Reflections for Sunday 1st August from Jacquie Brown
The Ninth Sunday after Trinity – 1st August 2021
Prayer for the week by Canon Robert Townsend
God in Heaven,
you call us to forgive and heal.
Help us to work against division and hatred,
and bring your healing spirit to situations where it is needed.
This we ask in Jesus’ name.
Amen.
Please remember in your prayers today: Church of the Province of South East Asia and the Talgarth and Llyswen Ministry Area.
Collect :
Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Readings:
Old Testament: 2 Samuel 11.26 – 12.13a;
Psalm: 51. 1-12;
New Testament: Ephesians 4. 1-16;
Gospel: John 6. 24-35
Gospel: John 6:24-35The next day, when the people who remained after the feeding of the five thousand saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
The Reflection is taken from the Gospel reading for Sunday 1st August 2021.
We live as hungry people in a hungry world. Everyone is looking for something that will sustain and nourish life, something that will feed and energise, something that will fill and satisfy. Everyone is looking for bread. The problem is not that we are hungry, but the kind of bread we eat.
Think about the varieties of bread being eaten in our lives and in the world today. In Syria both sides are eating the bread of violence and war. Republicans and Democrats share the bread of negativity, hostility, and name-calling
Many of us eat the bread of having to be right and get our way. We eat the bread of hurt feelings and resentment. Sometimes we eat the bread of loneliness, fear, and isolation.
There are times we eat the bread of sorrow or guilt. Other times we eat the bread of power and control. Sometimes we eat the bread of revenge or one-up-manship. We eat all kinds of bread. The bread we eat reveals something about the nature of our appetites.
The world is full of bread and yet far too many live hungry, empty, and searching. That says something about our appetites and the bread we have eaten. It’s a sure sign that the bread we have eaten cannot give real life. It is perishable bread that nourishes only a perishable life. It leaves us wanting only more of the same.
Not all bread sustains and grows life. Not all bread is nutritious. If you want to know the nutritional value of the bread you have to look beyond the bread. Where did it come from? What are its ingredients?
That’s what Jesus is teaching in today’s gospel. The people have shown up hungry. Just yesterday Jesus had fed 5000 of them with five loaves and two fishes. Today they show up and their first question is, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”
They do not marvel at his miracle the day before, give thanks for God’s generosity, or even wonder who this rabbi is. It sounds like they are worried they might have missed the next meal, that Jesus started without them and they are too late. They saw no sign, no miracle, in yesterday’s feeding. They saw nothing more than fish and bread. They either refused or were unable to see beyond the fish and bread. They are interested only in their own appetites and Jesus knows it.
“Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves,” he says to them. The people are concerned for their bellies. Jesus is concerned for their lives. The people want to feed themselves with bread. Jesus wants to feed them with God. “Do not work for the food that perishes,” he tells them, “but for the food that endures for eternal life.”
The food that endures is Jesus himself. He is the bread that is broken and distributed for the life of the world. He is the bread that is broken and yet never divided. He is the bread that is eaten and yet never exhausted. He is the bread that consecrates those who believe in and eat him.
When we believe in Jesus, eating, ingesting, and taking him into our lives, we live differently. We see ourselves and one another as persons created in the image and likeness of God rather than as obstacles or issues to be overcome. We trust the silence of prayer rather than the words of argument. We choose love and forgiveness rather than anger and retribution. We relate with intimacy and vulnerability rather than superficiality and defensiveness. We listen for God’s voice rather than our own. Ultimately, we seek life rather than death.
“I am the bread of life,” Jesus tells the people. “Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” He is offering the people himself. He is the imperishable bread that nourishes and sustains imperishable life.
Jesus makes us the same offer. He offers himself to us in every one of our relationships: family, friends, strangers, enemies, those who agree with us, and those who disagree. In every situation and each day of our life we choose the bread we will eat, perishable or imperishable. In so doing we also choose the life we want.
So I wonder, what bread will we eat today?
Taken from: The Bread We Eat – A Sermon on John 6:24-35; Proper 13B – Interrupting the Silence
A little information about Friday 6th August: Transfiguration of Our Lord: Hagiography from Exciting Holiness by Brother Tristam SSF
The story of the Transfiguration of Jesus on the mount is told in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, and Peter refers to it in his Second Epistle. Each time, it is made clear that that is not only the messenger but also the message: God’s salvation is for all and Christ is that Saviour. The testimony of the law and the prophets to Jesus are given by the presence of Moses and Elijah and the event also pre-figures the resurrection, giving a foretaste of the life of glory.
