7TH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

Dear friends in Christ Jesus.

He who believes that God only idly watches the course of the world, who therefore lacks the confidence that there is a divinely wise, righteous, and gracious Providence who rules and regulates everything in the world, who therefore supposes that animate and inanimate creatures and hence he himself also are the playthings of a blind chance, such a faithless person is certainly most unfortunate.

Countless indeed are the evils which beset man's life and unceasingly, threaten our welfare, yes, our life. Our body is actually the seat of a thousand sicknesses, wherever he goes he carries the seed of death with him, "in the midst of life we are in death," as we read in the old hymn. Wherever we turn, we see the arrows of death aimed straight at us. We board a ship, and here we are scarcely a step removed from death; we climb into a wagon or mount a horse and we are endangering our life if we make so much as one false step. A weapon in our own or a friend's hand can against our own and our friend's will bring death because of a small oversight. We walk down the streets of the city, and as many tiles as there are on the roofs just so many dangers to life and body threaten. Our house is constantly in danger and threatens to collapse and crush us or burn us to death. We plant our field with toil and sweat but hail, flood, drought, and vermin can quickly nullify our labor and send us failure of harvest and with it famine. Every stone in the way, every cool breeze, every rotten tree which we pass by can deliver us into the hands of death. Every storm with its flashing lightning speaks to us in tones of thunder of the last moment of our existence which could easily come then. In short, man walks upon this earth as though under a thousand naked swords which hover over his head suspended by a hair. Oh, how miserable is, therefore, that person who supposes that his life is subject to the control of chance! Everywhere he sees the jaws of destruction opened for him and he does not feel safe for one moment from being swallowed up by them. Anxiously he ponders the present and full of worry, doubt, and mistrust he looks into the dark future which he sees striding toward him as though armed with misery and death.

On the other hand, how confidently, how calmly, how full of blessed hope he can walk through all the threatening dangers of this world who knows and believes from his heart that nothing, not even the least thing, happens or can happen by chance, that his gracious God and Father in Christ directs everything, that without his will not one sparrows falls from the roof, yes, not a hair falls from his head, that they are all counted by God, that God provides for everything, that everything, great and small, has been determined by God, sin alone excluded! Oh, blessed is the man who can say with David, "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" Ps 27:1. "Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust; his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid of the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousands at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee." Ps 91:3-7. "There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone." Vv.10-12.

Oh you believing children of God, you who through faith sit in the lap of your heavenly Father, how blessed you are not only in prosperity but also in misfortune, not only in days of joy and abundance but also in days of pain and want! You know: All things must work together for your good, for a gracious God and Father directs your entire destiny according to his wise merciful counsel for your salvation. Oh that we all would have such a childlike faith! How many burdens of care which often want to press us almost to the ground would then be removed, how many tears, which we weep fruitlessly would be dried, how many groans we utter would be stilled, in a word, how much more happy and satisfied we would be! For a childlike faith in God's fatherly providence makes us happy even here. This present hour was appointed to awaken you to

The text. Mark 8:1-9.

The section of the Gospel of Mark just read, in which we are told how Christ turned little into much, has most wisely been selected for a Sunday of this year, when all the fields are yielding a bumper crop and are ready for the harvest. Our Gospel should remind us that in this very summer we are experiencing the very same miracle which the people in the wilderness once experience, if only we would look on our fields with the eyes of faith. Therefore, I will now speak to you on;

HOW GOD YEAR AFTER YEAR PERFORMS THE. MIRACLE OF MAKING MUCH OUT OF LITTLE

Permit me

I. To Try to Clarify the Truth of This Statement, and

II. Show You How Important This Truth is for Christians and Nonchristians.

Lord, you are not a God who is far off but. is near at hand, for in You we live, move, and have our being; bless now the preaching of your revealed Word to the end that we truly know how you watch over us like a father, provide for us, and graciously receive us in all misery. Oh, use this to pour a childlike faith in your eternal foresight into our heart, so that by foolish concern for earthly things we do not lose that which is eternal, but seek only that one thing which is necessary for our soul and let you worry about temporal things. Work this in us all through your Holy Spirit for the sake of Jesus Christ. Amen.

