Loaves and Fishes, Scarcity and Abundance

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Rev. Molly F. James, PhD
DFMS Noonday Prayer via Zoom
Frances Perkins, May 13, 2020

May God's word be spoken, May God's Word be heard, and May that point us to the living Word who is Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Today's Gospel tells the story of the feeding of the five thousand. One of Jesus' many miracles in the New Testament story. It is a seemingly fantastic story – a story of how five loaves and two fish managed to feed more than five thousand. To our modern ears this may sound like a tall tale. We might try to explain it away by saying that there couldn't possibly have been that many people or assuming the author was just exaggerating for effect. Or we might say that everyone only got a crumb. We could come up with any number of ways to “explain” this story. But if we do that, we are missing out on the miracle and the message in the story. The miracle in the story is not about how many pieces of bread there were. The miracle is that everyone was fed. The miracle is that God created abundance in the midst of scarcity.

Jesus blessed the bread and the fishes. He invited God's blessing in and he invited all those present to share with another. Those actions transformed a time of scarcity into one of abundance.

That is a message that resonates in these days. An appropriate lesson as we honor Frances Perkins, FDR’s long serving Secretary of Labor, who helped implement so many programs like Social Security that help to ensure that no one is without a safety net. That endeavor to ensure that everyone in our society has the resources to meet their basic needs.

Most of us are fortunate enough that we probably cannot relate to the scarcity of food that the Gospel lesson describes. We have not looked into our kitchen cupboards or our refrigerators to find them empty. And even if we did, even in the midst of a pandemic, we are still able to get plenty of food. While we may not know material scarcity, that does not mean we don't understand the reality of scarcity. In fact our material prosperity can sometimes form a stark contrast with the scarcity that does exist in our lives.

Let me tell you the story of a woman I know. We'll call her Jane. Jane has every material and economic advantage. She lives in a big beautiful house. She has servants to cook and clean. Someone to drive her around. A nanny to watch over her children. She is a brilliant woman, well educated and intellectually curious. She does not need to work, and in her community it is expected that a woman of her social standing would not work. Rather she is expected to be a hostess, have hobbies and volunteer. To many it would seem that Jane had the perfect life. Where would we find scarcity in such a life? The scarcity is not in material comforts, it is a scarcity of depth and meaning. Jane wants more from life, a sense that she has made a meaningful contribution to the world. There is a hole in Jane's life, in Jane's heart, that she did not know how to fill. The pain is overwhelming, and so she does what many do. She finds ways to dull the pain. She finds it in alcohol and pain medication. But this temporary remedy only causes more scarcity as it causes Jane to withdraw from society, from her friends and even from her family. Thankfully that is not the end of the story. With the help of those who care about her, Jane gets into recovery. She stops drinking, and she stops taking medication. She transforms her life and her relationships. With help, scarcity turned into abundance.

Jane discovers that by being willing to turn over her problems, to give her scarcity up to God, she is able to invite God's blessing in and to allow healing to begin. The spiritual journey of recovery fills that hole in Jane's heart in a way that alcohol never could. Jane finds love and meaning. She finds that as she opens up to allow others to help her, not only is she strengthened by their care and support, she in turn is strengthened by the opportunity to care for others. She feels great pride in being able to help others on the journey of recovery – to share how God can turn scarcity into abundance. Jane's joy and pride does not only come from being able to help others discover the deep joy and satisfaction she now knew, it also comes from her relationship with her family. The gift of recovery means that she is now able to be fully present and engaged. Her relationships are deepened. Love abounds.

Although our own stories may be very different from Jane's, there is perhaps a universal element in the experience of scarcity and the desire to escape from it. Given the choice, we would all choose abundance over scarcity. We would choose the blessings of love and meaning, of material comfort and opportunities for education. And so when any of those things are lacking, when there are holes in our lives, we seek to fill them. We seek to escape from the reality of scarcity. Yet so often, like Jane, we seek a temporary or easy “solution” to our scarcity. We try to find a band-aid, a way to dull the pain. Maybe we fall victim to addiction as she did. Maybe we just ignore the problem, hoping it will go away. Maybe we throw ourselves into our work hoping that will provide the sense of joy that is missing in our lives. Maybe we buy more things. Maybe we do any number of unhelpful behaviors. But hopefully we have the strength and the courage to acknowledge wherever there is a spiritual scarcity in our lives, and to open ourselves up to the possibility that there might be another way forward. Like Christ did with the loaves and the fishes, we can hold our scarcity up to heaven and ask God's blessing upon it. We can ask that with grace and love, our scarcity may be transformed into abundance.


