08/01-02/2020 – Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
August 4, 2020
Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ at Hope Lutheran Church,
There are lots of things to ponder, my brothers and sisters. There is the obvious fact that most of us have been spared from getting ill with Covid 19 and for that, we give thanks. There is also the fact that far too many have become ill and recovered-for that, we give thanks, too. There are also those who have died from this virus, and we mourn their deaths and give thanks to God for the lives they shared with their families and friends. We also ponder on all those who suffer from any other illness-because those haven’t gone away either, and we give thanks for all the caring medical professionals who care for all in need.
We ponder the economy with it’s incredible ups and downs, and give thanks for the fact that most of us still have homes, food, clothing, and safety. We may also reflect on the countless folks who are suffering because of loss of jobs, loss of businesses, loss of income, loss of security and safety for themselves and their families, and we pray for them and seek ways to support and help them in their time of need.
We ponder on the physical distancing we are experiencing as a way of life, and we hold up all those who suffer depression, loneliness, anxiety, and fear because of this isolation. We ponder on new and different ways to reach out to our brothers and sisters when actually sharing our physical presence is not possible.
We ponder on the farewells we share with Pr. Hans and Kerri as they move to Seattle to be with family and friends. They have so generously shared of their gifts in ministry, in hospitality, in outreach, in service, and in love. They have been precious family members here at Hope and we will miss them in ways beyond words. However, we also rejoice with them as they begin this new chapter in their lives-happily surrounded by parents, children, extended family, and enjoying more time with each other in retirement. They are moving on physically but they will always be a part of the Hope Lutheran Family and we pray they will find much joy and peace in the years to come. We give heartfelt thanks for them!!
We ponder on the new school year and how that will look and feel to students, teachers and staff.
We ponder on the upcoming election and what that will bring.
We ponder on the ongoing protests across our country advocating for racial justice and equality. We ponder. We ponder.
And if you are like me, you might be a little tired of it all-all the swirling thoughts and confusing messages we get each day. However, as Christians, we have something the world does not-we have Jesus-and we can place all our ponderings and our worries and our concerns in his outstretched hands and we can ask him to be with us through it all. And he will be. He promised. Thanks be to God!
With love for each of you in Christ, Pr. Jen+
Ninth Sunday After Pentecost August 1-2, 2020
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Let us pray. Glorious God, your generosity waters the world with goodness, and you cover creation with abundance. Awaken in us a hunger for the food that satisfies both body and spirit, and with this food fill all the starving world; through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
READING Matthew 14:13-21
After John the Baptist is murdered, Jesus desires a time of solitude. Still, his compassion for others will not allow him to dismiss those who need him, and he is moved to perform one of his greatest miracles.
A reading from Matthew. 13 Now when Jesus heard [about the beheading of John the Baptist], 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. 14 When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. 15 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.” 16 Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 17 They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 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. 20 And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children. The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
HOMILY For the past several weeks, our Gospels have been focused on Jesus’ parables as recorded by Matthew. We’ve heard parables about seeds and wheat and weeds, and last week, a whole list of parables including the mustard seed, the yeast, the pearl. Jesus used these parables to teach his followers about his vision of the kingdom of God. He begins each parable by saying, “The Kingdom of heaven is like,” and then proceeds to spin a short, simple tale, filled with memorable and easy images for the followers to grasp-the parables instructed without seeming to be too preachy.
~~~These tales seem short and simple on the surface; but they hold hidden depths of meaning. That’s the way metaphors work: revealing hidden truths by extending what we know — a woman baking bread, for example — into something we don’t know yet. They expand our understanding by using the known to show us the unknown.
~~~Jesus was a master of this style, and parables make up about a third of his teaching in the New Testament. Teaching by telling stories is as powerful today as it was in the first century.
~~~But in today’s Gospel, we turn from parable to miracle, with Matthew’s version of the feeding of the five thousand. Miracles are much less convincing to the modern mind than parables are. On this side of heaven, we know that people can’t walk on water, water doesn’t suddenly turn into wine, and that five loaves of bread and two fish will never be enough to feed 5,000 people. Sometimes these stories seem childish at best, foolish at worst —wish fulfillment, disconnected from reality, a ploy to entrance and manipulate the gullible–magic. People who are not believers, even our own family members, often think we are fools for accepting such stories.
