July 19, 2009 Sermon

Rejoice in What You Are (Deuteronomy 8: selected verses; Mark 6:31-44)

Rev. Sally Harris

Giver of Life and love this I pray:
For stillness to hear the song of Your Spirit.
For vision to see the shape of Your dreaming.
For wisdom to touch the depths of Your creating.
For courage to take the paths our souls have always known. Amen

Once there was a small field of grain; a field owned, sown, and carefully tended by a loving Creator. The field was blessed by the sun and watered gently by the rains. It had rich black soil in which to grow its crops. But the field thought itself to be much too small and unimportant. "I'm so small! Nothing worthwhile can grow here," the field declared in despair. "Nonsense," replied the field's Creator. "Stop despairing and concentrate on what you are!

Rejoice that you are a field! I've placed wonderful seed in your soil. You can bring in a bountiful yield!" The field didn't listen. When it came time for the harvest, it offered up a fine sack of rich grain to the Creator. Repeatedly it apologized to the Creator in despair. "I've produced so little for all the work you put into me,” sobbed the field. "That's not true," the Creator reassured it. You have produced a fine yield; a yield which will bring many blessings in the work of my Kingdom.

Once there was a small sack of grain. It was a fine sack of wheat that had been grown in a fertile field. It had been kept carefully dry and free from any mold or blight. And it was ready to be milled into flour and baked into loaves of bread. But the sack of wheat thought itself too small and unimportant for the task at hand. "Why don't you just use me to feed the birds?" said the small sack of grain. "I'm so small that nothing good can come out of me. I'm not worth the effort of milling and baking. I won't produce any yield at all!" "That's not true," the sack's Creator replied. "Stop despairing and concentrate on what you are. You're a fine sack of wheat that will produce fine bread.

Rejoice in what you are, and in the people you will feed." The small sack of wheat didn't listen. When it had been milled into flour it was baked into five small loaves of fine bread. That, thought the sack of wheat, was not enough. Repeatedly it apologized to the Creator in despair. "I've produced so little for all the work you put into me," sobbed the wheat. "That's not true," the Creator reassured it. You have produced a fine yield; a yield which will bring many blessings in the work of my Kingdom.

Once there were five small loaves of bread. They were rich loaves of bread. They had only been baked the day before so they were nice and fresh. And the smell rising from them was enough to drive a hungry person to distraction. But the five small loaves of bread thought themselves to be too few to be any good to anyone.

"There are so many hungry people in the world," the loaves called out in despair. "We are so few and so small that we will do no good at all. You might as well break us up for crumbs and throw us onto the ground!" "Now that's silly," the loaves' Creator replied. "You are fine loaves who will feed many people; people who would starve without you." But the loaves didn't listen and continued to despair. "Watch what I do," the loaves' Creator told them. "Watch and see how your yield will do the work of my Kingdom."

Then they were given to the One, open to the Creator's generosity. This One lifted the loaves toward heaven, blessed them and broke them and gave them to those who were his companions. These few followers trusting the blessing walked into a crowd of thousands with only a few blessed and broken loaves

At first the loaves thought this was silly. "There aren't enough of us," they cried out! "We can never feed everyone here!"

But as each person was fed there was enough left for the next. Then there was enough left for the next and for the next after that, and for the next person too. And when the leftovers were gathered there were twelve baskets of broken and blessed bread and the loaves realized they had fed all those thousands.

The loaves rejoiced then and knew their Creator had been right. Although they'd been small and few they had given an important yield toward the work of the Creator's Kingdom.

They knew too their story would be told in many places; small places; places that were very small in numbers; places that would be tempted to try only to survive instead of to thrive because they believed they were too small to take any risk.

"Remember us," the five small loaves declared. "We were few and small. Yet we who were small produced a great yield in the work of the Creator's Kingdom.

We are now the bread to feed the Creator's people. Rejoice for we have gifts; gifts that are needed to feed many who are hungry. Rejoice, for we have resources; resources that blossom as they are offered to the making of the Creator's kingdom. Let us be bread. Offering ourselves, all we have, and all we are. Amen




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