Sermon preached by the Reverend John E. Kitagawa at the Celebration of the Holy Eucharist on Sunday, 2 May 2010 (The Feast of Saints Philip and James, observed) at St. Philip’s In The Hills Parish, Tucson, Arizona

HE HAD COMPASSION ON THEM

Isaiah 30: 18-21; II Corinthians 4: 1-6; John 14: 6-14

On May 1, 1936, the feast of St. Philip and St. James, the Rev. George W. Ferguson was concluding his Friday Quiet Hour meditation. Obviously delighted, he announced to the three dozen people gathered that he had exciting good news: A long held dream was soon to be realized in Tucson—a church where, in his felicitous words, “The Lord will be worshiped in the holiness of beauty.”

The site was to be in the foothills of the Catalina Mountains. Arrangements to build the church were complete. The name tentatively chosen was St. Philip’s[1].

Precious little is known about our patron saint, Philip. Artistically, Philip is often depicted with a cross, on which he is believed to have suffered (see painting behind me, or front of your bulletin). In a story called the Golden Legend, Philip is credited with driving away a noxious dragon of the temple of Mars[2]—hence the dragon in the circle on the left side of the red Altar frontal. Philip is listed among the apostles in Matthew, Mark and Luke[3], but only John deals with him as an individual[4].

In John, Philip is credited with persuading Nathaniel to follow Jesus (John 1: 43-51). We know some Greeks approach Philip seeking an introduction to Jesus (John 12: 21-26). In today’s Gospel, Philip asks Jesus to “show us the Father, and we will be satisfied” (John 14: 8). We know that Philip was the one who, at the Feeding of the Five Thousand, raised the very practical observation that “six months wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little” (John 6: 5-7). Obviously, Philip’s connection to the Feeding of the Five Thousand was inspirational to our founders. Five loaves and two fish form the principal symbol and logo of this parish. It is on our stationary and most publications. The name of our printed newsletter is Loaves and Fishes. Perhaps less obvious is the title of the occasional news flyer you receive: Fragments. Please note that Loaves and Fishes form the central symbol of our red altar frontal, and the subject of the luminous stained glass window in the East Transept.

The story of the Loaves & Fishes is often called the Feeding of the Five Thousand, or the Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes. These titles suggest the significance of the story is the end result. One can certainly make a case for this conclusion. Author Parker Palmer would have us approach the story differently. After working hard, Jesus and the disciples have gone away for a period of prayer and meditation. But, the crowd, eager for more healings and instruction, follow them to the place of their retreat. In Matthew, Mark and Luke’s versions of the story, the disciples urge Jesus to send the people away because it is late in the day; it is a deserted place; there is no food; and, they have no financial resources. Only Matthew and Mark tell us specifically why Jesus does not send the crowd away. It is because “he had compassion for them” (Matthew 14: 14; Mark 6: 34). Matthew’s account subtly highlights an aspect of the story easily overlooked. As Jesus demonstrates, compassion is an inner quality that makes it possible for actions to be responsive at several levels, not just reflexive to the presenting problem. Jesus did three things in response to the crowd. He healed and he taught (Mark 6: 34) before responding to hungry bellies. Two things are worth contemplating. First, the experience of Jesus and the disciples shows us life does not easily or readily compartmentalize into spirituality, prayer and contemplation on one hand, and the “active life” on the other. The second point to note is Jesus’ instinct to minister to several aspects of a person’s needs.

In his book, The Active Life[5], Palmer takes on the magical aspect of the story directly. He begins with a reminder that

… the Jesus who makes bread multiply here is the same Jesus who refused to make bread by magic when challenged to do so by the devil. If the feeding of the five thousand were no more than a magic act, I think we could hear the devil off in the distance chuckling, “I won!”[6].

The elements of what Palmer understands to have happened are instructive to individuals, to families, and to this community of faith. Instead of a magic act, Palmer suggests Jesus acted on the assumption of abundance. Mark’s account provides us with this little gem.

Then [Jesus] ordered [the disciples] to get all the people to sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat in groups of hundreds and fifties (Mark 6: 39-40; Luke 9: 14).