~~~Still, miracle stories were common in the ancient world, within Christianity and beyond. Telling and retelling stories of Jesus’ miracles was an important way Jesus’ early followers remembered and honored him, and how they tried to share his good news with others. And the story we heard today — the story of Jesus feeding the multitudes — was perhaps the most important miracle of all.
~~~~It’s the only miracle included in all of the Gospels. Each version presents the same dilemma: crowds have followed Jesus out to a deserted place to hear him teach. When evening comes, it becomes clear that people haven’t come prepared. There’s not enough food — the disciples only have a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish— and the people are hungry. The disciples don’t know what to do. In some versions, like our Gospel today, they suggest that Jesus should send the people away, to fend for themselves in the nearby villages. In some versions — again, our Gospel today —Jesus turns to the disciples and tells them: “You give them something to eat.”
~~~“You give them something to eat” is the heart of this miracle. Jesus is saying those words to us today, just as clearly as he said them to his all those centuries ago. There is a hungry world out there, and it is our responsibility, our duty, our privilege to feed them. This hunger is both spiritual and physical. And although it may look like there’s not enough bread to go around, the miracle we hear today teaches us that, in fact, if we open our eyes, we will see that there is enough – that God has already provided enough bread to feed every last person on earth. It just depends on how you divide it up.
~~~Biblical scholar John Dominic Crossan argues in his book The Power of Parable that the miracle stories in the Gospels are really parables in disguise. Miracles are parables told about Jesus and should be understood in a similar way to – and taken as seriously as – the parables of Jesus. The miracle we heard today may seem simple on the surface: Jesus is able to magically multiply bread and fish. But push a little deeper, and it’s really a parable about how we see the world. Is there enough to go around, or not? What does it mean to share this world God has given us? What kind of people are we going to be — those who share or those who hoard? Remember the toilet paper shortage? Funny-but not really.
~~~The writer of our Gospel drives this point by providing a prelude to the miracle story. The feeding of the five thousand is directly preceded by the story of Herod beheading John the Baptist. The connection between these two stories might not be immediately clear, but here is how Matthew tells it: John has been in prison for some time for accusing Herod of adultery with Herodias, his brother’s wife. Herod throws a feast for his birthday, inviting his rich and powerful friends. Herodias’ daughter dances before Herod at the feast, which pleases him, and he tells her she can have whatever she wants in return. She asks for John the Baptist’s head on a platter — and Herod obliges her.
~~~Herod’s feast is exclusive, a private party for the rich and the powerful, and leads to death. Jesus’ feast is inclusive, a community picnic for the poor and the oppressed, and leads to life. Which party would you like to attend? That’s the real question.
~~~As often as we take the Eucharist, we participate in Jesus’ picnic. Just like on that day, Jesus takes our bread, blesses it, breaks it, and shares it with all who are hungry. And he is calling us to do the same with our lives – take the blessings God has given, break them open, and share them with others. That’s the point of our purpose statement at Hope where together we are led by the Spirit to SERVE God and SHARE Christ’s love with all.
~~~Serving. Sharing. Loving in Jesus’ Name-THAT is our Baptismal call lived out-with the new Food Pantry at Hope, the ongoing collection for the Homeless Coalition and Jesus Loves You ministries, the Shoes for Kids Campaign and so much more. But there’s so much more that we CAN do and NEED to do in Jesus’ Name. Our question is– do we want to Feast like Herod and hold onto it all for ourselves, or do we want to feast with Jesus and share his love with all people??????
~~~Jesus is calling us today: Come to the party where no one goes hungry, where there is bread and joy and life for all. Amen.
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
Confident of your care and helped by the Holy Spirit, we pray for the church, the world, and all who are in need. A brief silence.
You take resources that appear to be meager, bless them, and there is enough. May your church trust that what you bless and ask us to share with the world is abundantly sufficient. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Your bountiful creation offers sustenance and life for all creatures. Protect this abundance for the well-being of all. Reverse the damage we have caused your creation. Replenish ground water supplies, provide needed rains in places of drought, and protect forests from wildfires. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
You offer yourself to all the nations and peoples of the earth, inviting everyone to abundant life. Bring the prophetic vision to fullness, that all nations will run to you and that nations who do not know you will find their joy in you. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. Hear the anguish of tender hearts who cry to you in suffering and satisfy their deepest needs. Bring wholeness and healing to those who suffer in body, heart, soul, and mind (especially). Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
You offer freely the fullness of salvation. Give our congregation at Hope Lutheran Church such a welcoming heart, that our words and actions may extend your free and abundant hospitality to all whom we encounter. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
You gather your saints as one, united in the body of Jesus. Bring us with all your saints to the heavenly banquet. We remember with love and thanksgiving the saints we have known. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
In the certain hope that nothing can separate us from your love, we offer these prayers to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
OUR FATHER…
BLESSING Almighty God, the Father, + the Son, and the Holy Spirit be with us now and always. Amen.
