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Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. 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.” (John 6:1-14)

Jesus gives thanks for the five loaves of barley and two fish, blesses them and distributes enough food for a stadium full of people. This is unlike his transformative miracle of turning water into wine and all the healing miracles. Jesus creates enough food for women, children, and 5000 men. This story was never denied because of all the eye witnesses. So I ask again, “Who is this that feeds 10,000 people with five loaves and two fish and has twelve baskets of food left over?”

John ends his Gospel by saying, “This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true. But there are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” (John 21:24-25)

In Christ’s love,  Fr. Duncan

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Only a few days ago the disciples almost sank in a storm. They cried to Jesus who was asleep in the back of the boat. When the wind and seas were calmed, Jesus accused them of not having faith. Then he sent them out to evangelize and heal the world two by two. Jesus asked them to pack light. He sent them out with the Holy Spirit, but they were still ripe with doubt, fear and anger.

“The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves, taking nothing with them except the cloths on your back.” (Mark 6:30-32)

Last week I returned from Bermuda on a 43-foot sailboat and we hit some rough wind and waves. We heard that a fifty foot boat was lost, but the crew was rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter. That was the third boat to sink on the way to and from Bermuda in that past week. The captain asked me what my last sermon was, I told him, “Jesus may be asleep, but he’s still in the boat. We are going to get through this.” I heard the captain on the radio later saying, “we are going to be fine.” When I arrived home, I went to Shelter Island for a week of rest and relaxation.

I turned on the news when I got home to hear of the Trump assassination attempt. This past week I spoke to many folks that mentioned to me that they were broken by the politics in our nation, and a few said that they were very angry. Some expressed fear and doubt.

Please take time for rest and renewal this summer, Jesus asks us to balance our doing and our rest. Jesus asks us to have faith in the Holy Spirit and to rest in the love and peace of God that passes all understanding. My sermon for this week is entitled, “Many of us have cracks in our pots, but God’s love is the glue that keeps us strong.”

In Christ’s love,
Fr. Duncan

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One of my favorite descriptions of God is “architect of the universe”. I just imagine God sitting as his drawing desk, protractor, and pencil in hand, intricately measuring and designing a far-off planet for His good pleasure. In this weekend’s reading from Amos, we hear about God using a plumb line as a way to measure their faithfulness to him. If you didn’t know, a plumb line historically been used to survey property and boundary lines. 

The days of Amos were not unlike our day today. The time in which Amos was living (8th century B.C.) was a time of great power and prestige for the Kingdom of Israel, but this wealth and power also led to great iniquity and division between the urban elite and the rural villages. Amos’ most famous saying is 5:24, “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” Amos was a small-time farmer who didn’t regard himself as a prophet but was instructed by God to prophesy to the Kingdom of Israel. Indeed, chapter 7 ends, “Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.” By the end of the 8th century BC, Israel would be conquered by the Assyrians. 

This is not the way God originally designed His creation, warring, conquering, iniquity, and division. The blueprint God has for us might seem daunting or unreachable. While He commands us “to be holy as I am holy” (Leviticus 21:8; Exodus 19:6; 1 Peter 1:16) we know we fall short. But we have a plumb line. We have the blueprint. We have a way, when He picks us up after we fall, to follow the straight and narrow. Fulfilled in Jesus Christ and written in Holy Scripture, the Word of God speaks to us today like it did to Amos those many centuries ago, continually designing and forming us into a new creation.

Yours in Christ,
Fr. Zach

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The Power of Christian Community in Action!

“Jesus called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits… They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.” Mark 6:7, 13

Comic by Steve Thomason

The Lord now sends us forth
with hands to serve and give,
To make of all the earth
a better place to live.

By Jose Aguiar
Translated by Gerhard M. Cartford

Are you ready to seek and serve God in the mission field? Join me for services on Sunday, July 7^th for a collaborative message and a joyous send off to seek and serve!

Joining with you in God’s service,
Deacon Claire