"Bread, I Am", says Jesus

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 8:1B-8 ~~~ Psalm 66 ~~~ John 6:35-40 ~~~

Jesus said to the crowds,
"I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst..."

Today's Gospel is part two of the Bread of Life Discourse.
Jesus spoke about himself...
He gave himself seven metaphorical title.
This is how Jesus describes himself for us.

Jesus asked his apostles one day who they said he was...
Who do you say that I am?
This is a question we must also answer.
In John's Gospel, Jesus tells us who he is
from his perspective.

Today he tells us he is the Bread of Life.

Do you think Jesus ever sat down to eat a meal alone?
I can honestly say I do not like to eat alone.

How would you complete seven 'I am...'
statements about yourself?
Try it you might find that as you get to the fourth
or fifth it becomes more difficult.

In order to make bread the grain must be striped from the plants.
The individual grains must be crush until they
become a fine powder...
until they no longer resemble what they were before.

If we believe that Jesus is the Bread of Life then when
we eat of this bread we too must become changed.

We must be willing to be crushed, finely ground,
 to be made into something more wonderful.

Jesus gives himself completely to us.
He satisfies our hunger.
We will no longer be thirsty.
He quenches every parched lips. He feeds the hungry soul.

This certainly no Dr. Seuss book, but Jesus does say,
"Bread, I Am".

Jesus sustains us with the Bread of Life,
not just for this life,
but for our eternal life in heaven with him.
This is truly life giving bread.
We come to receive in good times and in bad times.
He enters into our body to make us whole again,
 one with him in body and soul.

Blessed to be able to frequently receive
 this Bread of Life.
~~~ Peace ~~~

Fearless Words

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 7:51-8:1A ~~~ Psalm 31 ~~~ John 6:30-35 ~~~

But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit,

looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God.

Stephen is preaching to the people
about how corrupt and hopeless they are
and have been for some time now.

He does not try to sugar coat his remarks.
It seems he is trying to insult and belittle them...
using phrases like...
stiff-necked, uncircumcised of heart and ears,
 literal rebels against the Holy Spirit.

Going on to negatively compare them to all of their ancestors...
good for nothing betrayers and murders.
Stinging words aimed right at their hearts.
They had not even taken the words of angels seriously.
Could it be any worse?

It is not surprising, after this little rant,
 that the people thought it best to silence him once and for all.
Stoning seemed to be the order of the day.
If you do not like what someone is saying about you
then just get rid of them for good.
That is kill them...problem solved.

Stephen took a chance.
Some might even say his words and actions were reckless.
His strong conviction in Jesus took over his mind, body, and soul.
Isn't that what we are also called to?
Are we not also asked to love God with our whole being?

When is it too risky to love?
How far would you be willing to take your love for God?

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

Stephen made reference to the ancestors...
Moses was given manna from heaven, still the people grumbled.
Jesus gives us himself as the 'bread of life'
and still there are those today who would grumble.

Stephen believed until it cost him his life.
We may not be called to give up our life for Jesus today,
but we are called to love just as intently as Stephen.

...the heavens opened

and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.

Stephen saw Jesus waiting for him;
that was enough to keep him strong.

Jesus Blesses us with the same vision if we believe.
When the time comes may we have the strength of Stephen.
~~~ Peace ~~~

The Growling Stomach

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 6:8-15 ~~~ Psalm 119 ~~~ John 6:22-29 ~~~

The crowd returned to where they had been fed.

Were they hungry for more bread and fish?

Were they hungry for more miracles?

Were they hungry for more of the message from Jesus?

They came back to ask one question...
“What can we do to accomplish the works of God?”

The crowd had their bellies filled, but that is as far as it went.

They never made the connection...

They never saw that the nourishment was meant to go deeper.

Were they trying to challenge Jesus?

Did they really want him to tell them 

they were already doing an awesome job?

Were they looking for confirmation from the latest local attraction?

After all Jesus had been pretty impressive;
he fed the huge crowd with not very much.

Jesus gives them the one answer they could not accept.
If they believed in him then they would indeed
 be doing the work of God.

“This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”

Jesus fed the crowd but they did not see that it came from God above.
Their vision was narrow and too literal.

Jesus spoke in parables, not to be taken literally,
but to better illustrate his message.

He satisfied their hunger pains in hope
 that they would understand the manner by which
 God would satisfy their needs.

