148. Fourth Sunday in Lent. I.
Lord, give us this bread of life. Amen.
Gospel Lesson, John 6, 1-15. After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he knew himself what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.
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The spiritual life requires nourishment, as much as does the life of the body, for its sustenance and growth. If you have the life in God, you must nourish it with the bread of life, or it will wither and die. In the case of many Christians the spiritual life droops and languishes; their eyes are dull, their hands palsied, and their knees weak. The reason of this is that they do not nourish themselves sufficiently with the bread from heaven. — What bread is this? Jesus says: “I am the bread of life.” With his love, grace, Spirit, and life, he is to be found in his holy gospel; when you make honest use of this gospel you partake of him. — In what manner is this brought about? You must be diligent in your calling as a Christian, zealous in every good work, serve the Lord of a pure heart, become rich in loving service for others, make the most of your talents, — then you will feel that there is in you much sin, much weakness, selfishness, self-righteousness, pride, sloth, cowardice, unbelief, and lukewarmness. Then you want Jesus more and more; for you need strength and spirit and courage and understanding, and you need forgiveness of sins, forgiveness for all that you do, and for all that you omit to do; and thus is created in you hunger after the bread of life. — Make diligent use, then, of the word, by yourself alone, and together with others; renew your baptismal covenant every day, and partake often of the Lord’s Supper. Rise early to gather manna, and you shall find; the wilderness and the desert places shall blossom, and the rock give forth water in abundance; you shall eat and live; you shall of a certainty grow in the strength of the Lord. The faith, charity, patience, hope, peace, joy, in your heart shall increase; Christ shall become strong in you, while sin and the flesh shall die and be destroyed.
Do you today hunger after the bread of life? Does your heart pray for life and a willing spirit, for faith and love, for peace and forgiveness? That which the Lord’s servants have to offer you seems, on the surface, to be of little account, but in truth it contains life and strength. Eat and drink without price; you are heartily welcome to it. You shall receive all that you need; and there shall be more than a sufficiency for all. — On the other hand, if you do not hunger after him who is that bread of life, you are, without any doubt, spiritually dead. God help you to wake up before it shall be too late.
Lord Jesus, quicken the dead, and strengthen the quick. Be thou our life; and, above all things, let us live in thee. Amen.
Thou our only hope and guide,
Never leave us, nor forsake;
In thy light may we abide
Till the endless morning break;
Moving on to Zion’s hill,
Onward, upward, homeward still.
Lead us all our days and years
In thy straight and narrow way;
Lead us through the vale of tears
To the land of perfect day,
Where thy people, fully blest,
Near thy throne forever rest.
149. Fourth Sunday in Lent. II.
“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”
God grant that it may be ours. Amen.
Epistle Lesson, Galatians 4, 21-31. Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? For it is written, that Abraham had two sons; the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not; for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh, persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.
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The self-righteous are bondmen in the Lord’s house; they labor for hire, and they are in fear of punishment. They are born of the flesh, and they look to the law. The believers, on the other hand, are children of the household, born of God, children of grace, born by a miracle of God; their life has its origin in a miracle wrought by the Holy Ghost, directly contrary to nature and reason. They look to the grace and truth in Christ, and expect an inheritance, not of works, but of grace. Paul finds these two classes of people represented in Agar with her son Ishmael on the one hand, and Sara, the mother of Isaac, on the other. Agar was a bondwoman, and was not of Abraham’s kindred. Sara was a free woman, and the rightful wife of Abraham. Agar gave birth in accordance with the natural order of things; Sara, by a miracle in accordance with God’s promise. Agar and Ishmael mocked Sara and Isaac, but were at last obliged to submit to being cast out; Sara was the mistress, and Isaac the heir. — As it was then, so it is now. We who read this, are we of the lineage of Sara, or are we, mayhap, the children of Agar? We all belong to the church organization; but have we also been born in the Jerusalem which comes down from heaven? Are we God’s children, or are we, perhaps, bondmen of the household? Are we under the law, or under grace? Do we live the life of true liberty and holy love? Do we have the Spirit of the adoption of sons, which cries, Abba, Father? Is our citizenship in heaven? Do we seek those things which are from above; or do we, peradventure, seek those which are of the earth? Mark well what the scripture says: “Cast out the bondwoman; for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” Let this be of greater concern to your heart than all things else, that you be a child of the freewoman, born after the Spirit from on high, and heir to everlasting life. It is a terrible thing to be one of those against whom is directed this curse: “Cast him out; for he shall in no wise be heir with the children of the household.” O, how important it is to be liberated from the law, and to be in the true and blessed estate of grace!
God of mercy, above all things we pray that thou mayest know us as thy children of grace. Lead us out of bondage, and to the blessed liberty of the true disciples of Jesus. Unite us with him in faith, that through him we may be dead from the law, but may live in him, who is risen from the dead. Amen.
The darkness of my former state,
The bondage, all was mine;
The light of life, in which I walk,
The liberty, is thine.
Thy grace first made me feel my sin,
It taught me to believe;
Then, in believing, peace I found,
And now I live, I live.