Sunday 2nd August 2020 – Rev Arnold Dixon 

Feed Me Lord

 

Matthew 14.13-21

In a dramatically political atmosphere, Jesus organises a meal for a multitude in the wilderness as a sign of compassion, and a lesson to the disciples that they need to look around them, see the need and meet it.

This week's resources explore:  bringing people together; the need to share while there is still time.

 

Call to worship

Let us sit quietly for a moment,
and think about our journey here today,
and how we are feeling now.
Are we ready to give God our full attention
and worship him?
Then let us come together to share in God's love,
to lift our hearts and voices in praise and worship,
to seek God's blessing with a new and deep experience
of God's power and generosity.
Amen.

 

May the mind of Christ my Saviour:  Sing/ Read /pray /proclaim the words or listen to this version

Click on the Link Here:    https://youtu.be/6ghgaqT57lk

 

A gathering prayer

Mighty God of miracles, we come before you.
We imagine what it might have been like
being part of a crowd of 5,000.

There may be far fewer of us here today,
but we think about the people in other churches in our town,
village, and country, also worshipping you.
Bound together by your great love,
we gather in spirit to meet with you, Jesus.
Amen.

 

A prayer of approach

Dear God,
you look deep inside us,
seeing not only our outer but our inner needs.
Have compassion on us, we pray.
Feed us today from your holy word,
and we will be filled.
Amen.

 

A prayer of confession

Sometimes, Lord,
I know I don't listen properly to you.
I'm easily distracted.
Or I listen, but still go my own way,
putting myself first.
Forgiven by you, I can start anew.

Sometimes, Lord, I don't trust you
to meet my needs,
to take care of me,
to feed me with food both physical and spiritual.
Forgiven by you, I can start anew.

Sometimes, Lord,
I'm anything but prepared for my journey with you.
Forgiven by you, I can start anew.

Sometimes, Lord,
I look for my own ways out of a situation,
instead of seeking and trusting you.
Forgiven by you, I can start anew.
Amen.

 

A prayer of adoration

Lord God of compassion and boundless blessings,
we are full of amazement
that you care so greatly for the needs of your people.
We worship and adore you for your generosity,
your love, and your power.
Amen.

There's a quiet understanding:  Sing/ Read /pray /proclaim the words or listen to this version

Click on the Link Here:    https://youtu.be/BqJ-JY3-nfU

 

Today's Reading:     Matthew 14: 13-21

 

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

13  When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns.  14  When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15  As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” 16  Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” 17  “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. 18  “Bring them here to me,” he said.  19  And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.  20  They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.  21  The number of those who ate was aboutfive thousand men, besides women and children.

 

We are one in the Spirit:   Sing/ Read /pray /proclaim the words or listen to this version

Click on the Link Here:   https://youtu.be/cfg5VTyDkyA

 

Sermon: Feed Me Lord

• Is Jesus' mission over almost before it has begun? He has been rejected in Nazareth, and people are scandalised (Matthew 13.57). John is beheaded, and instead of finding some breathing space, Jesus is beset by a needy and now hungry crowd. God provides when our human resources appear exhausted. Matthew emphasises that this is the response to Jesus' prayer. What needs can we see around us, and what is our prayer?

• Jesus appears as the new Moses, feeding people as they had been fed on manna in the wilderness. The story also recalls Elisha's feeding of an army in 2 Kings 4 – and it is constructed to emphasise its symbolism. Jeffrey John, The Meaning in the Miracles, Canterbury Press, 2001, writes: ‘If I realise that these miracles point to a feast with Jesus that I can share in now…then the miracle ceases to be a remote event in the past and becomes part of a personal, present, joyful experience of Christ's never-failing gift of himself to his church.'  
  

• Can we make a link between the need to feed the hungry and projects to feed schoolchildren during the school holidays, when school meals are not provided? Churches used to supply soup kitchens during the great depression of the 1930s. It is shameful to realise that such hunger can exist today, and that until recently society was unaware of the need. How should we respond?
  
• Seeking the military overthrow of Rome was not Jesus' mission, even though many would have thought of the Messiah as someone who would repeat David's slaying of Goliath. Matthew shows that Jesus is not leading an army against Herod (who had just killed John the Baptist), but rather he is feeding his church – Matthew's is the only Gospel to use the word – of men, women and children. In this way, Matthew allows us to see this story as representing a Eucharist (‘Jesus looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves', v.19) without needing John's Passover reference (John 6.4).

We need to allow Jesus room to do the miracles in our lives that he longs to do. Do we limit His love for us and others when we deny Him room to work in this way?  After all He is the God of the impossible! Shall we not allow His compassion and mighty presence to be available to the needy?  We need the world to see Jesus through the actions of a Church practical giving through the miraculous signs of His love.

 

Let us build a house where love can dwell:  Sing/ Read /pray /proclaim the words or listen to this version

Click on the Link Here:  https://youtu.be/gKJgcv8SdnQ

 

Prayers of intercession

Lord, today, we pray for people who have little or nothing:
for those who feel trapped in their situation,
and can't see the bigger picture,
or even any tiny glimmer of light.

We pray for people who are hungry:
for parents who struggle to feed their children, and themselves.
We thank you for the work of food banks,
and pray that they would have the resources
to continue to meet so many needs.

We pray that you would give us an appreciation of our food:
the work that goes into producing and distributing it.
Teach us not to be wasteful,
but to preserve and pass on the goodness of your earth.
Amen.

 

Guide me, O thou great Jehovah:  Sing/ Read /pray /proclaim the words or listen to this version

Click on the Link Here:  https://youtu.be/ZAN4EojeF0Y

 

The Lords Prayer

Thy Kingdom come.

Thy will be done in earth, As it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

As we forgive them that trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

The power, and the glory,

For ever and ever.

Amen .

 

A sending out prayer

By the end of the day, the crowds must have been exhausted.
They left with full stomachs and full hearts.
They had met with Jesus.
You have fed us this morning, Lord,
and we go out to live the lives you call us to.
May we be conscious of your perfect timing in our lives,
as we reach out to the outsiders as well as to our own.
Bless us, Lord.
Amen.

 

A personal prayer

Lord, a new week lies ahead of me
and I don't really know what it will bring.
Help me to be aware of people around me
who are struggling in any way.
May I be sensitive to their needs
and seek your wisdom as I come alongside them.
I want to be there for them, Lord, bearing your blessing.
Amen .