In order to do the works of God
we must first establish and then maintain
our connection with Jesus.

Sometimes we accomplish the works of God
 by simply opening up ourselves to the possibility
 of his working through us.

Believe and you will be blessed by God working through you.
It is always the spirit of God
that brings forth his goodness from us.

Believe and be amazed
 at what he will accomplish through you.
~~~ Peace ~~~

The Seven Mile Walk

~~~Third Sunday of Easter ~~~

~~Acts of the Apostles 2:14, 22-33~~~Psalm 16~~

~~1 Peter 1:17-21~~~Luke 24:13-35~~

The Lonesome Walk to Emmaus. The Longest Seven Mile Walk.

Lord, you will show us the path of life.

To some of my friends a seven mile walk would not be that far,
but  am not sure I would be able to complete such a distance.

This story is not about the distance...it is not about the two who were walking;
it is about Jesus seeking them out after his resurrection.
Throughout the public ministry of Jesus people were constantly
seeking him and following him about the country side.

But since his Resurrection we see him seeking those who loved him...
those who tried in their own way to believe.
They may have wanted to believe that he would be raised from the dead,
but when he was laid in the tomb it all seemed to be so final.
Even when they discover the empty tomb it is still so hard to believe.

So Jesus comes to them. He comes to them,
not because he has something to prove, but because he loves them.
His love then was not any greater then his love is today for you and for me.

He comes to us in the same intimate way
every time we attend Mass and receive his precious body and blood.

He seeks us out...he wants to walk with us...he wants to reveal his love to us.

Are we paying attention?
Are we missing his presence?
Do we believe enough?

It took more than the seven mile walk
before the two could recognize who had joined them.

Perhaps they were looking down at the ground.
Jesus was by their side...he was walking with them.
Did they ever actually look at his face?

They walked all the way home
before his actions of breaking the bread opened their eyes.

They were back in their own little world, in the privacy of their home.

Jesus says, 'oh, by the way, it's me....Jesus'
and he breaks the bread.
They see his hands holding the bread.
They hear him speak the familiar words of blessing
and then they knew.

Now they had renewed energy...
the seven miles back was the walk of exhilaration.

They could not contain their joy.

Jesus had walked with them, he had found them,
he had blessed them...he had filled them with his joy.

He is walking beside you.
Peace.

Words of Wisdom

~~~ 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 ~~~ Psalm 19 ~~~ John 14:6-14 ~~~

Jesus said to Thomas, 

"I am the way and the truth and the life..."

Jesus has told the Apostles that he was going to prepare a place for them...
that they could not come with him.
But Jesus goes on...'you know the way'.

We know the way because Jesus came to show us the way.
If we follow him we will have no questions about the way.
If we follow Jesus we agree to abide in his presence
 to let his light and his words guide us.

His light makes it so much easier to follow him.
We are not walking in the dark.
he lights the way for us.

Jesus is the truth.
There is no greater truth than the words we hear from Jesus.
Jesus is the truth because he keeps his covenant with his people for all ages.
We find ourselves in situations where we 'modify' the truth.
We choose not to tell the truth sometimes,
but Jesus never finds himself in that situation.
Not telling the truth could never be a part of the person of Jesus.
This fact alone brings comfort, joy, and peace.

Jesus is the life...
we believe that there is no life except life in and with him.
Without Jesus we would not have eternal life,
which is the whole point of our living to begin with...right.
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life
 he redeemed us from our sinfulness.

If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.

Jesus is the answer to the questions we ask
and to those we have not yet formulated.

He does things for us even though we do not ask.
He knows what is best for those whom he loves....
that would be you and me.

Blessed to have Jesus
leading the way...speaking only words of truth...
giving us life everlasting.
~~~ Peace ~~~

The Full Basket

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 5:34-42 ~~~ Psalm 27 ~~~ John 6:1-15 ~~~

Every year an attorney living near us hosts a large Christmas party.
It takes weeks for many workers to construct the tent
large enough to hold all the guests.
He hires top notch entertainers, live bands,
and caterers to serve delicious food.
This man goes all out to insure
that his guests have an enjoyable time.

Today in the Gospel we have the well known story
 of Jesus feeding the five thousand.
He had no tent to offer his guests.
He had no live entertainment.
He had no local caterer bring in food for the crowd.
Jesus had only himself, along with his apostles.
He wants to care for the people,
 just as my neighbor wants to care for his clients.
The only resource Jesus has is himself
 and a few fish and loaves of bread,
not much to feed five thousand.

