From Rumbling Tummies to Living Bread

In the Old Testament we hear the stories of "manna from heaven" to feed the hungry Israelites.  In the New Testament we hear of Jesus feeding thousands from 5 fish and 2 loaves of bread. After filling the immediate need for food, Jesus says, "I am the bread of life."  This move us from rumbling tummies to a refocusing on the blessings poured out and the primary benefactor. We see the gifts of God, which come in a variety of ways: physical nourishment, roles and talents lifted up in community, new life given now and into the ages of ages.

 

We find that the gifts are responses to various actions—complaining, building for the future, longing for signs of promise and hope. Yet each of these actions and the gifts mean little if we are not able to see the one who is the giver and to recognize that the gifts are not merely about what we can do to get them or what signs are needed to prove them; rather, it is about trust in God, who is the source of life and living—the one who provides the true bread from heaven.

 

Our role in this story is to tell the history of God’s giving, similar to the psalmist. It is to open our eyes to the way the bread of heaven is sustaining us today, physically and spiritually. And as a community living in God’s promise, we look to the one God sends to us as the bread of life. In many early Hebrew and Greek writings, the stomach was a driving force and a place where hope and faith were lodged. The readings point us to see how a longing for food opens a greater dwelling place for the gifts of faith and promise. From our physical depths we are called to experience a greater spiritual reality.

- adapted from Sundays and Seasons

Bless your eyes

May God who comes to us in the things of this world, bless your eyes and be in your seeing. 
May Christ who looks upon you with deepest love, bless your eyes and widen your gaze. 
May the Spirit who perceives what is and what yet may be, bless your eyes and sharpen your vision. 
May the sacred three bless your eyes and cause you to always see.  AMEN

Fill me Lord

I offer myself to you, loving God.
May your will be my guide. 
May your love be the pattern of my life. 
May your way be my hope. 
May your path be my help. 
I surrender to you my hopes, my dreams, my goals, my ambitions. 
I place them all into your loving care: including my family, my friends, my life and my future,
my fears, my sorrows, my sense of loss, my pain and numbness, my sadness and all my hurt. 
Fill me, God, here and now with the sense of your presence and a sense of your empowering spirit. 
Renew my faith and rebirth my spirit so that I may live with hope and confidence this day and every day. 
In Jesus' name, Amen 

Rough Waters and Stormy Times

Have you been on the water during a storm?  When the forces of nature leave you with no option but to "weather the storm"?

I have had 2 experiences like this on a 38-foot sailboat.  The first was when I was new to sailing.  There were 6 on board and we were returning to the marina after an amazing 2-week trip up to the North Channel.  We had anchored in a remote spot for our last sail across Georgian Bay.  As good sailors, we did check the weather channel before setting out.  The reception was a bit spotty and we did know that there was some rain in the forecast.  The skies were gray but not stormy.  It was going to be at least 12 hours to make the voyage.  We set out early as planned.  Soon there was no land in sight.  And then it stormed.  We made a mistake with the sail and learned that even a little bit was too much for the storm.  We made it through the storm lesson learned.  And then we were hit with another storm.  All we could do was wait it out.  Being tossed about, heeling over, trying to steer to reduce the impact.  I was grateful my kids had chosen to sleep in and were rolling around in their berth - not knowing the fear of the moment.  And the storm passed.  But the weather wasn't finished with us yet.  A third storm tested us again.  When we finally made it into our slip at the marina that evening, it was a sunny calm summer day.  

That was our first trip on the sailboat.  Our sailing years were bookended with storms!  Our last trip had us in the roughest waters we'd been on.  We'd been sailing for 8 years now and had more experience.  This time we waited out a storm in the anchorage we'd been staying.  All but 1 other boat headed to port before the storm.  What we hadn't counted on was the lasting effect on the water of a storm.  Rough waters and high waves don't end when the storm passes.  All that wind motion stirs up the water and it lasts until all that energy is expended.  We set out thinking we'd waited out the storm.  We hadn't.  There was more storm to come and the waters had waves that were bigger than we'd sailed through.  When all you see is a wall of water beside your boat, you know you're at the mercy of the water.  It's all black and white.  A wall of black water and the white as it crashes over the bow.  This was the only time I was seasick.  We took turns steering.  And heard maydays on the radio from boats thrown onto the rocks.  We were in deep open water but had to make it through some narrow channels later.  We had to weather the storm first.

Both these times on rough waters were experiences of helplessness.  All we could do was steer to reduce the impact and pray.  Sometimes in life that's all we can do.  Stay the course and pray. 

In the midst of stormy times in our lives, we can lose hope and let fear overwhelm us.  What about looking back at the storms we have weathered rather than dwelling on the current storms?  What if we find God acting in those past storms, bringing us through them?  See the growth and change. See the courage and faith.  Know that courage and faith can again bring us through.  Let hope be bigger than fear.  Hold the steering wheel and do what you can.  Have faith.  The storm will pass.

Let us walk each other home

When God rests

his gaze upon us

we become

Beloved.

the object of God's affection

For God so loved the whole world...

 

We become vessels

of love

being loved

loving

 

Love

transforming

and restoring us

whole

 

For such is the love of God

that no pebble was left

unturned

No distance too vast

to cross

It Is Finished.

 

Through death

to life,

love comes

in the eyes

of the beholder

beholding

you.

 

Beloved, Come,

Let us walk each other home.

~ Bob Holmes #comeintothequiet #savoringgrace