Sermon on the 8th Sunday (1 Corinthians 1, 10-18 and Matthew 14, 14-21)

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit:

Dear brothers and sisters:

Miracle with five loaves. Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. Сhurch of St. Anthony and Theodosius. 1895

In today’s Epistle reading from St. Paul to the Corinthian’s he exclaimed: «is Christ divided?» (v.13) and begs members of the Corinthian Church in the name of Christ to be ‘united’. Paul says to them: «I plead with you brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no division among you» (v.10). Every beleiver from this well known city, which was one of the centers of the then Greek/Roman world, wished to follow their favourit Apostle and preacher – one after Paul and others after Peter, and a third after Apollos. The young Corinthian Church was divided. It was a great sin against Christ. His Church must be united, as is said in the Creed, not dividing Christ into peaces. When our thoughts about God and the Holy Spirit are united, and ONLY THEN, will Christ be with us, so lets not quarrel and divide ourselves! Only on this condition He will miraculously support our lives with all that is necessary.

The multiplication of bread to feed 5 thousand, tells us that in Gods Kingdom no one will be in need, the necessity of earthly food will dissapear. God Himself will care for us; only in the presence of God can people be secure in everything. The devil, like the unbeleiving communists, offered Christ, while fasting in the desert, to change stones into bread. The Son of God renounced this temptation, as the devil had intentions of leading Christ and with Him all humanity away from God, and to himself. When people in the desert, listening to the word of God were hungry, Christ by the will of God created an immense amount of food for them. In this case, Christ through this miraccle directs people toward the most important goal—towards God’s Kingdom, in which God has prepared everything in plentifullness for man.

Christ performed the miracle of the multipicaton of bread only when it became necessary. The Gospel tells us: «and when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them and healed their illnesses» (v.14). The five loaves miraculously multiplied after God blessed those who having left everything, and followed Him, not thinking about their homes, about food and their own health. This is why: «all ate and were filled» (v.20). The one who serves Christ, is never left without a peace of bread.

This miracle serves as a prototype of a more important miracle which continuously is repeated in church. During our Holy Liturgy we witness each time this kind of miracle, when our bread becomes the Body of Christ, unifying us with God and giving us ‘eternal life’. Christ came to fill us not only with earthly bread but to fill us ‘spiritually’. This is why He gives Himself to us as food for eternal life. The basis of for this miracle from the Gospel is ‘love’ and sacrifice from Christs disciples. They brought as a gift to the people all that they had; two fishes and five breads. By Christs words they became His Body and Love.

Yearly, we can see the miracle of the multiplication of bread. The miraculous change from grain to seed which are all around us in the fields. Most people do not think of it as a miracle because it happens so regularly. Yet, the life of a grain, its death and growth, turning one grain into an ear with tens of grain/seeds—and is the most real miracle of our Heavenly Father.

Let us think that Christs feeding of many thouands of people with a small amount of bread is unreal. The One who can every year change every seed and multiply it, can without any effort multiply bread in His hands. Truly Christ is Allmighty God, who loves us and feeds us with earthly food, for which we must constantly thank Him! Amen.