DISMISSAL We go in peace with grateful hearts for all God has done for us as together we are led by the Spirit to serve God and share Christ’s love with all! Thanks be to God!!!
Hope Lutheran Church-Gulf Cove
14200 Hopewell Ave, Port Charlotte, FL 33981
Church phone: 941-697-2345
Email: hopeluthern@comcast.net
Pr. Jen Schaefer-cell-813-391-2027
Pr. Jen’s email: hopeluthern1@comcast.net
Our purpose at Hope is that we are led by the Spirit to serve God and share Christ’s love with all!
HOPE HAPPENINGS
We welcome all who worship with us today. Please complete one of the visitor cards at our guest table. If you would like to make Hope your church home, please speak to Pastor Jen. Everyone is welcome at Hope Lutheran Church.
Next Week’s Readings: 1 Kings 19:9-18; Romans 10:5-15; Matthew 14:22-33
The July thru September Word in Season Devotionals are available on the narthex table.
LAY SERVANTS
Altar Guild – Barb & Larry Brady Ushers – Alan & Cindy Beicht Counters – Barb & Larry Brady
PRAYER LIST
Please call the church office or email Pr. Jen with any prayer requests you may have so they may be shared with the congregation.
Please continue to hold in prayer:
Laura Everill, daughter of Phyllis and Tom Agness, residing in a healthcare facility
Walter Crowley, husband of Kathryn & father of Ginger Toomire recovering from pneumonia
Peter Schwenke, uncle of Lorraine Maass in need of healing
Joyce, sister in law of Elaine Dougan, recovering from brain cancer surgery
Arthur St. Amand and Joanne, in need of God’s healing touch
John Greene, Millie’s husband , recovering from surgery
Suzette, Katie McClay’s friend who is recovering after colon cancer surgery,
Florence, Bob Kostrowsky’s aunt who is recovering in New Jersey
Lois, Lorraine Maass’ friend, in need of God’s healing presence
Kaye Miller, friend of Elaine Dougan, needing God’s comfort and healing
Cheryl Burke who is in need of healing
Sandy Johnson who is in need of healing.
Jean Miller facing breast cancer
Art Ruth for healing and strength
Those who are in need or ill in any way, those who are lonely, those who are frightened, those who grieve, those caring for those who are ill, those who are victimized by racism
BLOOD DRIVE – The Suncoast Blood Drive Mobile Unit has been rescheduled for August 16 th between 9:30 AM and 1:00 PM in our parking lot. A Covid antibody test will be done on all successful blood donations. Please sign up in the narthex if you would like to donate.
MASKS – Our supply of masks is getting low. Any donation of additional masks would be greatly appreciated.
HOPE’S LOVE PANTRY. Big thank you to Linda Kraigenow who donated and initiated our new Hope’s Love Pantry. If anyone would like to donate nonperishable goods for our pantry please put items on the shelves of our pantry located on the walkway to the left of the main entrance.
Also, please let people in our area who may be in need, know that they may take some food from our pantry. No need to sign up. It is anonymous, no questions asked.
NEW FM RADIO STATION. Anyone can now listen to worship in their vehicles by tuning into FM Radio station 88.3. All services will be broadcast on radio station FM 88.3.
HYMN REQUESTS If there are any particular hymns that you would like to hear at worship, please submit the names to Pastor Jen at hopeluthern1@comcast.net. If our licensing agreement permits, look forward to hearing them soon.
HOPES AND DREAMS FOR HOPE – If you have a suggestion for a Hope or Dream for Hope Lutheran Church, Pastor Jen and your council would love to hear it. Please feel free to place any Hope or Dream in the mailbox in the hallway leading to the Fellowship Hall. All requests will be kept confidential and you will receive a timely response.
BIBLES AND BAGELS (or muffins or individually wrapped goodies) Please join us Mondays from 10:00 – 11:00 AM for Bible Study and sharing in the Fellowship Hall. Physical Distancing and sharing in Scripture and discussion are blessings we can share together!! All are welcome!!
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