Seventh Sunday after Trinity, July 30, 2017

Seventh Sunday after Trinity, July 30, 2017

In the Eighth Chapter of the Gospel of St. Mark, we hear about the feeding of the Four-Thousand.  Now Four-Thousand is indeed an impressive number.  But in those days, it would have been beyond "impressive."  Consider some two-thousand years ago, there would be no social media to make announcements . . . . lack of transportation (at least compared to how "easy" we have it now . . . . just jump in your car and "go!")   . . . .  no television commercials announcing a gathering, etc.  These Four-Thousand people gathered by hearing others talking about the "mysterious rabbi," the "wonderful teacher," the "miracle worker from Nazareth."  They heard about him by word of mouth, I am quite sure, and came for a multitude of reasons ranging from pure curiosity to faith to needing or wanting something from Our Lord.  Again, the vast crowd that had gathered was certainly impressive, but this is not what St. Mark was focusing on when he wrote this passage of his Gospel.  Nor was the size of the crowd what Our Lord was focusing on when He performed the miracle.  No, Our Lord was concerned about the well-being of those who had gathered to hear Him speak.  "My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, because they have stayed with me now for three days, and they have nothing to eat."  (St. Mark 8:2)  What a wonderful Saviour we have.   He had compassion on the crowd and was "moved with pity" because He was worried for them.  He was concerned for them.  He had their well-being in mind.  "My Sacred Heart is moved with pity!"  Our Blessed Saviour was not just concerned with their spiritual well-being  . . . .  He was concerned also with their physical well-being!   This shows the compassion that Our Lord had!

When Our Lord had determined that there was a need, a desperate need!   He called the disciples around Him and asked them what to do in this situation.  The first response back from the disciples was an objection:  "Where could anyone get bread to satisfy them in a desert place like this?," was their response.  (St. Mark 8:4)    Instead of focusing on the positive, the disciples focused on the negative.  Aren't we like that?  I know I am.  How often when something comes up that needs to be taken care of, how often is my first response:  "How am I going to do this?!?"  "I can't believe this!"  "I'm never going to be able to take care of this!"  This is what the disciples were, in essence, saying.  But Our Lord did not listen to their objections.  He immediately challenged them into action by asking how many loaves they had.  Very often we defeat ourselves because we look at the total amount needed and we get scared.  But more often than not the solution to a problem is to begin with a little bit and then move on from there.  The disciples responded that they had seven loaves and He was content to begin there.  From there it turned out, St. Mark tells us, that they also had a few small fishes as well.  We all know what happened next:  "So they ate until they were completely satisfied." (St. Mark 8:8)  "How many loaves have ye?"  "What do you have?"  "What can you spare?"  "What can you give?"  The words may be different but the meaning is the same.  The important thing really is the response we give.  What can you give?   Is our response negative?  "Oh, what can I do?  I don't have that much.  It won't make a difference.   Why should I even try?  Or is our response positive?  Well, I don't have very much but let's at least try.  You see, Our Lord doesn't expect riches from us but He does expect us to give 100% of what we do have.  This is why He was so impressed with the example of the widow who gave her two mites into the tithe.  Compared to most others, she had "nothing" to offer.  And yet she gave everything that she had.  What was seven loaves of bread compared to Four-Thousand hungry people.  What could seven loaves accomplish?  And yet Our Blessed Saviour takes we have and completes the rest.  Our Lord fills in what we lack.  The key is that we need to do our part.  We need to give our all.  We need to give 100% effort when it comes to God.  What do you have to give?  This is the question we should all ask ourselves today?  What do I have to give?  And am I willing to give it?  God doesn't expect us to solve all the problems of the world but He does want us to help.  He wants us to show some effort.  What will you give?

St. Margaret Church meets each and every Sunday at 9:30 AM at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Join us as we hear the Word of God found in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer and the King James Bible.  Come dedicate one hour of your week to God.  Step away from the busy-ness of the world for just one hour and focus totally on God.  Come and worship Him.  Let Him feed you spiritually.   Receive the Precious Body and Blood at Communion time.