by Rev. Gerald Porter, preached at Earth Ministry’s 16th Annual Celebration of St. Francis: Creation-Care Sermon Contest on October 4, 2008.
Text: Matthew 14:13-21
Feeding the Five Thousand
Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.’ Jesus said to them, ‘They need not go away; you give them something to eat.’ They replied, ‘We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.’ And he said, ‘Bring them here to me.’ Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
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My wife and I recently returned from a trip to Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Among our numerous adventures was a wonderful boat trip from Tofino to Hot Springs Cove. Our boat captain toured sea lion rockeries and off shore islands, home of nesting sea birds. Sadly, he informed us that several of the species we were seeing were greatly diminished in numbers, and would soon be no longer in that habitat due to the lack of salmon and other fish vital to their diet.
On another day, a kayak guide informed us that the eagles we were seeing on island tree branches have already begun to change their diet from fish – which are in short supply – to rodents and smaller birds. He reported that several of the great Canadian salmon rivers have few fish returning to spawn. And when the fish disappear, so do the bears, wolves, whales, and other mammals up the food chain. All because of over-fishing to feed the greed of human-kind.
Abundance. This world and all its inhabitants are blessed with great abundance. God has provided us, the citizens of this planet, with fantastic abundance; air, water, soil, plants, animals, insects, fish, birds, and all living things. Above all, God has blessed us with human reason, memory, skill, and discernment. We are called by God to act as responsible stewards for this incredibly beautiful earth, our island home.
And yet, often we do not live up to this calling forth of our talents and opportunities for continuing the magnificent creation to which God has entrusted us.
In fact, our stewardship for all creation is often blinded by our selfish greed. As long as we place ourselves – individually and as nation states – at the center to enjoy the largesse of God’s creation, we cannot hope to serve as beacons of God’s grace for the earth and its abundance.
Instead of a focus upon the abundance of God’s creation, we act as if we are doomed to scarcity. And we then wonder at the results.
Herman Melville wrote:
We cannot live for ourselves alone. Our lives are connected by a thousand invisible threads, and along these sympathetic fibers, our actions run as cause and return to us as results.
One wonders if we will “get it” – our interconnectedness with all that lives – before it is much too late.
As the day was getting late, Jesus’ disciples implored him to send the people away to find something to eat. Instead, Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.”
And the disciples whined, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” And Jesus replied, “Bring them here to me.”
Jesus called forth the available resources from the people, and they were more than sufficient. Our resources too are being called forth by God to save this planet – its people and all living things.
On Saturday, July 24th, over 600 Anglican bishops clothed in purple cassocks and their spouses walked through the streets of London to witness on behalf of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called the march “one of the greatest demonstrations of faith this great city has ever seen.”
He said, “I say to you that the poor of the world have been patient, but 100 years is too long for people to wait for justice and that is why we must act now. We know that with the technology we have, the medicine we have, the science we have, it is the will to act that must be found.”
For you see, until we – the stewards of God’s abundant creation – find ways to distribute the wealth of this planet more equitably, we cannot hope to find environmental justice. Let us pray for the will to act.
Poverty, hunger, disease, global warming, and all other ills are inter-related and inter-dependent.
The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to be achieved by 2015 respond to the world’s main development challenges. The MDGs are drawn from the actions and targets contained in the Millennium Declaration adopted by 189 nations and signed by 147 heads of state and governments during the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000.
Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
Goal 5: Improve maternal health
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development
The MDGs are important because we cannot save the natural environment without addressing the poverty afflicting so many. Without the means to feed themselves, there will continue to be broad-scale destruction of habitat across the planet.
Are these noble goals achievable?
Addressing the bishops Brown said, “Twenty years ago they said it was an impossible dream that apartheid would end, an impossible dream that Nelson Mandela would be free, that the cold war would be over and the Berlin wall would come down, but it is men and women of faith who came together and fought hard for this change and change happened.”
The most important step we can take is to truly believe that with God’s help, all is possible. God is calling us to assume the mantle of stewardship for planet earth and all living things. God is calling us to act.
The Counting Prayer, written by anti-poverty activist Jon Denn, offers a mantra for our response to God’s call: “The world now has the means to end extreme poverty, we pray we will have the will.”
For us to have the will, we of course must acknowledge our need for reconciliation to God’s call, acknowledging that without God’s help, reaching our Millennium Development Goals will be impossible.
Following the bombing of Coventry Cathedral in 1940, Provost Dick Howard had the words ‘Father Forgive’ inscribed on the wall behind the altar of the ruined building. These words are used as the response in the Coventry Litany of Reconciliation, which is prayed in the ruins every Friday at noon, and is used throughout the world by the Community of the Cross of Nails.
A Litany for Reconciliation
All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
The hatred which divides nation from nation, race from race, class from class,
Father forgive.
The covetous desires of people and nations to possess what is not their own.
Father forgive.
The greed which exploits the work of human hands and lays waste the earth,
Father forgive.
Our envy of the welfare and happiness of others,
Father forgive.
Our indifference to the plight of the imprisoned, the homeless, the refugee,
Father forgive.
The lust which dishonours the bodies of men, women and children,
Father forgive.
The pride which leads us to trust in ourselves and not in God,
Father forgive.
Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you.
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“And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.”
May we live in abundance, not scarcity, trusting God to help us do more than we can ask or even imagine.