Fishfinger sandwiches

Sermon for the sixth Sunday after Trinity

There is probably

nothing quite as

quintessentially English

as a fishfinger sandwich.

It's a delicacy that

has not really made it

across the Pond 

to America

and yet, perhaps,

in a twisted imagination,

just perhaps,

Our Lord feeds the four thousand

with something like

fishfinger sandwiches. 

Perhaps this is proof

that Our Lord

really is Anglican!

But then,

perhaps this is 

a somewhat spurious 

argument.

It does, however,

cause us to wonder

where the fish come

In Our Lord's miracle.

We always hear about bread:

the Bread of Life,

the breaking of bread

leavened and unleavened bread

and so on.

Our Lord consecrates bread

to become His body

in the Eucharist

and the parallels 

between the Eucharist

and the feeding of the multitudes

is unmistakable. 

But we always seem

to gloss over the fish.

Where do the fish fit in?

[PAUSE]

The multitude have followed

Our Lord into a wilderness

in the Decapolis region

which is not far

from the Sea of Galilee

where Peter, James and John 

usually fish.

While bread is a food

that is shared across 

so many different communities

and cultures,

fish are usually found

only in fishing communities.

Fish don't travel well

unless they are refrigerated 

or dried out in the sun.

The fact that these fish

have survived a few days

in the wilderness 

is a miracle in itself.

Yet, here too, 

the fish are multiplied

for people to eat,

and they clearly eat well.

It is a food

that they are used to.

But still, the question remains:

If the feeding of the multitude 

is supposed to be a clear pointer

of the Eucharist,

and if we have bread at the Eucharist,

why do we not have fish as well?

[PAUSE]

Put simply,

it's because 

there were no fish 

at the Passover.

And Our Lord

fulfils the Passover 

when He offers us His Body and Blood

under the appearance 

of bread and wine

which are associated 

with the Passover,

Our Lord Himself being 

the Paschal Lamb.

No fish.

So what does this detail

told to us by St Mark 

tell us

that the multitude are fed with fish?

Why are the fish 

important for us to know about?

[PAUSE]

In our Mass,

you will be aware 

of the Offertory.

It's when the priest 

takes the host

and the wine

and offers them up.

What else happens?

Isn't the collection 

of money offered up too?

It's what we bring to Jesus

that gets offered up

and sanctified.

We do the same sort of thing

in our Harvest Festivals.

We bring our produce 

to God to give thanks

and for that produce to be blessed.

And the fish are

the produce of Galilee.

They are offered to God

Who blesses them

and then magnifies them

to feed so many people.

It's what we bring to Christ

that matters.

We offer Him bread 

and He makes it His body.

We offer Him wine 

and He makes it His blood.

We offer Him fish

and four thousand people

are fed good food.

It's what we bring to Christ 

that matters.

We only get anything out of the Mass

if we have put something in.

If we leave Church

feeling uninspired

or grumpy

or indifferent,

is it because we did not 

bring anything with us

for Christ to sanctify?

Did we forget 

to offer ourselves

to God

to be made Holy

to be distributed for

the good of all people?

We only get out of the Mass 

what we are willing

to invest in it.

If we don't even bring ourselves

to be sanctified 

then the Mass will be

just as much as a desert

but without the miracle.

We can receive

the Body and Blood of God

but if we only offer indifference

to Him,

we will only receive indifference 

in abundance.

[PAUSE]

The fish represent

ourselves,

our situations,

our cultures,

our homes and families,

our daily lives.

If we offer these to God,

He will bless them and use them.

If He can consecrate

a fishfinger sandwich, 

how much more

will He consecrate us 

in His service

and in His love?