8 Questions for Children of the Promise on the Fourth Sunday in Lent—a Sermon (With reference to Deuteronomy 15:1–11, Galatians 4:26–5:1 and John 6:5–14)

Jesus and his words in the Gospel is where we’ll start this morning. Gospel verse 5—Jesus

looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him…

Not really our experience these days. The nearest things for us might be our Cathedral Arts Festival and St Nicholas events. Or, might there be another example of our equivalent of that large crowd? Are there people we might be being called to feed and are we being called to feed them physically or spiritually, or both? Then, verse 5 again: 

Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?”

What is it we think we don’t have enough of? What might we need to buy, borrow, create, give to feed the people around us? 

Verse 6: Jesus

said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do.

Is Jesus asking us a question to test us today and does Jesus intend to do something surprising, even miraculous, through us?

Verse 9. Andrew said to Jesus: 

“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” 

Is there anybody here who happens to be like that boy who has something which doesn’t seem to be enough but which Jesus is planning to transform and expand to feed our crowd? 

Verse 10. Words of Jesus again: 

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.

We might not have a great deal of grass here. We have a nice lawn under the snow out there. And a beautiful grassy park at the end of our street. And we have this church and our community events—what more? What else? 

Then verse 11. 

Then 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.

What am I—are you—are we—being called to take, give thanks for and distribute to our “crowd?”—as much as they want? 

Words of Jesus v12. 

When they were satisfied, he told his disciples,  “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.”

What are the fragments, if any, we are to gather up? 

Finally. In this Gospel passage, verse 14. 

When 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.”

Do we have any signs to show? Are there new ways for us to say, “Jesus is indeed the Saviour and Lord who has come into the world?” out loud? 

As we ponder, pray and discern how we are to follow the example and instructions of Jesus—our other readings give some guidance. 

For example, look at verse 28 in the Epistle 

Now you, my friends, are children of the promise, like Isaac.

What are children like that like? I find an evocative description in 2 Corinthians. : 

every one of God’s promises is “Yes” in Jesus. Therefore, through Jesus we also say “Amen” to the glory of God. 21 Now it is God who strengthens us…in Christ, and who has anointed us. He has also put his seal on us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a down payment. (2 Corinthians 1:20–22, CSB)

Children of the promise are called to demonstrate and live out that “Yes” in Jesus. 

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in Christ’s triumphal procession and through us spreads the aroma of the knowledge of him in every place. For to God we are the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To some we are an aroma of death leading to death, but to others, an aroma of life leading to life. Who is adequate for these things?  (2 Corinthians 2:14–16, CSB)

As children of the promise, with God’s seal on us and the Holy Spirit in our hearts, we are more than adequate.  

For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ.  (2 Corinthians 4:6, CSB)

So, in order to feed our crowd, we spread the fragrance of Jesus wherever we go and we shine with the the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ. 

As Henry, Roman Catholic Bishop of Calgary, once told us at an Anglican clergy gathering, “If you’re saved, inform your face!”

AND. Something else from our Deuteronomy lesson that children of the promise do. Look at verse 4:

There will, however, be no one in need among you, because the Lord is sure to bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you as a possession to occupy, 5 if only you will obey the Lord your God by diligently observing this entire commandment that I command you today.

11 Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, “Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.”

Obey God’s commandments and be generous with God has given us.

So, we behave and smell Iike Children of the Promise in Galatians and 2 Corinthians, and we obey the commandments of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit, we worship, pray and search the Scriptures for God’s guidance in answering these 8 questions arising out of this morning’s Gospel: 

1. Who, or what, is our crowd?
2. What is it we think we don’t have enough of? 
3. How might Jesus be testing us today and does Jesus intend to do something special, maybe even miraculous, through us?
4. Is there anybody here who happens to be like that boy who has something which Jesus might transform and expand to feed our crowd?
5. What and where is our grassy place?
6. What am I—are you—are we being called to take, give thanks for and distribute to our “crowd?”—as much as they want? 
7. Do we have any fragments to gather up? 
8. Do we have any signs to tell people about? 