This seems like an insignificant detail. However, anyone who has done community organizing work knows the value of gathering people into face to face groups. Palmer puts it this way:

… clustering people into more intimate settings [is] where miracles have a chance to happen.

… Jesus replaces the dulling anonymity of the crowd with the energy and personalism of human-scale groups. Friends spot each other. People greet and embrace, full of the joy of recognition and the excitement of the event. Animated words are exchanged about this phenomenon called Jesus … … this collection of isolated individuals is re-collected into the organic, interactive reality of life together.

… the very experience of community is itself an experience of abundance. In the faceless crowd, we experience scarcity—a scarcity of contact, of concern, of affirmation, of love. … True abundance resides in the simple experience of people being present to one another and for one another[7].

Does this explain how five thousand people are fed with the meager resources of five loaves and two fishes? Please note another significant but easily overlooked detail. After Jesus blessed and broke the five loaves and two fishes, all four gospels record either that Jesus gave “them” to the disciples to set before the people (Mark 6: 41; Luke 9: 16), or that Jesus gave “them” to the disciples to distribute among the people (Matthew 14: 19; John 6: 11). Nowhere in the Gospels does it say or suggest that the loaves and fishes were magically multiplied by the time they left Jesus’ hands. Also, please note there is nothing to suggest that before or after the blessing the disciples withheld any of the meager rations for themselves. Again, Parker Palmer,

Perhaps [the people] found themselves moved to emulate the generosity of Jesus and the disciples rather than hoard their scarce resources. Suddenly, through a community ignited by an example of generosity, scarcity turns into abundance. It happens not by magic but by the live encounter of people who have been helped to re-member each other and themselves[8].

I return to a detail I glossed over earlier. Jesus blessed and broke the loaves and fishes. Of course he did, what is the big deal here? First, in this action, Jesus acknowledges gifts have been given, and that he and others depend on gifts beyond their making. We would do well to approach life with this mindset. Secondly, Jesus expresses trust that there are forces and powers other than his own at work. This relieves him of the burden and perhaps paralysis of total responsibility, and frees him to respond as best he can with the resources at hand. Unfortunately, this trust is often misinterpreted into a slogan like, “Let God do it,” thereby avoiding personal responsibility to act.

In Palmer’s words,

… every human being is an incarnation of the holy, [and] we all have the potential to live out that holiness[9].

Archbishop Tutu offers a similar thought:

Without us, God has no eyes; without us, God has no ears; without us, God has no arms. God waits upon us, and relies on us . … you should not be daunted by the magnitude of the task before you. Your contributions can inspire others, embolden others[10].

At the beginning of the story, Jesus and the disciples try to retreat for a period of prayer and contemplation. Palmer defines contemplation as “any way we unmask illusion and reveal reality[11]. Through the story of the Loaves and Fishes, Jesus gives us an opportunity to penetrate the illusion of scarcity, and to touch the reality of God’s abundance. I conclude with Palmer’s story about penetrating his illusion of scarcity and his touching the reality of God’s abundance. The story revolves around involving a friend from the Peoples’ Republic of China.

… this man offered to cook a Chinese dinner for eight of us, and we quickly accepted. I drove him to the grocery story and stopped at the bank on the way. I assumed we would purchase a cartload of groceries. Like the disciples, I was certain this feeding would require a good deal of cash.

… my Chinese friend purchased only enough vegetables, eggs, rice, and a few other items to fill a small bag. We paid ten dollars or so and headed home.

He gathered us in the kitchen and showed us how to help prepare the meal. We found spices, brought out pots and pans, made sauces, separated eggs, and chopped those vegetables so fine that I thought they would disappear. Instead, they multiplied, and so did our joy. We spent the better part of the afternoon talking and laughing and learning.

The actual cooking took hardly any time. Six or eight dishes were prepared and set on the table before an astonished group. From that small bag of groceries had emerged a dinner large enough to satisfy all of us—a satisfaction that was laced with joy, the wonder of sharing in a rich and ancient culture, the delight of each other’s company, and the sense that we had somehow stepped closer to world peace. The alchemy of love had turned scarcity into abundance[12].

May all of our contemplations about the significance of St. Philip’s Day help us to penetrate our illusions of scarcity and to touch the reality of God’s abundance.

AMEN.