I.

That this was a great miracle worthy of our admiration, that Christ, as we hear in our today's Gospel, completely satisfied four thousand men, not counting women and children all of whom were fainting greatly, using seven loaves of bread and a few fish, this every reasonable person indeed perceives. In so doing Christ showed that he was the Lord of nature, the Creator and Preserver of mankind, In. a word, the true Son of the living God, showed this beyond a doubt. Certainly everyone of us wishes that he would have been a witness of this miracle. My friends, if we would but open our eyes, we could still be witnesses of such a glorious miracle, for this same thing is still repeated year after year before our eyes. The very same Man who once provided a rich repast for four thousand men from seven loaves and a few fish even now changes the small amount of seed which we scatter into a bumper crop which fills our granaries in rich supply for the entire year and for millions of hungry. What is the earth especially during every winter but a desolate empty wilderness?

But what happens? After a few months God performs the astounding miracle: the naked trees which seem to have died during the winter begin to bud, put on leaves, and bloom until finally in the summer they stretch out their branches to us like hands full of sweet refreshing fruit. So we also plant the seed hopefully in the dying ground of the fall, and behold! unnoticed the kernel germinates in the bosom of the earth and toward the end of the summer we in amazement see that the one kernel has become an ear of one hundred kernels, bread for few into bread for many. Is that not the very same miracle on a large scale which Christ once did in the wilderness on a small scale?

Unbelievers and the unenlightened reason of every person says: No, this is no special miracle, for this occurs according to the eternal, unchangeable, inevitable laws of nature. What is so miraculous that the earth is fruitful? It was made that way. However, my friends, we regard the yearly harvest for no miracle only because it has become something ordinary, something which no longer

makes an impression. But should something no longer be a miracle because it happens so often? No, what only God can do is a miracle; as the creation, so is also the preservation and continual fruitfulness of the earth God's work alone; therefore, if we consider this in the right way, we catch a glimpse in this also a praiseworthy miracle of divine omnipotence and goodness.

After he created the world, God does not stand idly by in the least to watch how this ingenious mechanism moves on of itself; no, God himself is the power which continually keeps it in motion. God does not allow the ship of our world be tossed to and fro on the ocean of space by a blind fate, but he, God himself, it is who controls the rudder of this great ship.

If we would just observe the intertwining and life of nature, we would have to perceive even with the eyes of our reason that no unyielding law of nature rules of it. The powers of the earth, as we see, do not in the least set the great machinery of nature into such a fixed movement as would the winding of an ingenious clock. Rather we see how everything in nature proceeds so irregularly, so indefinitely, so arbitrarily in its way that we could not understand. how everything could continue, if we did not know that a wise Ruler invisibly guides and directs everything in nature and brings coherence into this universal confusion. That today we have sunshine, tomorrow rain, day after tomorrow wind definitely does not come in that order; rather we observe an unexplainable change. We see how here and there the seed spoils, the blossoms on the trees wither from the last frost of spring, and the plants languish under the heat of the sun. How does it happen that this does not at times happen over the entire world and thus a universal famine arise which would depopulate the entire world? Or, there we see the clouds moving away so freely; why do they not remain many a year over a single country which they would drown, whilst other countries would have ground like iron, whose hard crust the tender seed could not pierce? You see, here we catch sight of God's hand which works and moves invisibly in nature, which leads the army of clouds sometimes here, sometimes there, and lets the gentle rays of the sun break forth sometimes here, sometimes there. Oh, if God would not direct the drift of the vagrant clouds which wander about without will or rule, the world would very soon close its storeroom to mankind and it would be turned into an eternally lifeless, unfruitful wilderness.

Moreover, remember how necessary the sun is not only in general, but how it must work on the earth just right, how it works so that the miracle of the fruitful earth occurs through it. For if the sun would not hold just that position which it has held for almost six thousand years, and if it would not have just that orbit which it has, it would destroy more than it gives life to. If the sun would have been closer to us, it would have in a short time burned the earth into a huge brick; on the other hand, if its orbit would be further away, the earth would soon freeze solid in an eternal winter.