Finally, and back to the Gospel v11. To summarize: we take all that with which God has provided us, we give heart-felt thanks for it and we share it with those in need.

Anticipation: a Sermon for the Second Sunday of Advent delivered at Celebration Church, Regina, Saskatchewan—7 December 2025

With reference to Is11.1-10, Ro15.1-13 and Mt3.1-12

If you’d like to watch it, you’ll find it here starting 1:02:30 in: https://www.youtube.com/live/ofdkPxx52MU?si=SrzeLyShqOoIMuC6

 Heavenly Father, we bow in your presence this Advent.  May your word be our rule, your Spirit our teacher, and your greater glory our supreme concern, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

“Repent!” cried John!

2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’ ”

4 Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around hiswaist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.  (Matthew 3:2–4, ESV)

“The kingdom of heaven is at hand!” He must have cut quite the figure in his camel’s hair coat with a leather belt around his waist, wiping locust crumbs and wild honey from his chin. His was the long-foretold “voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”

And people came from far and wide to hear this strange man and his gritty, abrasive message—and who was filled with the Holy Spirit before he was even born, Luke tells us.

But when RELIGIOUS people showed up he really let loose: 

You brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.  And do not presume to say to yourselves, "We haveAbraham as our father"; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.  Even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. (10)

Gulp!  

What is John saying the religious people of his day?  What is he saying to us?  

Repent ― First word of the Gospel. Turn yourselves around. Turn away from the sin that

Sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you mustrule over it.”  (Genesis 4:7, ESV)

…is crouching at our doors. Contrary, yet tempting. Desirable. Delightful to look at—just like it was for Eve and Adam in the beginning. 

To repent is not an easy thing.

What is meant is not a merely intellectual change of mind or mere grief, still less doing penance, but a radical transformation of the entire person, a fundamental turnaround involving mindand action and including overtones of grief, which results in “fruit in keeping with repentance.” Of course, all this assumes that our actions are fundamentally off course and need radical change. (Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol8: MML)

Bear fruit worthy of repentance. . . What kind of fruit is that? Good fruit—forgiveness—and the fruit of the Spirit:    

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22–23, ESV)

John is also demolishing any FALSE ASSURANCES they may have had ─ we may have.  False assurances of what?  

The Pharisees trusted in their descent:  

Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.  (Matthew 3:9, ESV)

They also trusted in the OUTWARD OBSERVANCE of their religion. Us Anglicans can be guilty of the same thing—loving Jesus with a slightly superior attitude since 1562! We can get tied up in the liturgy, or the prayer book to the point where that's all that counts.  The words and actions can become so familiar that we don't enter in to them any more.  We don't get them off the page and make them our own.  Just reading through script and going through the motions does not a believable, convincing performance make ─ either to people around us, or to God.  Just as a director might say to an actor ─ "I don't believe you." ─ God might say the same thing to us if our worship is an empty surface thing.  

Going to church can be merely custom or "fire insurance" or even an attempt to bribe God.  (Interpreter'sBible, VII, 265) 

Not to be judgemental, but non-Anglicans can be just as bad. From time to time and depending on how much sleep we’ve had, we all pride ourselves in what we’re not! At least I’m not like her! I thank God that I’m not like those Anglicans, Catholics, Baptists—fill in the gaps. 

No! Stop! Follow the example of Jesus,

We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For Christ did not please himself (Romans 15:1–3, ESV)

How? Here’s an idea, let “Repent,” be a key theme as we observe a Holy Advent this year and ready ourselves for the return of our Saviour, The LORD Jesus Christ, when he comes in the clouds with great glory. Let our repenting be 

not a merely intellectual change of mind or mere grief, still less doing penance, but a radical transformation of the entire person, a fundamental turnaround involving mind and actionand including overtones of grief, which results in “fruit in keeping with repentance.” 

We don’t know when but we do know that we’re another day closer today. O yes, it’s 18 more sleeps to Christmas and we can enjoy that in the meantime. And, yes, just as John says, Jesus baptises us with the Holy Spirit—with that comes 

And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,

the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the Spirit counsel and might,

the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.  (Isaiah 11:2, ESV)

the wisdom, understanding, good counsel, might, knowledge and fear of The LORD we heard about in our Isaiah 11 reading, while

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit youmay abound in hope.  (Romans 15:13, ESV)

abounding in the Hope we heard about in Romans 15 and the fire John told us about in our Gospel reading—but that’s not the main event. They are all helps to make us alert and ready for that great day!

