and make Him king; their Bread King. For as important as these First Article gifts are, as needful as daily bread is, this is not why He came. The fathers ate manna in the wilderness and died. He came that you may have life and have it abundantly. And He who is the life of the world gives Himself to be lifted up on the Cross so that by His death He may draw all men unto Himself. In this way He is for you the Bread of Life.
And here in His Supper He joins bread, the food of the wilderness, to His eternal Word, and gives to you Himself, Body and Blood, in and under the bread and wine. In this way He cares for you in both body and soul; putting into you daily bread AND the forgiveness of sins. Thus this refreshment Sunday the words of the post-communion collect assume special significance: “We give thanks to You, Almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift.” Here you are strengthened not only in faith toward God, but also in love for your neighbor; both of which Christ exhibits in the feeding of the five thousand.
The Church cannot become what the crowds wanted from Jesus: an executer of a worldly welfare program. But neither do we have the right to be at peace with ourselves as we sit with arms crossed amidst suffering and injustice. Consider the proper relationship of righteousness to mercy, faith and love, in the readings from Acts: those who were baptized devoted themselves to the doctrine and fellowship, to the Eucharist and prayer; that is, to the Divine Service. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.
Thus the Church’s catechumens are instructed and guided in the way of life, in both doctrine and love. For our Lord who fed Israel in the wilderness and provided for the multitude on the hillside, has adopted you as children and provides for all your needs of both body and soul; even as the Ancient Church prayed, saying, “Even as this broken bread was scattered over the hills and then, when gathered became one, so may Thy Church be gathered from the ends of the earth into Thy kingdom. In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen” (Didache 9.4).
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
You have heard that Lent was a time of increased catechesis in the Church; during which the catechumens, the learners in the faith, received instruction in the saving doctrine.
From learning to invoke the Name of the Blessed Holy Trinity against all temptation, to the hard lesson of Reminiscere, when it seems as if even God is your enemy, to last Sunday and further instruction in the truth that the devil is real and he seeks to destroy you, to lead you into false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice. You overcome him only by sheer and utter dependency on Christ and His external Word. This may seem redundant, but as perpetual, lifetime catechumens we are in continual need of instruction in God’s Word and promises.
Today, Laetare, served as a respite from the strong emphasis on the existence of evil, as the Introit began, Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all you who love her; that you may be feed and be satisfied. I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.” The catechumens, in their white robes, are coming into the sanctuary, the earthly abode of the heavenly Jerusalem. Historically the Gloria may be sung this Sunday, the colors changed from the somber violet to a lively rose; even the collect prays for refreshment. Laetare; refreshment Sunday.
And so on this day in the ancient Church the catechumens received and learned to pray the Our Father for the first time. And the first three petitions - Hallowed be Thy Name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, all on earth as in heaven - would have reinforced these first three Sundays in Lent.
Likewise today’s readings serve to illuminate the fourth petition: Give us this day our daily bread. The Old Testament lesson presupposes the great redemption of the Exodus and the Gospel text says, The Passover was at hand. These are hints that Lent will soon be over. Easter is not far away!
For now we turn our attention to the Our Father, the prayer of the baptized. You learn in the Lord’s Prayer that God tempts no one. He guards and keeps you so that the devil, the world, and your sinful flesh do not deceive or mislead you into false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice. He does not tempt you. But He does test you. For the testing of your faith produces steadfastness (Ja 1:3).
And so in the wilderness the Lord who had rescued His children from bondage to slavery in Egypt, tests them. His earthly provision is a divine sign to them of His faithful redemption. He is their God. It is also a test for them; whether or not they would walk in His Word. Would the children of Israel trust that He who delivered them from evil, now give them all that is necessary for this body and life?
They would not. They failed. They grumbled against Moses and against the Lord. In gathering more than was instructed, they showed a lack of faith; they did not properly fear, love, and trust in God above all things. They doubted that He who provided for their needs today would neglect to care for them tomorrow.
But you are taught to pray, Give us this day our daily bread. “Only what I need for today; that is sufficient. I don’t need to horde it for tomorrow. Tomorrow will be anxious for itself.” With our constant planning and fretting and worry about the future, do we trust that “God certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayer”? We behave as if we do not. We fail just as Israel did. Thus the Lord’s Prayer is prayed against yourself; in all it’s petitions. For in this way the Lord tests you as He did the children of Israel; as He did Philip.
