A synopsis of the sermon delivered by the Rev. David L. Hicks at St. Paul’s Reformed Episcopal Church on Sunday, July 20, 2003, Trinity V. Please read St. Mark 6:30-44.

Sometimes it is beneficial to have a sense of inadequacy. By that I am not referring to what is commonly called low self-esteem. I mean a good healthy dose of reality, especially as concerns our relation to God. The disciples had such an experience in the lesson appointed for today from Mark’s Gospel. They had returned from a mission into the surrounding area and excitedly reported to Jesus all that they had said and done in his name. They were quite pleased with the results that had come about through their efforts. However, they were immediately faced with a difficult problem. Crowds of people were following Jesus into a deserted place, and there was no opportunity for them to find food. When they brought this concern to Jesus, his reply was most certainly startling to them: “You give them something to eat.” How could Jesus possibly think that the disciples were in a position to purchase food for such a multitude of hungry people? They were suddenly faced with their own inadequacy. No matter what they may have done previously, they were powerless to surmount this particular situation. Jesus asks them, “What do you have?” When they replied that the only food to be found were five loaves of bread and two fish, Jesus accepted what they had and commanded all to sit. Taking the bread and fish, Jesus gives thanks, broke the bread and divided the food among the people. Miraculously, there was enough to satisfy the whole group – five thousand people.

The disciples learned a valuable lesson about their need for Jesus, and their own inadequacy to meet every situation. So it is with us. Sometimes we need a healthy dose of reality when we become too self-confident and are of a mind to rely on ourselves. Jesus does not leave us out altogether, we should note. Just as he asked the disciples, “What do you have” so he requires of us no more that what we have. His power is able to take our inadequacies when we offer them to him and make them more than adequate for any situation. This is most powerfully illustrated in the Lord’s Supper where we offer simple gifts of bread and wine that Christ takes and, through the prayer of thanksgiving, divides them among his people as the means by which he communicates himself – the spiritual food of his body and blood. Thanks be to God who is able to do these marvelous things and even more than we can ever ask or think.
Amen.