In the meantime, we wait, and we wait, and we wait. 

I’m reminded of the old TV ad about the ketchup which is so rich and thick that it takes a very long time for it to come out of the bottle. 

https://youtu.be/7GBTIeR4Z_M?si=JAnoYdzGrfCk0c8L

The song featured in the ad was Carly Simon’s Anticipation which includes this line:  

Her words seem sad and not very hopeful. She wasn’t singing about The LORD, at least not primarily although he is mentioned elsewhere in the song. Unlike Carly Simon, in our Advent anticipation we Christians do know something about those days to come. The Bible is very rich and thick with hope for our future. Jesus is coming back. In the meantime, as we think about those days to come, we live in the waiting here and now when the sauce hasn’t yet come out of the bottle.

The children wait impatiently at this time of year, avidly counting sleeps until the big day. We “grown ups” wait, too; for gift buying inspiration, the last minute, a call from a loved one, for it to be over, that special piece of Christmas mail, the results of medical tests, for a separated spouse or a wandering child to come home. Real life with all its joys, awkward inconveniences, hopes and fears, continues. It all seems especially emotional and poignant in Advent.

Carly Simon again: 

The temptation is to chase. The lights and glitter, carols and good cheer make us want to fast-forward to the bright sugar plum Christmas “finer day” right now. 

But then we miss the deeper, more restful "with you now" Advent rhythms of anticipation and appreciation of God’s rich, thick goodness which can seem so slow in coming. 

 

Just as Carly Simon sang, anticipation keeps us waiting. There are many things that vcan help us enjoy the anticipation. Advent Calendar devotionals, for example, especially with children. Spending less, worshipping more and giving Presence (Jesus in you and me, Immanuel); the gift of time spent with the people in our lives.

In the midst of the "with you now" realities of your life may you have a slow, rich Advent full of delightful anticipation and, when the time finally comes, a lovely Christmas, thick with joy, wonder and all the goodness of Jesus Himself. Some things are very much worth the waiting.

The Venerable (then merely Rev) Noel Wygiera preached this sermon 24 years ago today on the occasion of my being formally induced into St Barnabas Anglican Church, Medicine Hat—thank you, brother Noel🙏‼️

In the officiant's words which open a service of Celebration of a New Ministry, we hear that such an occasion is a new beginning because the new minister brings certain gifts to "our ministry together." This is a very appropriate and important sentiment because it both speaks of gifts brought, and it speaks of ministry which is a shared responsibility. As we look at the first ten verses of Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians, it becomes clear that we are in good company when we speak of such things and that we can set a context for Gene's ministry in this place by understanding the context of the ministry of Paul in this letter to the Church at Corinth. I want to look first at this idea of what Paul calls "this ministry" and then at the gifts that one might think support it, but really flow from it. And how all of this is related to Gene Packwood's new ministry at St. Barnabas, Medicine Hat.

Paul starts this passage by saying, "Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not loose heart." Paul says, we have "this" ministry and I suppose this is why this is a suggested reading for occasions like these. It refers to ministry. However, if we were to look only at this passage and not locate it in the context of Paul's wider letter, we might be tempted to look at only what this ministry means to us or to someone like Gene who we expect to engage in "this ministry" in this place. In reality, there is something bigger going on here. Paul was making a comparison by using these particular words. He was actually comparing "this ministry" to something which is implied and we might identify as "that ministry." And this comparison is very timely for the Church in the late twentieth century as well.

In this Second Letter to the Corinthians, Paul is having to deal with some real problems that have arisen in the Corinthian Church. We're not talking about finances or fights over hymn books or prayer books—somehow, in light of what he was up against, I think he might have looked forward to those kinds of battles. Rather, he was dealing with something much heavier, and far more destructive. He was having to deal with doctrinal error and with the false teaching that was promoting it. Mixed up with these things was the fact that those who we might identify as the false teachers also put a lot of effort into slandering Paul and they attempted to make him look bad, both in the eyes of the Corinthian Church, and in light of the corrupt gospel that they were proclaiming. With this in mind, we can note that Paul's comparison identifies the teachings of the false teachers with "that" ministry, and that through God's mercy, we have "this" ministry.

