Text:
His Mercy Endures Forever
Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
In
the Garden of Eden food came without toil. The garden was fruitful and abundant.
There were no storehouses, silos, or preservatives. There was no competition
for food with mice and mold. But that all changed when Adam watched as his wife
was seduced by the serpent, when he failed to protect or guide her, when he
reached for knowledge of good and evil and sought in his lust to be like God,
when he ate the poison and knew his nakedness.
Yet
God's mercy is past all understanding. He did not abandon Adam and Eve the way
that we abandon those who are unfaithful to us. By His grace, we still eat. The
earth gives up its fruit. It exacts toil and sweat from us sinful sons of Adam
but it gives up its fruit. Herbicides and fertilizer, machinery and the
collective wisdom of ages has made it easier. But still it is not the garden
planted by God and tended by angels, supervised by sinless Adam, where work is
purest joy. Men must gather in the grain and protect it again. And even when it
has been processed and baked into bread still the mice and mold threaten it and
it must be eaten quickly before it is stolen or succumbs to rot.
And
thus have we sometimes thought our labor was the key. Indeed, without out there
would be no food. They've brought their wisdom and technology, their strength
and their discipline to bear and brought a harvest home and sometimes they've
thought it was their own. But it never is. Whenever we eat, it is God who
provides. We are but a single tsunami or terrorist attack or who-knows-what
away from famine. John Deere doesn't make a tractor that can stop bombs,
hurricanes, blights, plagues, or stock market crashes. Our Lord once multiplied
bread and fish to feed a mob who would turn on Him. He had compassion. He did
not want to see them faint on the way. But what of the fainting mothers whose
sons were murdered in Tennessee? What of those who are dealing with cancer,
with unemployment, with loneliness, with the loss of loved ones?
There
is an answer here in the feeding of the four thousand. There is great comfort.
But it can't be rushed. The anguish must be felt. The tears must flow. The Law
must seem to have its way and take us to our knees. Our Lord wept at the death
of Lazarus even though He knew His friend would rise. So let us also weep
without shame. Let no man say that these evil things are God's will! But while
we weep, let us confess that God is still good. Let us confess that He uses all
things, even evil things, for good.
God
is good. He does know what He is doing. What can the winds and waves, the guns
and bombs, the lies and threats do to you? You belong to God. His compassion
for the four thousand pales next to His love for you. You are His child in whom
He is well-pleased. Always He would feed you, provide for you, comfort and love
you. Always He welcomes you back. Always the angels rejoice when you repent.
We
are not in control. God is. Indeed, His mercy sometimes seems almost cruel to
our feeble minds. His ways are past finding out. But whenever men eat, it is
God who provides. Not because He has to, not because He owes us or should, but
simply because He has compassion. His mercy endures forever. His love is
without measure. Our Lord Jesus, who died but who lives, takes no pleasure in
the death of a sinner but would have all men turn and believe in Him.
Now
it may be that God will not heal all your diseases or miraculously multiple
the oil and the flour in your pantry. He might not. He might instead ask you to
bear heavy crosses and shed many tears. You might even, like He was, be
sentenced to unjust or a violent death. But you will not touch a drop of the
Cup of Wrath that could not be removed, for He drank it all. And whether
you experience miracles like the feeding of the four thousand or not, God
Himself has cleansed your soul. That is the greatest and most important miracle
next to His resurrection. He has laid His claim upon you. He has called you to
be His. You are baptized! And that is no small thing in the Kingdom of God.
Hunger
does not last. Grief will not last. Suffering will come to an end. Whenever we
eat, it is God who provides. Whenever we grieve, our Lord provides comfort.
Whenever we suffer, our Father provides healing in body and in soul. We are
most certainly not in control of how it happens. Thanks be to God for that! For
unlike our needs, His mercy endures forever. In the name of the Father and of
the Son (†) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The peace of God which passes all
understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.
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