All Of Your Little Pieces
Pr. Jasmine Waring | 9th Sunday after Pentecost!
July 25, 2021
" The last sermon I preached, I talked about how the Kingdom of God is a reality we can live into which is counter-cultural to the world we live in. The Kingdom of God is a world within a world where we can experience nourishment, grace, equity, and hope. You might remember the illustration I used from the movie, “Hook,” where a grown-up Peter Pan is learning how to use his imagination again through the Lost Boy’s feast. In the beginning, Peter was frustrated because there was no food at the table. The Lost Boys were feasting on what looked like just air, but after some time, Peter experienced a real water-into-wine moment when he scooped a spoonful from an empty bowl and launched colorful mouse onto Rufio’s face. It was this revelation that allowed Peter to see the abundance of food set before him. You’re doing it, Peter!!
" We see a similar scene of a miraculous abundance of food in our Gospel reading this morning. Jesus sees a crowd approaching, and asks his disciple, Phillip, to get food for them. Being the rational one, Phillip says from a viewpoint of scarcity that six months of wages wouldn’t be enough to feed them. Which means, Jesus’ check would have bounced if they had bought it. Yet, Jesus takes the loaves and fish they do have, and gave thanks for them. The words, “Given thanks” translates to the Greek word that is also the source of the term “Eucharist," a foreshadowing of the Lord’s Supper we participate in every week. Jesus, the bread of life, feeds the people himself, which is unique to the Gospel of John. Finally, after everyone has had their fill, Jesus asks the disciples to gather the leftover pieces so that nothing is wasted. Our society has a very different definition of abundance. Abundance is marked by the amount of power or influence one has. The amount of money and capital one possess, and even by one’s health and physical abilities. None of these are inherently evil, but as someone continues to climb hierarchies, and accumulate wealth in excess, the more likely you are to exploit other people’s labor, or exploit the earth, or marginalize identities who have been disinherited. Take Jeff Bezos for example. Recently he spent 5.5 billion dollars for an 11 minute trip to space. I spent more time driving to church this morning! Imagine having that much expendable income. The truth is, Bezos can live 100 more years without making a dollar and still be one of the riches people on earth. I just hope with all his money he can figure out how to thread a camel through the eye of a needle. The book of Ecclesiastes is wisdom literature believed to be written by King Solomon, the Jeff Bezos of his day. He has this to say about his abundance towards the end of his life.! “I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards. I made gardens and parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees. I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves. I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born into my household. I also owned large herds and flocks, more than any of the kings who had lived in Jerusalem before me. I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. I had everything a man could desire! So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing (or feasting on) the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere” (Ecc 2:4-11). ! This is the opposite of the banquet table in Hook, where you see an abundant feast before you, but when you eat it, it never satisfies. ! " If society’s definition of abundance ultimately leads to emptiness, then what does abundance mean in the Kingdom of God? In our Gospel reading, there is a line that does not get as much attention in the story. Jesus has his disciples gather the leftover fragments of bread and fish so that nothing goes to waste. Is Jesus just being frugal, or is God trying to show us something more here? There are many moments we can look back on in our lives, and call it a waste. Wasting time at a dead-end job, wasting energy in a toxic relationship, or wasting money on a bad investment. We can look back on these fragments in our lives and feel a world of regret. Yet, the Kingdom
of God says, “Nothing is wasted here.” It reminds me of the Old Testament story of Joseph, who knew he was called to greatness, but found himself in a pit. Then he was sold into slavery, then found himself in prison, before he became second in command of Egypt. He could have easily said that the time he spent in a pit or in prison were a waste of time and effort. Yet, he says to his brothers who sold him into slavery, “What you had intended for evil, God has turned it into something good.” When abundance is marked by excess in society, the Kingdom of God marks abundance with alchemy. Christ gathers the broken, unwanted, seemingly useless fragments of our lives and miraculously creates abundance beyond what we could ever imagine.
" Ecclesiastes briefly diverts from its cynicism in a verse in chapter 3 and says, “Everything is made beautiful in its time.” When I think about my own life, I can claim this to be true. Some of you may know that I came out later in life. I was almost 29 years old when I came out as gay 6 years ago. Many of my queer friends and folks I’ve met had been out since they were teenagers, or in their early 20’s. Most of my straight friends were already married and had kids. I felt so far behind. I looked back at how lonely and awkward I was in my 20’s and thought about all the time I wasted trying to be someone I wasn’t. Why didn’t I know sooner? Why did I wait so long to cut my hair? But when I look back on my life now, I can see the beauty in fragments Christ brought together for me. If I had come out 10, 15, or 20 years ago, My mom would not have accepted me. I wouldn’t of had the spiritual maturity to wrestle with my faith and still be a Christian, let alone pursue a call to ministry. I probably wouldn’t have met the love of my life, Mel. And I wouldn’t have met all of the beautiful people of First Lutheran Church Fullerton. My life is beautiful, and every broken fragment of my life has been used for God’s glory. Because of what I’ve been through and how I have seen God work in my life, I am able to be rooted and grounded in love. I am able to begin to comprehend, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep the love of Christ is. Because it doesn’t matter if I’m broke or rich, whether I am sick, or the image of health and athleticism, whether I am a leader or a follower, nothing in my life is wasted.
" I wonder what all the little pieces of your life feels like a waste. What were the moments you wish you could take back your time, energy, and resources? I pray to the One who is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to gather these pieces and make them beautiful in their own time. When we celebrate the Eucharist this morning, and you take the bread, broken for you, may it remind you of all your little fragmented pieces you thought were going to waste, and watch the miraculous abundance of God gather them up, and put it to use in your life. May you be dissatisfied with the abundance the world tries to offer you. !And may you have the power to understand, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep the redeeming love of God is.
Amen.