Without actually discussing what these other missionaries were teaching, and noting that the specific issues are not necessarily the same, let me warn you- the spirit of "that" ministry is alive and well, and is making a real comeback at the close of this millennium. We need to so fully understand "this" ministry that we have been given so that we can tell the difference so as to boldly proclaim the truth that we have received in God's Word. 

I heard a great story in Vancouver a couple of weeks ago which I think really draws a line between "that" ministry and "this" ministry. The story was told by Paul Barnett, the Bishop of North Sidney who was co-leading a preaching course that I attended at Regent College. He said that there was an American bishop who felt called to go to Africa to straighten people out on a few matters of Christian belief. As you may well know, the Church in Africa is experiencing enormous and rapid growth at this time. I suppose this bishop was feeling a little frightened by this as the Gospel being proclaimed in Africa is different than the one that his own "enlightened" mind was starting to comprehend. So he thought he needed to do something about it.

In one speech, standing before thousands of new Christian converts, and speaking through an interpreter, the bishop proclaimed to the ignorant masses that they needed to reject what they had been taught; that the Bible needed to be seen as allegory; and that the Resurrection was simply a metaphor for something that happened in the distressed minds or in the collective psyche of the disciples after Jesus died. The bishop paused to allow the interpreter to translate his words into the language of the people. The interpreter, in a tongue that everybody except the bishop could understand, simply said, "So far he hasn't said anything worth repeating!" The interpreter obviously understood the difference between "this" ministry and "that" ministry, and whether he was assigned to do a particular job or not, he was not about to proclaim "that" ministry.

So what is "this" ministry that is ours through God's mercy? What are its distinguishing features? And even more importantly, does Gene Packwood know anything about it? The ministry that these other teachers proclaim, according to Il Cor. 3:7, is a continuation of the ministry of Moses which, although not denying Christ, certainly downplayed salvation through Christ, and therefore according to Paul would lead to condemnation and death.

On the other hand, "this" ministry that we have through God's mercy is a ministry of righteousness. In 3:9, we see that Paul, when he speaks of "this" ministry, links the words "ministry" and "righteousness." Therefore, "this" ministry has something to do with our moral standing in the eyes of God who created us. In "this" ministry, we become new creations; adopted children of God; worthy to stand in his presence, inheritors of his kingdom.

It is also a ministry of reconciliation. In chapter 5, verse 18 Paul says, "All this from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation." "This" ministry recognises that there is a gulf separating humanity and God. This gulf is the result of sin, and only Jesus' sacrifice on the cross could close it. It is the work of the cross that reconciled us to God. We then have this ministry of reconciliation where we proclaim Jesus so that others might also be reconciled to God.

Chapter 3 verse 8 identifies "this" ministry as a ministry of the Spirit; the Spirit who is the Comforter; the one who empowers us for this ministry. The Spirit makes us bold in "this" ministry. 3:12 says, "Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold!” In 3:17-18, we read that we also have freedom through the Spirit both to turn to the Lord and also to be transformed into his moral and spiritual likeness. All this comes from the Lord who, as Paul says in 3:18, "is the Spirit." Therefore, since this ministry is one of righteousness, reconciliation, and the Spirit, we can conclude that it is a ministry which is concerned with relationship. Specifically, it is concerned with our relationship with God the Father, through the saving work of Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit. And since we have this ministry through God's mercy... we do not lose heart, for it is the most precious treasure we could ever possess.