AMEN.

Bread of Life

Rev. Molly F. James, PhD

Christ Church Cathedral, Hartford, CT

August 19, 2018, Proper 15B

Proverbs 9:1-6; Psalm 34:9-14; Ephesians 5:15-20; John 6:51-58

May God’s Word be spoken. May God’s Word be heard. May that point us to the living Word who is Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

I don’t know about you all, but I often get highly suspicious that the Holy Spirit is trying to tell me something when I begin to hear the same message from multiple sources. First off I think we are supposed to be learning something about bread, right? I mean it has been occurring over and over again in our Gospel readings for the past few weeks.

Again and again Jesus tells us that he is the bread of life. What does that mean? What is the bread of life? Well, in today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that the bread of life is the stuff of eternal life. It is the stuff that lasts. It is not flimsy or lacking substance. And this is where the message gets real and important for me. This is where it is no longer just about literal bread (although that is important too, and there will be more on that later), it is also about metaphorical bread. It is about that which sustains our souls. That which inspires us and gives us joy.

And this is where I think the Holy Spirit has been up to something. Two weeks ago, I spent a remarkable week at Yale Divinity School at a conference on the Theology of Joy and the Pedagogy of the Good Life. This conference is connected with work the Yale Center for Faith and Culture has been doing on the Theology of Joy, as well as a course they have been teaching, particularly to Yale undergrads on what makes a “Life Worth Living.” As you might imagine, there were lots of excellent presentations and conversations at a conference on Joy and the Good Life. I left that week feeling renewed and inspired. I also left reminded of how very important it is for each of us to be regularly asking ourselves, “What is it that makes life worth living for me, and am I living that life now? What do I need to do differently to be living a life that is more inline with my own values?”

In our American Society, land of rugged individualism and manifest destiny, it can be tempting to think this question of a life worth living is about what each of us desires as individuals. If we listen to the images and sound bytes of Madison Avenue, we can think that the life worth living is something that can be purchased at our nearest car dealer or big box retailer. But we know better than that. We know that a life worth living is not something you can find on a shelf or that will arrive on your front steps in a cardboard box. Our reading from Ephesians reminds that we can be easily tempted to waste our precious life: “Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil.”

Temptations abound, and yet we seek to be wise and faithful followers of Jesus, we seek the bread of life. We seek that which is eternal and everlasting. We seek that which is real. We seek that which transforms. The question for us is not just about what makes a life worth living, as in “What do I desire?” No, for us, as followers of Jesus it is about how we are living a life that is worthy of who God calls us to be. We know it is not just about us. It is about relationship, about relationship with God and with each other. It is about a living a life of love. A life that feels rooted and connected. A life that inspires others to seek out the eternal Bread of Life.

So back to the bread. In a few minutes, when we celebrate communion, you will notice something a little different. Today we are having real bread. I want to share a bit with you about the recipe and why I chose to make it. I think it might help provide a tangible connection to our readings and the call we have to live more deeply into our faith lives.

As I think you all know by now, I am someone who likes to get things done. Efficiently and to a high standard, of course, being my preferred combination. Funny thing about making bread, especially this bread recipe. Efficiency is not possible. This bread cannot be hurried or made more efficiently. It requires time and investment, if I want to have delicious bread that is a joy to eat. This bread recipe is from Chef Mark Bittman, and it is his no knead bread. It does not require constant attention. It requires time. You mix the dough and then you let it rise for 18 - 24 hours. Then you bake it in a hot Dutch Oven. The result is a crusty boule with a soft and chewy middle. It has quickly become a favorite bread in our house, as long as we can remember far enough in advance to make the dough. And I have found a profound spiritual lesson in the act of making it. This bread recipe invites me to slow down, to pay attention, and to savor the present. I would guess that I am not the only one who could occasionally benefit from the gift of slowing down, of taking time for reflection, time to invest in something worth doing well, because the result nourishes body and soul.

So, I hope that in our readings today, and particularly in the bite of bread you receive at communion, you find an invitation to reflect on what gives you sustenance, what feeds your soul, what is that bread of life that gives meaning to you? What is God’s invitation to you to live more fully into who you are called to be? I hope you find that reflection fruitful, and I hope that you continue to find more ways to live a life more deeply connected to our Lord, who gives us the bread of eternal life. AMEN.