Musings for Pentecost 11

Sunday, August 12, 2012
Lectionary 19
Proper 14
Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost

Midweek Musings

Reflection by Ken Klassen

INTRODUCTION
Jesus says that the bread he gives for the life of the world is his flesh, and whoever eats this bread has eternal life now and will be raised on the last day. In Ephesians Paul tells us what this life Jesus gives us looks like, this life we live as those marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit in baptism. We live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us. The whole purpose of life is giving yourself for the other.

Prayer of the Day (ELW)

Gracious God, your blessed Son came down from heaven to be the true bread that gives life to the world. Give us this bread always, that he may live in us and we in him, and that, strengthened by this food, we may live as his body in the world, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

First Reading

1 Kings 19:4–8

First Kings chapter 18 describes the contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal. The contest proves that the Lord is God; and afterwards Elijah orders the killing of the Baal prophets. Angered by the deaths of her prophets, Queen Jezebel threatens to kill Elijah. This reading finds Elijah fleeing, fatigued, and in utter despair.

⁴But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: "It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors." ⁵Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, "Get up and eat." ⁶He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. ⁷The angel of the LORD came a second time, touched him, and said, "Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you." ⁸He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.

Psalm (ELW)

Psalm 34:1–8

Taste and see that the LORD is good. (Ps. 34:8)

¹I will bless the LORD ^| at all times;

the praise of God shall ever be ^| in my mouth.

²I will glory ^| in the LORD;

let the lowly hear ^| and rejoice.

³Proclaim with me the greatness ^| of the LORD;

let us exalt God's ^| name together.

⁴I sought the LORD, who ^| answered me

and delivered me from ^| all my terrors.

⁵Look upon the LORD ^| and be radiant,

and let not your faces ^| be ashamed.

⁶I called in my affliction, and ^| the LORD heard me

and saved me from ^| all my troubles.

⁷The angel of the LORD encamps around those who ^| fear the LORD

and de- ^| livers them.

⁸Taste and see that the ^| LORD is good;

happy are they who take ref- ^| uge in God!

Second Reading

Ephesians 4:25—5:2

Christians are called to be imitators of God. This does not mean Christians are perfect. Rather, the Spirit is at work in our lives so that our actions and attitudes genuinely reflect the love and forgiveness we have received through Christ and his death.

Chapter 4

²⁵So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. ²⁶Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, ²⁷and do not make room for the devil. ²⁸Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. ²⁹Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. ³⁰And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. ³¹Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, ³²and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.

Chapter 5

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, ²and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Gospel

John 6:35, 41–51

After feeding more than five thousand people in the wilderness, Jesus teaches them regarding the true significance of this remarkable sign.

³⁵Jesus 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. ⁴¹Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." ⁴²They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" ⁴³Jesus answered them, "Do not complain among yourselves. ⁴⁴No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. ⁴⁵It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. ⁴⁶Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. ⁴⁷Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. ⁴⁸I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. ⁵⁰This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. ⁵¹I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."

Reflection

In one of my earlier reflections, I shook my head as the disciples clearly didn't understand what Jesus was teaching them. Why was that, why didn't they understand? Did Jesus purposely choose a group of dullards? That's a topic for another reflection, but alas, I digress.

In reflections that followed, I have been tempted to fall back to that topic, but I didn't; I didn't until this week. I read a reflection by The Rev. Dr. Alyce M. McKenzie who writes that the most overworked cinematic cliché in recent decades is "You just don't get it, do you?" In our Gospel reading, here comes that cliché again. The Jews just didn't get it. Jesus could have said to the crowd, I'm talking about the Bread from Heaven that God has sent into your world to feed you so that you may have eternal life if you believe in me. I'm not talking about physical bread that leaves you hungry again. God sent the manna, not Moses. God sent me. I am God's own Son. I'm the manna. You just don't get it, do you?

Again, Jesus could have said, Really? You think you know my origins. You think that my parents were Joseph and Mary and you think that knowing where I grew up invalidates my claims? Didn't you hear me say that "The Bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world" (John 6:33)? God has come into your here and now through me. You just don't get it, do you?

