Sunday School Lesson - July 31 - Year A - Pentecost +7

 The Scripture. Genesis 32:22-31; Psalm 17:1-7, 16; Isaiah 55:1-5; Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21; Romans 9:1-5; Matthew 14:13-21.

The feeding of the 5,000. Something St. Mark's does well. That's the subject of our gospel lesson this week. Looking at it through modern, and post modern points of view, many ask how that could happen. Katerina Whitley tells us "Now, the temptation is great – and thousands have succumbed to it – to try to explain away what happened that day, on a deserted stretch of land near the Sea of Galilee. Interpreters have tried to rationalize the resulting abundance of food. The reaction is understandable: It is frightening to stand in the real presence of the creative energy of God! In order not to be afraid, we try to explain it according to the laws of nature. But we cannot. When the eternal enters the temporal with such force, our finite minds either close up or become arrogant. So it doesn’t help to argue about the word “miracle” when we are confronted with this story. What matters here is that they were all fed." Read all of Katerina Whitley's message.

Note how Jesus makes this happen. Again, Katerina Whitley, "Jesus sets an example for his church in this act of feeding the five thousand. The living Christ wants us to take what we have and offer it to God, no matter how little it is, no matter how meager our resources are. When it comes to the needs of his people, God will not take no for an answer. God will bless, but the rest is up to us. We bring the resources, and we do the work. It was the disciples who were asked to organize the people and who served the food that continued to increase because it was blessed by the loving energy of the Creator. How can the church do less?"

A few weeks ago, we asked, "What is enough?" This week we learn that what we bring to God is enough, with God's blessing, and with God's help, all will be fed, be filled, and will have an abundance to share with our brothers and sisters. Amen. And thank you St. Mark's - compassionately feeding all people.