Welcome to Anglican Kossacks, a group for Anglican/Episcopalian Kossacks to meditate on weekly scripture readings, discuss developments in the worldwide Anglican Communion, the Episcopal Church, the Church of England and the Anglican Church of Canada as well as issues related to social justice and church polity, liturgy and music in a mutually respectful and tolerant online environment. Open to all, regardless of religious affiliation. Some of our diaries are action, informative or historical diaries and others are meditative and prayerful. We, like the Episcopal Church, welcome you! Thank you for joining us.
Today is the Seventh Sunday After Pentecost. Over the fold we'll explore the prayers and readings for today as well as some meditation and music. Please join us--all are welcome...
Collect of the Day
Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness, Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. --Proper 13, 1979 Book of Common Prayer (US), pg. 232.
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The Liturgy of the Word: Today's Readings
First Lesson: Genesis 32:22-31. Jacob wrestles with an unusual visitor in the night: "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved."
The Psalmody: Ps. 17:1-7,16 Exaudi, Domine
I call upon you, O God, for you will answer me; *
incline your ear to me and hear my words.
But at my vindication I shall see your face; *
when I awake, I shall be satisfied, beholding your likeness.
(Ps. 17:6, 16, 1979 BCP, Ppg. 601, 602)
Epistle: Romans 9:1-5. St. Paul writes to the Church in Rome of his "kindred according to the flesh": "They are the Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah, who is over all..."
The Gospel: Matthew 14:13-21. The miracle of the loaves and fishes.
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Meditation on the Gospel
Almost everyone who has ever been exposed to Christianity of any kind knows this story. Jesus, mourning the death of John the Baptizer, goes off by himself to seek solitude. Like any modern celebrity, however, the minute people hear this, they follow after him. Rather than withdrawing from the crowd, he attends to them, especially to their sick. In his grief, he manages to minister to them. At the end of the day, the disciples become concerned that there will be nothing to feed them and suggest that he send them away to the town to seek food. Jesus, however, will have none of that, and orders them to bring the five loaves of bread and the two fish in their possession to him. Blessing it, he gives it to the disciples to distribute to the multitude. This fed five thousand families, and left "twelve baskets" left over.
A Miracle! Now a classical interpretation of this story is that in some supernatural way, Jesus turned five loaves of bread and two fish into enough food to feed thousands of people--with plenty of leftovers to boot. And this is a nice thought. It is certainly the kind of thing which is difficult even for believers to believe. I know it's difficult for this believer to believe.
I often hear it asked--by believers and nonbelievers alike--"Why don't we see miracles like this today?" What underlies this question, of course, is a magical, supernatural interpretation of this miracle, that somehow Jesus laid hands on this food and it magically multiplied into enough to feed a typical New England town. Something is at work, alright, but I don't think it's "magic". I do think it's supernatural, however, but it is probably not what you're thinking.
The Holy Spirit works indeed through us today, as She worked through Jesus that day at the shore. I have heard this interpretation before, and I was delighted to hear Canon Henderson explore this idea today at St. Luke's Cathedral. Here's how it goes:
People who were going to pick up and follow Jesus to this secluded place and bring their families--some of them sick--would likely to have brought food for themselves on their journey, but probably many of them only brought enough for themselves, with none to spare. Some of them would have had more food than they needed. Some of them would have had very little, or even none. It is in human nature to be protective of both food and family. It is in our nature--in many circumstances--not to share. Is it possible that Jesus' action that day, in distributing to the masses a quantity of food which was not even enough to feed himself and all of his disciples, may have moved the thousands assembled to begin to share with one another, and to see that those who had no food received some from those who had more than they needed? Is it possible that the miracle here is the miracle of sharing? Is it possible that what the Holy Spirit was doing through Jesus was moving people to act in a loving, caring, nurturing way towards one another? I would like to think that was exactly what happened that day. Beyond that, people shared so generously with one another that there was even food left over! A budget surplus, if you will, to put it in modern terms, created by true sharing and tending to the needs of the entire community.
While it might be difficult to wrap one's mind around the "magical" interpretation of this miracle, how many of us today have seen the other interpretation at work? We may not see it often, but we have all seen this happen. Miracles happen through us.
Today, we see a lot of "I have mine, to heck with yours" and "If you don't have enough, well, it's your fault. I'm not sharing anything with you." We're seeing it play out right now in our own society. We are in need of a miracle like this. But these kinds of miracles don't come by magic. They come through our own actions. Listen quietly--what is the Holy Spirit (as you understand Her) calling you to do?
Commonmass is a lay associate of the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament.
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Prayer
In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer: Ruperts Land, Canada.
Personal concerns and prayers are welcome in the comments.
An Excerpt from A Collect for the Nation:
Lord God Almighty, you have made all the peoples of the earth for your glory...Give to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will; through Jesus Christ, etc. Amen. --1979 BCP (US) pg. 258.
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I'd like to close today with a rather unusual version of the great hymn Guide me, O thou great Jehovah, by William Williams (1717-1791) to the tune CWM RHONNDA by John Hughes (1873-1932). May He who Is guide our Legislators to share the loaves and the fishes.
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