august-30-2009

James 1:17-27

At the heart of problems within the Church, and thus in the individual lives of believers, James sees a divided loyalty: trying to love both God and the World.  A true faith, he believes, will utterly transform our lives, including not just what we believe and how we feel, but how we interact with those around us.  In today’s passage, James calls upon his readers to be those who do God’s Word, in particular in a way that touches upon our speech, our love and help for the helpless, and our pursuit of holiness.

august-23-2009

John 6:56-69

As Jesus’ teaching on the Bread of Life comes to a close, even the larger band of His disciples is scandalized by His teaching, prompting the question to the Twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?”  So often in our lives of faith, Jesus’ teaching and ways puzzle us and leave us with questions.  The Lord allows these times to expose our hearts to us and give us the opportunity to come closer to Him in faith, for the only answer when we don’t understand is simply to know Jesus in a way that allows us to trust Him until, if ever, we are able to understand.

august-16-2009

John 6:51-58

As Jesus continues to teach about the necessity of receiving the work of His Cross, we also hear some hints that remind us of the Eucharist.  In considering the work of God’s grace in our lives, we have the gift of this sacrament which gives us the spiritual nourishment of Christ’s presence every time we gather around His table.

 august-9-2009

John 6:41-51

Jesus challenges the crowd to stop grumbling and to open their hearts to His teaching.  They have been seeking bread and a sign from Jesus, and now He will begin pointing to them.  The bread they seek will not ultimately give them life, but the bread which Jesus offers will give eternal life.  That bread is His flesh given in sacrifice for the world.  In the Cross of Grace, we receive the gift of eternal life and that ever-standing testimony to God’s love for us.  This is the Grace upon which we build our lives!

august-2-2009

John 6: 24-35

As we continue to consider how we can grow in seeing God’s grace in our lives, we consider this week His everyday grace. The people come to Jesus because their eyes are fixed on physical things and they have found a great source of food in Jesus. He does not chastise them for being concerned about physical things, but challenges them to look beyond to the spiritual, to the One who gives them all things. As we look beyond the gift to the giver, we learn to see the face of our loving God in the things of everyday life.