Now how does it happen that for the past six thousand years the sun has never wandered away from its boundless path? how does it happen that sometimes it rises higher, sometimes, goes lower, but at a definite point regularly turns about, so that the necessary change of seasons takes place upon our earth? How does it happen that this lamp of heaven has not been extinguished even though no one gives it new material to burn. This torch of God must shed light upon an immense vault in which an infinite number of terrestrial globes must find room; how does it happen that this torch has not yet burned up? How does it happen that this huge mass of flames is thus contained in invisible boundaries like the sea in its shores? Since according to the laws of nature the clouds from time to time become laden with rain, how does it happen that the fiery sea of the sun does not according to the same laws pour out its streams of flame to incinerate the world? In vain do we seek the reason for this in the laws

of nature; we must rather go back to God, who, as we read in the Letter to the Hebrews, constantly upholds everything by the word of his power.

Finally, do we not see that in nature the law of aging, destruction, and death domineers everything? We see everything from a blade of grass to mankind implacably subjected to this law. How does it happen that the earth, this universal mother of everything perishable, itself never grows old, even though everything on its surface gradually decays? How does it happen that this fruitful mother after a time takes everything back which came forth from her bosom, but returns it again in a better, rejuvenated form as she changes decayed plants and bodies into nourishment for new products? Who replaces those power to the bosom of the earth which have been used up in the past six thousand years? God himself is the fount of life from which the necessary powers flow unceasingly into all creatures. God himself is the pendulum in the great clock of the world; if he would remove his hand, it would suddenly stop and collapse.

There is no power within the earth itself to make something new, to give the flowers their fragrance, the fruit its sweet juice, the cedar its crown reaching into the clouds, and the grain the flour which strengthens life and health; however, as Christ blessed those seven loaves and the fish and thus they multiplied, so God still speaks his words of blessing every year upon the table of the fields and gardens of the earth and thus he converts little into much and gives food to countless millions of people and animals at his richly laden table. That is why we read in the 104th Psalm, "God, these wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season. That thou givest them they gather; thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good. Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled; thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created; and thou renewest the face of the earth." Ps 104:27-30.

So I hope that I have now clarified the truth of the statement how God year after year performs the miracle of turning little into much; permit me now in the second place to show you how important, this truth is for Christians and nonchristians.

II.

My dear hearer, if you are a Christian, then first of all, see from this that it is God's way to lead his Christians of all people often into the wilderness where it seems as though there is so little that they must languish. Therefore, you dare not think: Others are hypocrites, and yet they always prosper, they are lucky in everything, and always do well! on the other hand, I have honest intentions toward Christ and his Word; why am I the one for whom everything must go wrong? why do I receive almost nothing of blessing and well wishes why do I remain poor and needy?

You should not be at all surprised, my dear Christian, that you have such a hard time in this world. If you follow Christ to hear his Word, then do not expect that he will lead you already in this life into a paradise of joys and abundance. No, whoever states that he wants to enter in Christ's service registers for battle under the banner of the cross, he should immediately prepare himself in advance for many anxious hours. All that Christ promises his servants is no more than food and clothing. He who looks for more, who wants to become rich must give up being a Christian. For the more faithful a Christian wants to be to his Savior, the more he must expect to become like him in poverty and humility in this life.

However, the truth that God still continues to make much out of little not

only causes Christians to be resigned to their lot, if God here grants them only few earthly goods and instead feeds them often with the bread of tears; this truth should instil in them even in the days of want the firm childlike confidence that God can also for them turn little into much and help them, out better than they think. Remember my dear Christians: not only do you have a God who wants to take your soul to himself but who also carefully supervises your poor body and its needs; you have a God who is not only infinitely rich and omnipotent, so that he could in a second deliver you from every trouble, but who also, as you see from our Gospel, has heartfelt compassion even when you are merely in some earthly trouble; you have a God who not only performed miracles at one time in order to satisfy his hungry hearers in the wilderness, but who still repeats this miracle year after year so that he may give all, even the evil and the thankless, their food at their time.