Prayer for the week by Canon Robert Townsend
God in Heaven,
you call us to forgive and heal.
Help us to work against division and hatred,
and bring your healing spirit to situations where it is needed.
This we ask in Jesus’ name.
Amen.
Please remember in your prayers today: Church of the Province of South East Asia and the Talgarth and Llyswen Ministry Area.
Collect :
Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Readings:
Old Testament: 2 Samuel 11.26 – 12.13a;
Psalm: 51. 1-12;
New Testament: Ephesians 4. 1-16;
Gospel: John 6. 24-35
Gospel: John 6:24-35The next day, when the people who remained after the feeding of the five thousand saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
The Reflection is taken from the Gospel reading for Sunday 1st August 2021.
We live as hungry people in a hungry world. Everyone is looking for something that will sustain and nourish life, something that will feed and energise, something that will fill and satisfy. Everyone is looking for bread. The problem is not that we are hungry, but the kind of bread we eat.
Think about the varieties of bread being eaten in our lives and in the world today. In Syria both sides are eating the bread of violence and war. Republicans and Democrats share the bread of negativity, hostility, and name-calling
Many of us eat the bread of having to be right and get our way. We eat the bread of hurt feelings and resentment. Sometimes we eat the bread of loneliness, fear, and isolation.
There are times we eat the bread of sorrow or guilt. Other times we eat the bread of power and control. Sometimes we eat the bread of revenge or one-up-manship. We eat all kinds of bread. The bread we eat reveals something about the nature of our appetites.
The world is full of bread and yet far too many live hungry, empty, and searching. That says something about our appetites and the bread we have eaten. It’s a sure sign that the bread we have eaten cannot give real life. It is perishable bread that nourishes only a perishable life. It leaves us wanting only more of the same.
Not all bread sustains and grows life. Not all bread is nutritious. If you want to know the nutritional value of the bread you have to look beyond the bread. Where did it come from? What are its ingredients?
That’s what Jesus is teaching in today’s gospel. The people have shown up hungry. Just yesterday Jesus had fed 5000 of them with five loaves and two fishes. Today they show up and their first question is, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”
They do not marvel at his miracle the day before, give thanks for God’s generosity, or even wonder who this rabbi is. It sounds like they are worried they might have missed the next meal, that Jesus started without them and they are too late. They saw no sign, no miracle, in yesterday’s feeding. They saw nothing more than fish and bread. They either refused or were unable to see beyond the fish and bread. They are interested only in their own appetites and Jesus knows it.
“Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves,” he says to them. The people are concerned for their bellies. Jesus is concerned for their lives. The people want to feed themselves with bread. Jesus wants to feed them with God. “Do not work for the food that perishes,” he tells them, “but for the food that endures for eternal life.”
The food that endures is Jesus himself. He is the bread that is broken and distributed for the life of the world. He is the bread that is broken and yet never divided. He is the bread that is eaten and yet never exhausted. He is the bread that consecrates those who believe in and eat him.
When we believe in Jesus, eating, ingesting, and taking him into our lives, we live differently. We see ourselves and one another as persons created in the image and likeness of God rather than as obstacles or issues to be overcome. We trust the silence of prayer rather than the words of argument. We choose love and forgiveness rather than anger and retribution. We relate with intimacy and vulnerability rather than superficiality and defensiveness. We listen for God’s voice rather than our own. Ultimately, we seek life rather than death.
“I am the bread of life,” Jesus tells the people. “Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” He is offering the people himself. He is the imperishable bread that nourishes and sustains imperishable life.
Jesus makes us the same offer. He offers himself to us in every one of our relationships: family, friends, strangers, enemies, those who agree with us, and those who disagree. In every situation and each day of our life we choose the bread we will eat, perishable or imperishable. In so doing we also choose the life we want.
So I wonder, what bread will we eat today?
Taken from: The Bread We Eat – A Sermon on John 6:24-35; Proper 13B – Interrupting the Silence
A little information about Friday 6th August: Transfiguration of Our Lord: Hagiography from Exciting Holiness by Brother Tristam SSF
The story of the Transfiguration of Jesus on the mount is told in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, and Peter refers to it in his Second Epistle. Each time, it is made clear that that is not only the messenger but also the message: God’s salvation is for all and Christ is that Saviour. The testimony of the law and the prophets to Jesus are given by the presence of Moses and Elijah and the event also pre-figures the resurrection, giving a foretaste of the life of glory.
