Everyday Lutherans

Isaiah 55:1-5 Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21 Romans 9:1-5 Matthew 14:13-21 The feeding of the five thousand is a story that we hear time and time again.  It reminds us of how God provides for all our earthly needs.  Giving to us all that we need, but that there is enough left over.  There is an abundance of food as well as an abundance of God’s grace and mercy for the people.  For us, we have heard the story so often that we can simply say “the feeding of the five thousand” and for many people they know what you mean.   Yet, I want to remind you today, what it meant for the people, who were hearing it for the very first time, some 2000 years ago.  The people who were gathered there to hear this Messiah, this Chosen One of God, to hear a message from God. To be filled with hope for the future.  The people sacrificed by leaving their home, their work, and in doing so gave up those days earnings.  Remember, there was not a bank where they kept their money, there was not a stock market in which peop

1 Kings 19:9-18 Psalm 85:8-13 Romans 10:5-15 Matthew 14:22-33 Life has within it, moments of routine.  Times when we know what is going to happen, and things that we feel happy about.  It is full of moments in which we are surrounded by our loved ones.  Moments that are done over and over again;  like waking up in the morning, getting ready for a new day, enjoying breakfast,  going  off to work to be part of the community. We share in the continued function of this world, going outside and mowing the lawn, weeding the garden, or even going to school.  These are moments that we overlook or do not fully appreciate when we are in the midst of them.  In fact, sometimes we feel bored. We complain that it is not fun or that we do not want to do it.  It is these mundane and routine moments in which we spend and enjoy most of our lives.   But in an instance, we are facing things we could not have imagined were happening to us.  We find ourselves in troubled waters.  Moments in which we are tos