What? If you believe this from your heart, dare you still be faint-hearted if at some time you find yourself in difficulty and trouble? During such days imagine that you are once again with Christ in the wilderness; then don't fret yourself to death as to where you will get food and clothing; in faith simply look to Christ's hands of blessing, he will, he cannot forget you, and he will, he must give you what you need, and if he has to turn stones into bread. However much you may be forsaken and forgotten by people, you still have an all-knowing rich Father and Friend in Christ in heaven who thinks of you in your trouble, is near you in tribulation and when his hour has come will certainly and gloriously help you. Go out upon the fields and see the waving grain; see how God here does that miracle before your eyes, making much from little and learn to be ashamed of your little faith. Should a rich man have more comfort and hope when he possesses a great amount of earthly goods of which he could be robbed tomorrow? should this man have more comfort than you who have Christ, the great Miracle-Worker and Provider as your friend? Absolutely not! God's blessing is worth more than all the gold and silver on earth.

Perhaps in distress you Christians will think: Yes, if we were not such great sinners, we would indeed hope that our God would miraculously provide also for us and turn little into much, yes, make everything out of nothing; but we have been unfaithful to God and have often forsaken him; therefore, we are afraid that God will punish us because of them, forsake us again, and be unconcerned about us in our troubles.

But where is it written, that God will deal with us according to our worthiness? No, no, my dear Christians, if your sins fall heavily upon your heart in trouble, then confess them to God; for if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us all our sins and to cleanse us from all Our iniquities. Therefore, do not throw away your trust in God's help; he has truly promised you in Holy Baptism that for Christ's sake he wants to be your Father and God, your Preserver and Provider; this promise God does not take back. In faith simply cling to this, just say in faith to God: Oh my God, I am now in want and distress, keep your promise and give me what I need; God will not be proven to be a liar by failing to help you. Heaven and earth will pass away but Jesus' word will not pass away but will be true to all who in faith grasp it. The greater your misery is the more glorious will your deliverance also be.

Finally, what do you have to notice in this who do not follow Christ into the wilderness but still want to cling to the world? who simply do not want to know anything of God's Word, or who still halt between two opinions, not wanting to spoil things either with God or with the world? who still do not have true faith in Christ and, therefore, still do not know for certain whether you have a gracious or ungracious God in heaven? When you hear how well off a Christian is, how confidently he can cast all his cares upon the Lord, and how

calmly he can meet the future, should you not long to have such a blessed relationship with God also?

How wretched you are since you do not know how you stand with God! You cannot trust God to provide for you in all misery and want, and to help you out; for can you like a child trust him who because of your sins is still your enemy? Oh, then you also go as poor sinners to Christ and from now on follow him in faith; then you will also become happy people who can say with David, "Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep; for thou, lord; only makest me dwell in safety." Ps 4:7,8.

Oh that mankind would not be such great fools and so blind as to their true happiness! Here God wants to remove all our worries so gladly and in eternity make us forever and perfectly blessed, and yet we go on and seek our peace in other things and do not find it; with tears and groans, with worry and unrest we go through the world, despise the greatest treasure, namely God's grace, and finally enter into eternal misery.

Oh, may none of us here, therefore, let himself be deceived by his corrupt heart! Let us all give our entire heart to God; then we will be well off in time and in eternity, for everything else is shame and deceit, but God and his grace is our true, our greatest treasure. If he leads us here on earth through all kinds of trouble and tribulation, he does this only to show that he is a God who helps in trouble, and as a Lord's Lord who delivers even from death. And oh! how we will rejoice when some day in death we see the narrow way behind us and that shining heavenly Jerusalem, the holy city of rest, the dwelling place of eternal peace, before us! Then comes the moment when God will not only turn little into much for us but suffering into glory, cross in to blessedness, weeping into eternal, laughter. May God grant this to us all for the sake of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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