Collect for the Twenty Fifth Sunday after Trinity
Stir up, we beseech You, O Lord, the wills of Your faithful people; that they plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by You be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
For The Epistle, Jeremiah 23: 5-8
5 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch,
a King who will reign wisely
and do what is just and right in the land.
6 In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will live in safety.
This is the name by which he will be called:
The Lord Our Righteous Saviour.
7 “So then, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’ 8 but they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ Then they will live in their own land.”
The Holy Gospel of St John 6:5-14
5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”
8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
14 After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
Bishop Ian’s Thoughts
Today’s Reading, for the Epistle, is taken from the Old Testament Book of the Prophet Jeremiah Chapter 23, Verses 5-8.
Most scholars agree that the Prophet Jeremiah intended this portion of his Book as a prophecy directed at Zedekiah, the ruling King of Judah.
Zedekiah was a weak, puppet king, installed as ruler, over Judah, by King Nebuchadnezzar II who was by far the most powerful and notable King of the New Babylonian Empire.
King Nebuchadnezzar II invaded Judah and captured Jerusalem around 597 BC.
As was common in Old Testament times, a conquering king would install a local ruler as his vassal, in order to control the conquered kingdom more efficiently, and to minimise disruption to the life and commerce of the conquered kingdom.
In a like manner, in the time of the Lord Jesus, Judea was under Roman occupation with Pontius Pilate being the Governor, who represented the Roman Emperor.
Zedekiah was a king who did evil in the sight of the Lord and it is said, of him, that with his evil deeds, he reversed the role of the good shepherd, who protected, nurtured, led and cherished his flock.
Zedekiah was removed by Nebuchadnezzar II around 587 BC, when Jerusalem, and the Temple of God, was utterly destroyed by the Babylonian army.
A great number of the population of Judah were taken, as slaves, back to Babylon, while the remainder were dispersed throughout neighbouring countries.
King Zedekiah and his sons were taken back to Babylon,, where the sons were slaughtered in front of Zedekiah, whose eyes were then put out, and he remained a prisoner, in chains, until his death.
The Prophet Jeremiah foretold of the day when God would raise up a Mighty King over Judah and Israel.
This Great King would rule wisely and with great Wisdom, Justice, and Mercy:
“5 The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch,
a King who will reign wisely
and do what is just and right in the land.”
The people of Judah, together with all people who were in exile as a result of the Babylonian conquest, (God’s People) will be rescued from all their enemies, and will dwell in safety, protected from all calamities by the Mighty Hand of God and His Mighty King:
.”6 In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will live in safety.”
The Mighty King, installed by God, will carry a unique Divine Name:
“This is the name by which he will be called:
The Lord Our Righteous Saviour.”
The Mighty King (God’s Messiah), of whose coming Jeremiah foretells, is the Lord Jesus Christ.
When the Lord Jesus was born in Bethlehem over 580 years later the prophecy foretold by Jeremiah was fulfilled by God.
Through the Life, Death, and Glorious Resurrection of the Lord Jesus the tyranny of sin, and the burden of guilt, was removed forever, and all believers in the Holy Gospel were given direct access to God, thorough the Mediation of His Beloved Son.
At the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus to Judge the world, all faithful believers will inherit God’s Promises, and become citizens of the God’s Eternal Kingdom where we live forever as God’s Adopted Children.
This is where the prophecy of Jeremiah finds its ultimate fulfilment.
Jeremiah concludes this portion of our Reading by foretelling that when the Messiah comes people will no longer praise and honour God by recalling His Mighty Salvation of the ancient nation of Israel from their bondage in Egypt, but rather they will praise and honour God by recalling His Mighty Salvation, wrought by the Lord Jesus Christ, in His vanquishing of Satan and Death, by the power of His Holy Gospel:
7 “So then, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’ 8 but they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ Then they will live in their own land.”
Let us give all praise to God, Who has given us the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus, and let us always remember, with thankful hearts and minds, God’s Mercy and Forgiveness poured out on us through the Life, Death, and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus. May we always look forward to the return of the Lord Jesus when he will Judge the world in Righteousness and usher in His Eternal Kingdom where we will dwell with Him forever in Love, Peace and Safety. Amen.
Today’s Holy Gospel Reading is from the Holy Gospel of St John, Chapter 6, Verses 5-14.
This portion of St John’s Holy Gospel gives us an account of the provision of food for a very large crowd who were converging on the Lord Jesus to hear Him teach.
This miraculous sign, of the provision of food, given by the Lord Jesus is the only sign recorded in all four Holy Gospels and it is not to be confused with the miraculous provision of food for over four thousand people mentioned the Holy Gospel of St Mark Chapter 8, Verses 1-9:
“8 During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, 2 “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”
4 His disciples answered, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?”
5 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.
“Seven,” they replied.
6 He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people, and they did so. 7 They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. 8 The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 9 About four thousand were present.”
St Matthew also records the provision of the meal for the four thousand in his Holy Gospel Chapter15, Verses 29-39:
29 Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. 30 Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. 31 The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.
32 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.”
33 His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?”
34 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.
“Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”
35 He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36 Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. 37 They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 38 The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan.
In our Holy Gospel Reading it was probably well into the day, as the Lord Jesus was immediately concerned for the crowd’s welfare, as they had not had the opportunity to have a meal during the time they were following the Lord Jesus:
5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”
St John informs us that the Lord Jesus’ question to His Disciple Philip was only a test as the Lord Jesus knew what action he would take:
“6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.”
Philip was staggered by the size of the crowd and by the Lord Jesus’ apparent instruction to Philip to arrange a meal for the crowd.
There may have been several thousand people following the Lord Jesus as St John only records the presence of five thousand men. It is highly probable that there were also women and children among the crowd.
Philip answered the Lord Jesus with a statement showing his total bewilderment as to how to undertake the logistics of providing so large a meal at short notice.
“7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”
Another Disciple, Andrew, spoke up and offered a seemingly irrelevant piece of information:
“8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
The Lord Jesus knew exactly what He would accomplish using the small gift of God’s Provision to the boy:
“10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.”
The small gift of God was magnified by the Lord Jesus, Whose Power controls and orders all things as He wills.
The meal was concluded and the Lord Jesus commanded His Disciples to gather up the food that was left over after the whole crowd had been satisfied:
12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
It is probable that the Lord Jesus, His Disciples, and the members of His entourage enjoyed a meal from the surplus bread and fish.
The crowd recognised that the miraculous meal that they had just enjoyed was a sign of the work of God’s Great Messiah (Mighty Saviour and Deliverer) who God promised would come into the world:
14 After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
The Old Testament Book of Deuteronomy foretells the coming of God’s Messiah in Chapter 18, Verse15:
“15 The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.”
God’s Great Messiah is the Lord Jesus Christ, Who speaks with the Power and Authority of God, being God in human flesh.
Nothing is beyond the Divine Power of the Lord Jesus and He is always close at hand to hear our prayers and to provide us with whatever we need to serve Him faithfully.
Let us always give thanks to God for His Gift of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Gospel that He has wrought on the Cross of Calvary, and by which He has paid the price of our sins together with the sins of all His Chosen People, so that we may greet Him, clothed in His Holy Righteousness, when He comes again at the close of the age to Judge all people, and establish His Eternal Kingdom. Amen.
Bishop Ian