Sunday Homily - August 2, 2020 - Going on a Pilgrimage

Jesus Feeds the 5000 Icon

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

Isaiah 55:1-5

Psalm 145: 8-9, 15-22

Romans 9:1-5

Matthew 14:13-21

I.

Have you ever undertaken a pilgrimage before?

You know, a long journey to a specific place, often to a sacred place,

 for the purposes of deepening your devotion or your spiritual life?

Pilgrimage, like the Camino de Santiago,

 the nearly 4 week travel over 485 mile journey to the resting place 

  of St. James the Apostle?

A very common pilgrimage for a lot of people is Jerusalem,

 and it draws a lot of people seeking spiritual nourishment,

  whether they be Jewish or Muslim or Christian. 

What about a pilgrimage to the Vatican?

 The seat of the Pope is a deeply meaningful journey

  not just for Roman Catholics,

   but for many people in general who go to see architecture and artistry

    from some of the most notable Renaissance painters and sculptors. 

In fact, several within our own congregation at Trinity Searcy

 took a pilgrimage to Ireland a few years ago!

Pilgrimages are a major undertaking,

 especially for anyone who has done one.

Often, even the preparation for a spiritual journey takes spiritual preparation.

 You have to run through questions about what to pack,

   what to eat,

    where you will stay,

      and what route you will take to get to your destination.

It is a deeply memorable experience.

But why do we go on pilgrimages anyway?

Well, at least for those of us who go for nourishment of our soul,

 we go because we wish to have a closer relationship with God. 

  There is something about being in a holy place, 

   a holy space,

    that naturally heightens our sense of God's action in the world.

Being on a mountain and seeing for hundreds of miles around,

 walking the same path that Jesus walked when he began his earthly ministry

  visiting the holy places of ages past

   is something that is felt deep within the soul 

    and the memories will last a lifetime.

However, when I began doing some reading and research 

 into the kinds of pilgrimages in the world,

  do you know where most of the information I found came from?

It wasn't religious websites,

 it wasn't from the actual places of pilgrimage,

  it wasn't even from Wikipedia!

   Come on, Wikipedia is ALWAYS the first site that shows up for anything else normally!

No, do you know where the information came from?

Travel agencies!

That's right, 

 the top websites that contain information

  about taking a spiritual journey

   were travel websites!

Now, this is not a criticism of travel agencies that help people navigate the world,

 it really isn't.

  But don't you think its funny that the travel agencies are the ones

   who recommend which pilgrimage to take on?

I laughed to myself a little when I saw websites like

 worldtravelguide.net 

  afar.com

   and tripstodiscover.com

    pop up as the first websites to give information about spiritual journey!

Because, lets face it friends:

 pilgrimages are also done by many within the secular world.

  And we, for better or worse, call those people

   "tourists."

The words "tourist" and "pilgrimage" 

 just don't sit right in the imagination, do they?

It is like juxtaposing the stereotypical U.S. couple in Hawaiian-print shirts,

 floppy hats,

  and large cameras hanging from their necks

   standing next to 

    the elderly monk in simple robes,

    carrying only a walking stick and a small pouch of food for the spiritual journey

     that he has spiritually prepared for,

      perhaps for years.

Because, there is another thing about pilgrimages that must be said:

 these journeys are undertaken for many often discordant reasons 

  by the people who travel on them.

Some go for the sights, sounds, and to take pictures on the way.

 Others go for the personal experience of prayer, spiritual nourishment, enlightenment.

  Others go for real healing,

   healing of physical, emotional, spiritual wounds that only undertaking a specifically spiritual journey

    could ever hope to heal.

And, interestingly enough, friends,

 there is a small example of a pilgrimage situated right in the midst of today's Gospel passage.

II.

You see, most of us could recite Jesus feeding the 5000

 almost by memory.

It is a story that we get saturated with,

 especially if you have been a Christian attending worship.

But, there are several pilgrimages undertaken in the passage,

 journeys that are deeply spiritual in nature.

Look at the very beginning

 at Jesus Christ himself. 

Jesus withdraws to a deserted place to pray.

