A homily for All Ages Worship. Readings here!

I wonder what it looks like, to live a life with deep roots in love? 

Let’s talk about that Gospel story for a minute. 

I want to talk about the kid, in the story. Did you notice the kid? … 

Andrew tells Jesus: “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?”

Five barley loaves and two fish. 

Does that sound like a little food or a lot of food? … 

It depends, right? How big were the loaves, and how big were the fish?

But it’s probably more food than one kid needs for lunch. 

And I don’t think the disciples just took this kid’s lunch!

I think he was probably bringing it to Jesus as a gift.

Maybe his mom or his dad said, Hey, take some extra bread and fish to the rabbi and his friends.

Maybe they were grateful because Jesus had healed a family member or friend. 

Maybe they were just excited by the things Jesus was saying and doing.

Maybe it was the kid’s idea!

Maybe he said, Hey, mom, I want to go hear Jesus preach! Can I take him some food? He and his friends are always traveling around, I bet they get hungry.

What do you think? Was it the parents’ idea or the kid’s idea?… 

If you had a chance to bring Jesus a snack, what would you bring him? … 

So this boy brings a gift to Jesus and his friends, and what does Jesus do with it? … 

He shares it! He uses it to feed EVERYBODY there!

Now, five loaves and two fish might be a lot for one kid. But it’s not that much for Jesus and his twelve friends. And it’s certainly not very much for 5000 people!

But Jesus takes the bread, and he gives thanks to God the Father, and then he starts giving people bread. And the same with the fish. 

And everybody eats as much as they want. 

And somehow… there is enough. And more than enough! When everybody is finished, there are enough scraps left over to fill TWELVE baskets! 

Have you heard the word miracle? 

A miracle is a word for when something good happens that it’s hard to explain. 

When something good happens that’s hard to explain. 

There are a lot of miracle stories in the Bible.

Some of us might have miracle stories in our lives too.

That could be an important thing to talk about another time.

But right now, I want to go back to the kid in the story, the little boy. 

This miracle started with his gift. With him and his family showing generosity. Showing love. 

I wonder what it looks like, to live a life with deep roots in love? 

In our other reading today the author of this letter, the letter to the Ephesians, says that they hope people who follow Jesus, people like us, will have strong roots in love. 

There are two words there: Rooted and grounded in love.

The word for grounded seems to be a building word – we’re talking about foundations and cornerstones, again.

But the word rooted really is roots in Greek,  like a plant’s roots.

Lots of people back then worked on farms or grew some of their own food in gardens. So they knew about roots! 

So, what are roots, for a plant?… 

What do they do?… 

Are roots important? … 

Here’s a big question: Which is MORE important, the part of the plant you see above ground, or the roots? … 

It depends, right? But a lot of kinds of plants can grow back from the roots. 

Some kinds of plants can grow back from the top part too, if you cut it off – but if they do that – you know the first thing they do? They grow roots. 

So this author hopes that followers of Jesus – people like us – will be rooted in love. 

What love? God’s love for us; Jesus’ love for us. Which is SO BIG – this author says – that it’s hard for us to even understand the breadth and length and height and depth. A Love SO wide and SO long and SO tall and SO deep!!!

That’s how big God’s love is. 

That’s the love that we can put our roots down into. 

And that’s the love we can share with other people. 

This past week eleven youth and young adults, and four not so young adults, went to a city called Racine together for our high school mission trip. 

This is the third year we’ve done a trip a lot like this.

And some things were a lot like other years. 

But a couple of things were different. 

On Friday, we helped out at the Hospitality Center, which serves breakfast and lunch to folks who live in downtown Racine, who can’t always afford to buy their own food. 

We have helped serve lunch before. But this year we had a chance to sit and talk with people for a while. We got to hear their stories, a little bit. We heard some hard and sad things, and we got to laugh together too. 

On Saturday, we worked with a group in Milwaukee that helps refugees make new homes in Wisconsin. 

Refugees are people who have to leave their home country to escape danger. It is hard to be a refugee, and it takes a really really long time to get to make a new home somewhere else. 

In other years we’ve done things like clean an apartment. This year we shopped for things that two families will need. We bought some toys for their kids, too! 

And then we went to a park and shared lunch with several families of refugees from a country called Afghanistan, who have been here for a few years already. 

There were some younger kids, and some teenagers, and some grownups. We talked, and the kids played soccer and frisbee together. 

It was the third year that we worked with this group, but it was the first year we got to meet some of the people who are making new lives here. 

I think those moments when we got to talk with people were really important to our group, this year. 

We’re always worked really hard to help out with any project that we’re asked to do. 

But now we know a few of the people who are part of those communities. We care in a new way. 

Now we can do what we do not just because it’s the right thing to do, but out of love. 

Rooted and grounded in love… 

Does anybody like Star Wars?… 

There’s a line from the movie The Last Jedi that I have been thinking about a lot. 

One of the characters says, “That’s how we’re gonna win. Not by fighting what we hate. But saving what we love.” 

Maybe fighting what you hate and saving what you love puts you on the same battlefield. 

But there is something different, deep down, I think, about operating from love. 

Mind you: Love isn’t just soft and squishy and nice.

Sometimes love has to be brave.

Sometimes love has to be fierce. 

If we love people who can’t always afford food –

If we love people who are unhoused –

If we love refugees who are building new lives in Wisconsin – 

That love will shape how we think and what we do. 

How we give. How we vote. 

I wonder what it looks like, to live a life with deep roots in love? 

A love SO BIG that we can’t even imagine how big it is?… 

Let’s keep wondering about that as we continue …