Proper 12B, July 29, 2012; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz
Ephesians 3:14-21 That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.
John 6:1-21 Ego eimi mey phobeisthe.
O God of love, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.
Today we hear the two stories that were left out of last week’s Gospel lesson from Mark. For some reason, the lectionary assigns the Gospel reading for today from John’s version. Your homework assignment this week is to read all six feeding stories side by side! Given how very different the four Gospels are, the versions of these stories are remarkably similar. Mark’s version is characteristically a little rougher, John’s is more polished. Mark’s Jesus is in the thick of conflict and confusion all along; for John, Jesus’ feet never really touched the ground. The story of Jesus feeding a huge hungry crowd is one of the most significant stories about Jesus. It’s rare that a miracle story appears in all four Gospels. I still think that the lectionary should have stuck with Mark this week, though, because it’s tricky to mix and match Gospel stories. It means shifting gears rather wildly from one literary world to another, each with different assumptions, purposes, and strategies. [1] Some may wonder whether the repetition and similarities of the feeding stories make them more likely memory and less likely metaphor. I don’t know. For me, the stories are equally powerful either as memory or metaphor. Continue reading