For the Gospel lesson is a relaunch of the Old Testament. Our Lord Christ taught the people and healed their sick all day long, the night was at hand. The synoptic Gospels tell us that the disciples stepped before Him to remind Him that He should dismiss the people so that they might go purchase some food. In essence the disciples say, “Lord, You have accomplished Your ministry and work - You have taught and healed and forgiven - now send them away so that they may fend for themselves and eat.”
But Christ answered them, “No. We must give consideration to feeding them.” St John has Jesus initiating the concern for food. In this way we see our Lord’s real heart for His sheep. It is as if He said, “Not only does My feeding them with God’s Word for eternal life belong to My office of Mediator; also I must care for the feeding of their bodies. They have to also receive their daly bread from the hands of their only Mediator.”
In the Our Father we are taught to pray not only for the forgiveness of sins, but also, even firstly, for daily bread and food. These two petitions are joined by that simple conjunction “and.” It is as if you are saying, Give us this day our daily bread AND forgive us this day our daily trespasses, as we this day forgive those who daily trespass against us.
For as often as we need the forgiveness of sins from Christ, so too do we need daily bread. Once again, you are taught to pray the Lord’s Prayer against yourself. As Bonhoeffer said, “If we are to pray aright, perhaps it is quite necessary that we pray contrary to our own heart. Not what we want to pray is important, but what God wants us to pray. If we were dependent on ourselves, we would probably pray only the fourth petition of the Lord’s Prayer. But God wants it otherwise. The richness of the Word of God ought to determine our prayer, not the poverty of our heart” (Psalms, 14-15).
Thus the Lord’s Prayer is a confession. As you confess that you cannot make payment for your sin before God the Lord, so are you unable to earn your daily bread. Instead we have to beg and petition God’s mercy for both the forgiveness of sins and daily bread. Such grace and mercy from God is found only in and through Christ. So then, just as we ask for and obtain the forgiveness of sins through Christ, so also we obtain our daily bread through Him.
He who did not use His creative power when He was hungry, now does so for the benefit of this hungry multitude. Like the Good Shepherd that He is, He made them to lie down in green pastures. Then He who is the Bread of Life took the loaves, gave thanks, and feed the people. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. Before they even prayed, before the petition was made, the Lord provided daily bread in abundance. He who fed Israel in the wilderness, now fed the five thousand on the hillside. Only here, He instructed the leftovers to be gathered up, for this is the super abundance of the Gospel, the grace upon grace character of the Word made flesh.
He provides for all our needs of body and soul. Bread and fish in abundance, even before we ask; more important, even when we fail to give thanks, and instead grumble and complain. AND the forgiveness of sins. Grace upon grace. Both reveal our utter dependance on Christ and our complete inability to do for ourselves.
But for this reason He withdraws from the crowds when they try to take Him by force and make Him king; their Bread King. For as important as these First Article gifts are, as needful as daily bread is, this is not why He came. The fathers ate manna in the wilderness and died. He came that you may have life and have it abundantly. And He who is the life of the world gives Himself to be lifted up on the Cross so that by His death He may draw all men unto Himself. In this way He is for you the Bread of Life.
And here in His Supper He joins bread, the food of the wilderness, to His eternal Word, and gives to you Himself, Body and Blood, in and under the bread and wine. In this way He cares for you in both body and soul; putting into you daily bread AND the forgiveness of sins. Thus this refreshment Sunday the words of the post-communion collect assume special significance: “We give thanks to You, Almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift.” Here you are strengthened not only in faith toward God, but also in love for your neighbor; both of which Christ exhibits in the feeding of the five thousand.
The Church cannot become what the crowds wanted from Jesus: an executer of a worldly welfare program. But neither do we have the right to be at peace with ourselves as we sit with arms crossed amidst suffering and injustice. Consider the proper relationship of righteousness to mercy, faith and love, in the readings from Acts: those who were baptized devoted themselves to the doctrine and fellowship, to the Eucharist and prayer; that is, to the Divine Service. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.
Thus the Church’s catechumens are instructed and guided in the way of life, in both doctrine and love. For our Lord who fed Israel in the wilderness and provided for the multitude on the hillside, has adopted you as children and provides for all your needs of both body and soul; even as the Ancient Church prayed, saying, “Even as this broken bread was scattered over the hills and then, when gathered became one, so may Thy Church be gathered from the ends of the earth into Thy kingdom. In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen” (Didache 9.4).
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