Sermon – 07-28-24 – Proper 12 – Cycle B
Scripture: 2 Kings 4:42-44; Ephesians 3:14-21; Psalm 145:10-18; John 6:1-21
Sermon Title: “Building Trust Among Ourselves”

Trust. Can we maneuver through life without it? I send checks by US mail. I rarely have a problem with that. I trust the postal system enough to do that because I have not had a bad experience for a very long time.

I trust my son to care about my well-being because he acts like he cares. I trust the electrician to have wired our house carefully. I trust that if a restaurant looks clean and attractive that the food is safe to eat.

What don’t I trust or whom do I not trust? We should not trust every bit of advice that people share with us. We should not trust every email that appears in our inbox. We should be wary of all of the medicine that a doctor prescribes or we see on TV. We need to be vigilant. It is our own body. Should I trust everyone who wants to be my friend? Should I trust the banker who wants me to invest my money in a promising new way? Many of us could say that is definitely not my problem because we don’t have any extra money to invest. Sadly, that is the case for much of our middle class and lower class population.

Can we trust what anyone says? In our 2 Kings reading today, Elisha insists that a little bit of food will feed a lot of people. Just start, he says. Just pass that food. Why can Elisha be so sure? Because God told Elisha to do this and Elisha trusts God. Your mind has probably already moved to the feeding of the five thousand where Andrew the brother of Simon Peter does not trust the word of Jesus. The person who had the small basket of fish and barley loaves was a young boy. How hard must that have been to hand over his lunch? Was it trust or just obedience?

In the video, Season 1, Session #4 of “The Chosen,” it is Simon, Andrew’s brother, who can’t release his trust in himself to give up and trust Jesus when his brother and his friends are telling him to do it. Simon is in an absolute frenzy. He owes the Roman government much money for taxes. His wife has told him to leave the house. And . . .he can’t catch any fish.

In our Psalm today – Psalm 145 – we find these words which are copied many times in the Holy Book: “The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up those who are bowed down.” Think of a time when you were at the end of your rope. You gave up. Then what happened. Did you see relief? How do you think that relief came? We need to give God the credit. We may try to give other sources the credit. Certainly not ourselves – we were down, down, down. It is God who moves in and takes charge.

So it happens with Simon. Jesus appears with that twinkle in his eye and shows Peter how to catch fish – a boatload of fish! That got Simon’s attention. That was the point when Simon drops to the sand and acknowledges Jesus as the person who saves him. You had to see it. Try to see this video. Jesus is so real and so humorous and so powerful. Simon – later called Peter or Simon Peter – really needs Jesus. Simon has gotten himself squashed against a wall. He is losing his wife with his stubborness, he is losing his property, he is losing himself. But, Simon will not trust his family and friends when they want him to come to Jesus. Simon’s brother Andrew pleads with Simon to come to meet Jesus. Simon thinks he can handle his problems all by himself. When Peter realizes what he is losing and how much in despair he is, he becomes frenzied, feverishly putting the nets down on one side, pulling them up empty, putting them down on the other side, pulling them up empty – all of this faster and faster. When Simon is at his wits end, Jesus appears with a calm presence and a twinkle in his eye. After exhausting himself and his friends, Simon finally obeys Jesus and puts the nets down one more time. This time the nets are full to overflowing. All of these strong-bodied men can barely get all of the fish on board the boat. The scene shows the boat absolutely full of fish. Simon is saved from his problems He is rich with fish. Maybe, just maybe, his wife will see a new person because Simon falls to the sand in front of Jesus and confesses his pride, his wanting to be in control even when he is only digging a deeper hole for himself. Simon really needed Jesus. Now Simon’s whole body is in submission before Jesus, “I am not worthy, Jesus.”

Now about the title of this sermon: “Building Trust Among Ourselves.” Is anyone of us Jesus? No, but Jesus and the Father and the Holy Spirit – that is God, you know – have been alive and working among us. Marvelous is the word I could use to share how it was from “day 1” when Zion was welcomed by St. Paul’s. We had, and we seem to have, a sense of belonging with each other. Should we sit back on our laurels and say we are good, or should we still be bowing before God? Bowing not in desperation, but bowing in the longing to be even more trusting, more caring for one another. Are there possibilities we could lay at the feet of Jesus and say “What do you think, Jesus? Could we do this? Could we study your word more intensely? Could we be calling our homebound people and our people without email in a larger way than we are already doing? Could we trust God to fill us with more trust and more openness with each other? Could we actually bring ourselves to a Bible Study group?” Could we do more outreach as Andrew and friends did with Simon? Could we do more outreach with supplies such as CWS buckets for disaster?

Only with your help, Jesus. Only with your help! Fill us with trust in you! Amen