The ichthyology of acronyms

Sermon for the Seventh Sunday after Trinity

By now, you will have heard many say how the feeding of the four thousand and the feeding of the five thousand are a bit like the Mass. Our Lord gives thanks, breaks bread and then feeds so many people with just the little He has been given. And this is something that He does for us today: we receive the same Bread of Heaven, no matter where we are in the Church, no matter WHEN we are in the Church. We are partakers of the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand. Hang on! Our Lord breaks that record! We are partakers of the miracle of the countless millions of Christians who have ever lived.

But what about the fish?

The four thousand are also fed with fish. When do we get fish?

[PAUSE]

You will be disappointed to know that your priest is not going to set up a deep-fat fryer in the sanctuary and provide you with a battered cod meal. At a purely practical level, the four thousand are fed with fish because that’s what they have. As the Lord Himself might say, what they have more shall be given to them. They make their offering to God and He blesses it and multiplies it for everyone’s good. It just so happens to be fish on both occasions. If they were to offer lamb, then that’s what the multitude may be given. Same if had been turnip, potatoes or pizza. The Lord takes what we have, blesses it and multiplies it for the good of the world. This is why we offer together our bread and wine and, at the hands of the priest in co-operation with the Holy Ghost, our sacrifice becomes the sacrifice that feeds the whole world with God’s goodness.

But God uses what we give for other things to. He can give us a deeper message if we are willing to listen.

There’s something very Christian about fish, and very ancient.

[PAUSE]

You may know that the study of fish is ichthyology. You may also have heard of the fish-like dinosaur called ichthyosaurus. The Greek word Ichthys is a fish, and you also know that some Christians use the fish as a symbol. This is because Ichthys is a Greek Acronym like ETA, or LOL, or TTFN. This is “Iesous Christos Theou Yios Soter” which means, “Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Saviour.” Be assured, this works better in Greek and is more meaningful than WWJD that you may often hear.

In the word ichthys, we hear our first and most simple creed – a statement of what we believe. For we believe that Jesus Christ truly is the Son of God who is saving us from our sins through His death upon the Cross.

Thus we do have fish at our Mass, for Our Lord is as present to us as we are to each other, though even more so. Just as the four thousand partake of the flesh of fish, so do we for we do eat the real Body of Christ albeit under the appearance of bread. For the four thousand, the bread and the fish are seen separately. For us, bread is transformed into Body, the Fish – the Ichthys, Our Lord Himself – is truly present, veiled by the appearance of bread for us to partake and be fed.

[PAUSE]

It’s difficult to know whether God intends to use fish and fishermen to spread the message of the reality of our salvation. We can speculate what would happen if He were offered something different like if He had come into a society of farmers rather than fishermen. But speculation can distract us from what is. We must let God know His own mind and, in respect and love for Him and His Creation, we offer Him the best of what we have and let Him multiply it for the good of all.