Miracles

Tenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 12B)

John 6.1-21

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook page (beginning at 21:05)

 

We just heard one of the most well-known miracle stories in all the Gospels. In fact, as virtually every commentary on this story points out, the feeding of the five thousand is the only miracle Jesus performed that is recorded in all four Gospels, giving this story particular weight in the canon of miracle stories. Particularly when you consider three critical facts about the Gospels. First, that none of the Gospels were written by people who were actual witnesses to the events described (with the possible exception of John, and even that is highly debated). As such, the authors of each of the Gospels relied on accounts conveyed to them by other people—meaning what was written was based on second or third hand accounts at best. Second, the earliest of the Gospels, Mark, was written about 30 to 40 years after Jesus’ death, and John was written something like 60 to 80 years after Jesus’ death. So, the accounts presented were a distant memory for those conveying the stories to the Gospel writers. And third, that each of the Gospels was written to a very particular audience for a very particular purpose. Yet, despite all of this, each of the Gospels contains this common story. Telling us that this particular miracle is incredibly important in demonstrating the ministry of Jesus Christ, and that it has something critical to say about who we are as his followers.

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Come Away and Rest a While

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 11B)

Mark 6.30-34, 53-56

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook page (beginning at 22:10)

 

Some of my fondest memories as a child were of the time our family spent together on weekends. During the week, we were all busy with our own lives and activities. My father worked Monday through Friday. My sister and I were in school during the week. And Mom was a stay-at-home mother and housewife, so was busy throughout the week with keeping a household of four (five counting the family dog) running smoothly. But all that came to a screeching halt on the weekends when we shifted gears into a more relaxed routine. Of course, there was a certain amount of “work” that needed to be done on the weekends. My sister and I had homework—although I generally tried to get it done on Friday afternoon so that I could have the weekend free. And depending on the time of the year, there was yard work, which involved all members of the family with their appointed tasks. And even though it was work, we were together.

 

When there was not the obligatory yard work or other errands that had to be done, we would go on Saturday outings. Generally, this entailed day trips to various historic sites or other places of particular interest. Since we moved around a lot, there were always new places to explore; and once we found our favorites, places to return to. And quite often, Mom would fix a big picnic lunch, complete with fried chicken or pimento cheese sandwiches, potato salad or assorted chips, home-baked cookies, and other family favorites. I think sometimes we looked forward to the picnic lunch more than visiting the sights. We always had a wonderful time seeing new or even old favorite places, learning new things, eating good food, spending time together, and making family memories. And then, of course, Sunday was devoted to church in the morning, a family brunch afterwards, with the rest of the day relaxing at home. All in preparation for the regular round of work, housework, and school that loomed ahead in the week to come.

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Living the Gospel in the Public Arena

Eighth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 10B)

2 Samuel 6.1-5, 12b-19; Mark 6.14-29

St. Thomas of Canterbury, Long Beach

Live Streamed on St. Thomas’ Parish Facebook page (beginning at 19:10)

 

Today’s Gospel reading, the well-known story of the beheading of John the Baptist, is unique in Mark’s Gospel. Not the story itself—it is told not only in Mark, but also in Matthew and Luke. It is unique because it is the only story in Mark in which Jesus is neither the main character nor the main subject of the story. And despite Jesus not appearing in the story at all, the account of the beheading of John the Baptist is, in many ways, a character study in what it means to live the Gospel.

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Breaking Out of Our Comfort Zones

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 9B)

Mark 6.1-13

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Service was live streamed on Parish Facebook page, although there were problems with the audio

 

The two things clergy hate to hear are “we’ve always done it that way” and “we’ve never done it that way.” Common responses from parishioners whenever the priest wants to change something in the parish. Of course, this is not limited to parish settings. As a general rule, we humans are not particularly fond of change. Particularly not when we are comfortable, or at least not terribly uncomfortable. Aptly characterized by such aphorisms as “don’t rock the boat” and “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” When things are not going well, we might entertain the idea of change, but even then, it can be difficult to try something new, to do things a different way. Likely out of fear of the unknown. Aptly characterized by such aphorisms as “better the devil you know.”

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