This man named Gene Packwood that you claim as your priest today; your rector or your incumbent, is not here to do this ministry for you. Listen to Paul's words, "since through God's mercy we have this ministry." The letter itself is not addressed to an individual in the congregation, and it is certainly not addressed to the rector or the incumbent. It is addressed to the whole church of God in Corinth and to all the saints throughout that region. And by extension as the Word of God, it is addressed to each and every one of us here. "This ministry" is not the exclusive territory of clergy; it is the responsibility of the whole Church. Gene's role is to be a sign of this ministry in your midst; a visible reminder of what God is calling the people of St. Barnabas to. And he will be this sign in your midst in three ways that are identified in this passage from II Cor. 4.

First of all, through his preaching. Paul says in 4:5, "For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord…” The word that Paul uses for "preach" doesn't refer to standing up on Sunday morning and delivering a sermon, although that can be part of it. It is a word that means to proclaim or to herald. In the context of this ministry, we proclaim Jesus as Lord, not only with our lips but through our actions as well. Gene should therefore be a sign of proclamation in your midst by all that he says and does. I know he will do this because it was during my internship time with him that he taught me that I have to strive to be sinless because the devil looks for whatever cracks he can find so that he can tear us apart when he sees that we have set our hearts on "this" ministry. Walking the walk should proclaim the same message as talking the talk.

The second way that he will be a sign in your midst is that the content of the message that he proclaims should be "Jesus as Lord." This also we see in 4:5. I have great confidence that he is not very likely to deviate from this message. The first time I ever met Gene was in my home congregation of St. Cyprian's, Didsbury. Gene was a guest preacher one Sunday and he was telling us about a document signed a hundred or so years ago that stated five fundamentals of the Christian faith and that people who ascribe to this document are what we call Christian fundamentalists. Just as people were starting to form stereotyped images of such people in their minds, Gene dropped a bomb shell on us. He asked how many of us believed the Creed that we recited each week. When everybody put up their hand, he declared that we were all at least 80% fundamentalist as 4 out of 5 statements on the document are contained in the creeds. I know that Gene Packwood takes his creeds very seriously and therefore is at least 80% fundamentalist himself. As such, I have great confidence that he will always proclaim Jesus as Lord.

The third way that Gene will be a sign of this ministry in your midst will be in the way that he helps you to focus on the glory of God. Throughout chapters 3 and 4, Paul is very concerned with this word "glory;" and in 4:4 he connects the glory of Christ with the image of God, and in 4:6 he connects the glory of God with the face of Christ. I've seen Gene in action. He will try very hard to point you toward the glory of God. You'll hear this when he preaches, you will understand it when he teaches, you will love it when he sings about it, and you will be blessed by it when he prays with you. My favourite memory of Gene pointing to God's glory comes out of the middle of the eucharistic prayer, when in the Sanctus he raises his hands to God as he says "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts..." I would always get this mental image of Isaiah's vision of seeing the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filling the temple, and the seraphs calling to each other saying, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."

And so these three ways of being a sign in your midst are connected; the proclamation of Jesus as Lord gives us access to the glory of God. This is what you can expect of Gene. This is how he is called to share in "this" ministry with you.

So what is his credential to do this? What gift is it that he brings that will allow him to be such a sign in your midst? It’s not that he'll be some sort of superman; his strength does not come from his abilities as a hospital visitor, social worker, or Bible teaching, guitar playing, tea drinker extrordinaire. In fact I happen to know he prefers coffee anyhow. His gifts come right out of "this" ministry that I have been talking about. He knows that "this" ministry is the greatest treasure he could ever possess. He also knows that its best expression does not come from his strengths, but through his weakness as a frail and fragile human being because this serves to point out that the power of "this" ministry is from God and not from us. And so Paul refers to this ministry that we express through our frailty in 4:7 as treasure in clay jars "to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us."

You will be able to count on Gene Packwood to be a humble sign of "this" ministry in your midst because I know him to be well aware of his frailty and his dependence on God. Knowing these things, he will be able to encourage you by being a reminder that because we have "this" ministry we do not lose heart; through this ministry we have hope. As Paul says, "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." You will hear Gene say and sing things like, "find me in the river, find me there; find me on my knees with my soul laid bare." And when you do find him pouring his heart out through his weakness, don't pity him and don't lose heart. Join him, and thank God for the precious treasure he has given you--the treasure of "this" ministry that is yours through God's mercy.

In the Name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.