Once he blesses the food and it is being distributed
he does not give any instructions on how much each person is to receive.
Instead he says just the opposite...let them have

...as much of the fish as they wanted.

For many of these people
 this may have been equivalent to a lavish banquet.
Who knows when they had eaten last.
How could they have known how long they would be gone from home.

They ate until they were satisfied and the food never ran out.
Perhaps some even decided to take a little extra
 to save for the trip back home.

When all had had their fill the baskets were still not empty.
Jesus told them to collect the left overs.
“Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.”

With God there is always abundance....always enough...
...nothing is wasted.

You have abundance in your life.
You are enough for God.
God wants to use you just as you are.

God blesses us.
He gives us abundance in our lives.
The 'basket' does not ever become empty.

Sometimes we take the 'basket' and hide it in the closet.
Sometimes we get tired of what is offered from the 'basket'.
But it never becomes empty.

No matter what happened to the Apostles after Jesus
appeared to them in the upper room;
their 'basket' was always full.

And all day long, both at the temple and in their homes,
they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the Christ, Jesus.

Today I invite you to pick up your basket;
see what God has given to you.
He is the only one who can keep your basket full.
He is the only one who gives and gives so that we will have more.

The more we give from the contents of our 'basket'
the more Jesus will place inside for the days to come.

Let Jesus fill your heart with his abundant love and mercy.
Every day he blesses us with more.
Keep your basket by your side.
~~~ Peace ~~~

No Need for Rationing

~~~ Saint Joseph, the Worker ~~~

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 5:27-33 ~~~ Psalm 34 ~~~ John 3:31-36 ~~~

Just think for a moment; if the elders of the Sanhedrin 

had been able to carry out their plan where would we be today?

The Apostles were so filled with the Spirit

 that there was no chance of getting them to keep quiet.

...the one whom God sent speaks the words of God.

When Jesus left the Apostles for the last time,
he commissioned them to continue delivering
the message he modeled for them.
Now that they were filled with the Holy Spirit
 they simultaneously were charged with confidence.

He does not ration his gift of the Spirit.

We know some of the Apostles better than others,
like Peter, James, John, Judas etc.
but they were all gifted by the Spirit.
Perhaps the elders wanted to impose a sort of rationing
where they were given the greater portion.
These men of God were threatening to take some of their portion.
We can see just how flawed their thinking was then.

This is how the dictionary defines
Ration...allow a person to have a fixed amount of a something.

Typically rations are imposed when there is a shortage of some kind.
The demand is greater than the available provisions.
God never has the need to ration;
he is abundance in all things.

God freely gives the gift of the Spirit to all who come to him.
Man made up the word ration, it does not come from God.
To ration would be totally foreign to him.

He wants to love and forgive without rationing.
We have been given the capacity to keep
on loving no matter what happens.
We also have the capacity to forgive the most heinous
transgressions against us.

Recently I saw a story of great forgiveness.
There was a convicted murderer who was about to be publicly
hung in the town square. 

As you might imagine this was in Iran.
Traditionally a family member comes forward to kick the chair
away thus hanging the convict.

The mother of the victim came forward,
slapped the convict in the face.
She stood there for a moment and to everyone's surprise
she did not kick the chair away.
Instead she reached up and removed the executioners
 noose from his neck.

A ration is a fixed portion...
This woman exhibited way more than a fixed portion of forgiveness
 toward the person who had killed her son.

When you ration something it is doled out in a controlled manner.
God gave everything to the Son who in turn gives us all.

Can you imagine a God who would ration anything?
I cannot.
What if, you were only given
 a certain amount of grace from God?
What if, when you had used
your ration there would be no more?

We might actually be better off today if
our available sugar was rationed.
Perhaps we would have fewer cases of diabetes.

Rations serve a purpose for the military out in the field.
But, when it comes to God, even the word 'ration' has no meaning.

Whatever gifts God gives you,
through the Holy Spirit, will never be depleted.
The more we access these gifts the more abundant they become.

No matter how many people you love
it is impossible to run out of love.

We are Blessed because with God there is no scarcity;
there is no portion control, there is only abundance.
There is no need for rationing.
~~~ Peace ~~~