Meager becomes overflowing

In tomorrow's Gospel reading, the Gospel of John recounts Jesus feeding a crowd of thousands with five barley loaves and two fish. As with other miracles in John's Gospel, this is referred to as a "sign" for it points to Jesus' identity. As the Gospel says,

"When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world."

The Rev. Barbara Beam is vicar of St. Nicholas Church in Noel, Missouri notes that it was Jesus presence that made the difference that day. In preaching on this passage she noted that is still true:

Jesus IS with us. We must remember that it is the presence of Christ that makes possible anything we may be able to accomplish. We come bringing our meager resources, our meager selves, saying, along with Andrew, "But what is this when the need is so great?" And Jesus takes what we offer and somehow it becomes enough—not just barely enough, but overflowing—just as the fragments of leftover loaves and fishes overflowed and filled twelve baskets. Our offering is transformed—and so are we, because now God can use us to make a difference in the world.

There is one more thing we must remember to do. Following the example of Christ, we must never forget to give thanks for all that we have been given. Most especially, let us give thanks for the opportunities we are given to be instruments of God's love and peace, right here in the little corner of God's world where we find ourselves.

In the archives is the sermon, The Story of Bread which tells of the two types of bread found in scripture and their importance for how we live our lives.

Note: Today is the Feast of the Annunciation, on which we recall the angel Gabriel's announcement to Mary that she would be blessed among all women to become the mother of the Messiah. This date was selected as it falls nine months exactly before Christmas Day, the Feast of the Nativity. As noted in the post on New Year's Day, March 25 was the first day of the year for more than 1,200 years of Christian history.