Filled with the Fullness of God

Pentecost B
by Stacey Nalean-Carlson

Dear friends,

More and more, I’m filled with gratitude for the gift of God’s presence in the present moment. With so much changing from day to day throughout this pandemic, it has felt impossible to do much planning for the future. And while that has been frustrating in so many ways, it has also been a tremendous gift to dwell in the present moment and to experience a greater awareness of God’s presence there. I pray this for you as well, especially in those times when the past is filled with regret and the the future is filled with fear. May you be filled—here and now—with the fullness of God’s steadfast love for you.

Today’s worship service, in its entirety, may be viewed here:

If you’d prefer to listen to only the gospel reading and the sermon, you may do so here:

Today’s sermon is based on three of the assigned readings for this day in the church year.

Psalm 145:10-18

10All your works shall praise you, O Lord, and your faithful ones shall bless you. 11They shall tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your power, 12that all people may know of your power and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.13Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; yo ur dominion endures throughout all ages. You, Lord, are faithful in all your words, and loving in  all your works. 14The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up those who are bowed down. 15The eyes of all wait upon you, O Lord, and you give them their food in due season. 16You open wide your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. 17You are righteous in all your ways and loving in all your works. 18You are near to all who call upon you, to all who call upon you faithfully.

Ephesians 3:14-21
14For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. 16I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, 17and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. 18I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
20Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
John 6:1-21
1Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. 2A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. 3Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. 4Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. 5When 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?” 6He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. 7Philip answered him, “Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” 8One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” 10Jesus 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. 11Then 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. 12When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.” 13So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. 14When 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.”
15When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
16When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. 19When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. 20But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” 21Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.

 

Beloved of God, grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Thursday night after the opening ceremonies for Nordic Fest—our community’s celebration of Scandinavian heritage—my visiting family members and I walked down Water Street in search of lingonberry ice cream. On the way, we noticed there didn’t appear to be a single person in line for varme polse, sausage wrapped in lefse. This never happens! This was our opportunity to get the highly sought after delicacy without waiting an eternity!

Quickly, though, we realized we were looking at the wrong booth. And the line stretching from the real varme polse booth was already quite long. Not quite the 5,000 people Jesus and his disciples were facing, but still a significant amount—a line longer than we wanted to wait in. And there, at the end, the last person in line holding the telltale sign high in the air: I’m the last in line for varme polse.

I’m always a bit curious about that crowd in this gospel account of Jesus feeding 5,000 with just five barley loaves and two fish. We get Jesus’ perspective…and a bit of what the disciples were thinking…but what of the crowd? Were they concerned about where their next meal would come from? Were their stomachs already grumbling? Were they already weary of waiting—not just this day, but so many days spent waiting to be satisfied, to be fed, to be healed, to experience the abundant love of God?

I imagine we all know something about waiting on God. It’s a human experience as old as time. The psalmist speaks into this reality: The eyes of all wait upon you, O Lord, and you give them their food in due season. You open wide your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.

In due season can be a long time coming. We wait for the tomatoes to ripen, for the sweet corn to mature, for the next opportunity to present itself, for clarity to come.

If you’re waiting on God today, you are not alone.

If your stomach’s growling and you are impatient and hangry, you are not alone.

If you perceive yourself as being stuck holding that sign that defines you as the last in line, you are not alone.

If you’re waiting on God to satisfy your desires, the author of the letter to the Ephesians has written a blessing for you.

Just listen to these words. They are for you this day. I pray that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through God’s Spirit. You are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

No longer empty. No longer hungry.  No longer waiting. No longer last in line, but filled with all the fullness of a God who satisfies the desire of every living thing.

Depth perception is an issue in my life. Ask my boys about our road trip to Colorado and how many times I yelled from the backseat as Doug was driving. It always feels to me like we’re about to slam into the next vehicle, when really there’s plenty of room between us. It’s a depth perception issue, I think. And it’s there when it comes to comprehending the depth of God’s love as well.

It’s so easy to become lost in worry, to flounder about in the past and the future instead of remaining in the present moment, attentive to God’s presence. It’s so easy to fall into believing there isn’t enough or that what is needed can be bought.

When Jesus tests Philip he asks, Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat? Philip’s answer indicates that buying bread really isn’t an option, because six months’ wages would not buy enough for each of them to get even a little. Still, it doesn’t seem as though Philip knows what might be possible instead. Is there any way to feed so many people other than to buy bread for them?

Andrew thinks he may have a suggestion, but he writes it off even as he says it. There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people? They’re not enough. What we have here is not enough.

We don’t have the resources, then, to buy what is needed. And we don’t have enough already here to provide for all who must be fed. It’s not possible to satisfy the crowd…until it is. And then, with what is offered up received by Jesus with gratitude and then shared by Jesus with all in need, all the people are satisfied AND there are leftovers.

What we have here is more than enough.

We are rooted and grounded in love.

And when our depth-perception fails, we pray we would know—even in our waiting—the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. We pray that our hungry bodies, minds, and spirits, would be filled with all the fullness of God, that we might receive with gratitude what God offers us and then share it with a world in need. Amen.