 In fact, the word "deserted place" in this sentence can also mean "lonely place"

  or even more literally a "wilderness" or a "desert."

   Basically, Jesus is going to a place where absolutely no one normally would go.

    There is no place to stay,

     no markets with food,

      there is nothing.

Jesus wishes to enter into solitude in order to nourish his own heavenly self.

 Being fully God and fully man doesn't mean that Jesus never needed time for himself

  to just be alone in the presence of God.

   But Jesus also takes this journey in potential response to John the Baptist being killed

    which happened in the story directly before this passage today.

     Jesus was seeking guidance and rest in God.

But, there was another pilgrimage undertaken in the very next sentence.

 And it was a deeply spiritual pilgrimage by the crowds of the surrounding villages. 

  Desperately spiritual.

They heard where Jesus was going,

 and many of the crowd took the time to prepare and bring their sick to Jesus,

  because they knew he could heal them.

   They undertook the journey because they wanted their mom, dad, grandma, grandpa,

    son, or daughter to be healed. 

     And Jesus, full of compassion, put aside his want of solitude

      to care and heal those who came to him for healing. 

       Because that's what God does, friends.

But, then comes the practical question that is the seed for one of the most famous miracles

 of Jesus's ministry in the 1st century.

People start to get hungry, and it is getting late.

 But the people have come so far,

  that it is unsafe for them to stay out too much longer.

   So, Jesus's disciples basically say,

    "Alright, we are all done here now, so now we can send the crowds away

      so that we can have some peace and quiet and they can go eat some dinner."

But Jesus, doing a seemingly complete 180 from wanting solitude,

 wants the crowds to STAY with them for dinner.

  "You give them something to eat."

And the disciples are flabbergasted,

 as you and I should expect.

  "You kidding me, Jesus?

   Have you SEEN how many people are here?

    I mean, we got 5 pieces of bread and a couple of fish,

     if you would like to give it to them!"

But, again, those who came in pilgrimage to Jesus Christ,

 the healer of their bodies and souls,

  were about to receive another confirmation of Jesus's divinity:

   they were about to be fed with bread and fish in abundance.

As Jesus had them sit,

 and as Jesus gave thanks and distributed the food,

  the miracle of the feeding of the 5000 happened.

   Everyone who had taken pilgrimage to be healed of their infirmities,

    of body, mind, and spirit,

     were also physically fed by the God who loves them

      and who knew that they needed food to sustain them for the journey home. 

In fact, the Scriptures say that everyone who was there

 "...ate and were filled."

  There was even leftovers! 

   Baskets full of leftovers,

    abundance from God who gives food to all!

III.

But, there is another pilgrimage

 that the feeding of the 5000 also demonstrates for us today, friends.

  And it is the pilgrimage that God chose to undertake

   in the Incarnation of Jesus Christ,

    very God and very man,

     in order to save us from the power of sin and death.

Jesus Christ our Lord, 

 who showed his divinity in the feeding of the hungry and curing of the sick,

  is the very God who created all that is to begin with,

   and who knows our every need before we ask.

And this same Jesus undertook the pilgrimage of coming into the world,

 not for his own spiritual sake,

  but for the sake of us:

   the crowd who is hungry, sick, and crying out for healing.

Our pilgrimages in the world today,

 however holy they may be,

  all pale in comparison to the pilgrimage that God undertook on our behalf.

   On your behalf.

     That he might come to heal your body, mind, and soul.

When you go about your day,

 wherever you travel,

  remember the pilgrimage that God undertook for you.

Remember that we, 

 like the crowd in today's Gospel,

  are to be constantly searching and crying out for God's healing,

   because we need it every day.

We need God's nourishment for ourselves and our families,

 even more than we might need the bread or fish on our dinner tables.

  In fact, as Jesus says in another passage,

   seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,

    and all of the things that God knows you need will be provided.

     God knows you need food, drink, clothing, and basic necessities,

       and they will be provided.

But seek first those things that God wills:

 to love God with all we have,

  to love our neighbor as ourselves,

   and to undertake our daily pilgrimage of searching for and following Jesus

    wherever he may lead.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.