When someone uses the cinematic cliché, it's either the beginning of an argument or the end of a relationship. Perhaps that's why Jesus doesn't say it. He is interested in neither. What Jesus is interested in is initiating a dialogue that can lead to a faith that is the beginning of a relationship. He doesn't want to start an argument or end a relationship. He just wants us to get it.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we pray for wisdom and the patience to understand your scriptures. Help us to listen for your voice and obey. We ask that your protecting hand will be on all of those who serve our country and work for peace. Teach us compassion for the sick, the suffering, and those in need.

Musings for Pentecost 9

Sunday, July 29, 2012
Lectionary 17
Proper 12
Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

Midweek Musings

Reflection by Susan Touhsaent

INTRODUCTION
Today is the first of five Sundays with gospel readings from John 6, the first four of which focus on Jesus as bread of life. Today Jesus feeds thousands of people with five loaves and two fish. What we have, what we bring to Jesus' table seems like it is not nearly enough to meet all the needs we see around us. But it is not the adequacy of our supplies or our skills that finally makes the difference: it is the power of Jesus working in the littlest and least to transform this world into the world God desires, a world where all the hungry are satisfied.

Mary, Martha, and Lazarus of Bethany
Friends of Jesus, Mary and Martha are remembered for the hospitality of their home that they offered him—Martha focused on serving their guest, and Mary on listening to him. Their brother Lazarus was raised from the dead as a sign of the greater resurrection to come.

Olaf, King of Norway, martyr, died 1030
Considered the patron saint of Norway, Olaf went from a life of piracy to becoming Christian and declaring himself king of Norway. He revised the laws and tried to administer them fairly. Driven from Norway in a rebellion, he was killed in battle trying to regain his kingdom.

Prayer of the Day (ELW)

Gracious God,
you have placed within the hearts of all your children
a longing for your word and a hunger for your truth.
Grant that we may know your Son to be the true bread of heaven
and share this bread with all the world,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

First Reading

2 Kings 4:42–44

Today’s reading is part of a larger section of 2 Kings that describes the miracles of Elisha, the successor to Elijah. Here the prophet gives food to a hungry crowd. Though there is not enough food to go around, Elisha trusts God, who provides enough and even more to satisfy the need.

⁴²A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing food from the first fruits to the man of God: twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. Elisha said, "Give it to the people and let them eat." ⁴³But his servant said, "How can I set this before a hundred people?" So he repeated, "Give it to the people and let them eat, for thus says the LORD, 'They shall eat and have some left.'" ⁴⁴He set it before them, they ate, and had some left, according to the word of the LORD.

Psalm (ELW)

Psalm 145:10–18

You open wide your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. (Ps. 145:16)

¹⁰All your works shall praise ^| you, O LORD,

and your faithful ^| ones shall bless you.

¹¹They shall tell of the glory ^| of your kingdom

and speak ^| of your power,

¹²that all people may know ^| of your power

and the glorious splendor ^| of your kingdom.

¹³Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom;

your dominion endures through- ^| out all ages.

You, LORD, are faithful in all your words,

and loving in ^| all your works. R

¹⁴The Lord upholds all ^| those who fall

and lifts up those who ^| are bowed down.

¹⁵The eyes of all wait upon ^| you, O LORD,

and you give them their food ^| in due season.

¹⁶You open ^| wide your hand

and satisfy the desire of every ^| living thing.

¹⁷You are righteous in ^| all your ways

and loving in ^| all your works.

¹⁸You are near to all who ^| call upon you,

to all who call up- ^| on you faithfully. R

Second Reading

Ephesians 3:14–21

We have been rooted and grounded in the love of Christ, which surpasses all human knowledge. Because Christ dwells in our hearts, our lives are continuously strengthened and empowered by the ongoing presence of the Spirit.

¹⁴For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. ¹⁶I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, ¹⁷and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. ¹⁸I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ¹⁹and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
²⁰Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, ²¹to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Gospel

John 6:1–21

In John’s gospel, the miracles of Jesus are called “signs,” because they reveal the true character of God. As such, they remain within the mystery of God and cannot be brought under human control.

After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. ²A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. ³Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. ⁴Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. ⁵When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?" ⁶He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. ⁷Philip answered him, "Six months' wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." ⁸One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, ⁹There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people? ¹⁰Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. ¹¹Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. ¹²When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost." ¹³So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. ¹⁴When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world."
¹⁵When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
¹⁶When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, ¹⁷got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. ¹⁸The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. ¹⁹When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. ²⁰But he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." ²¹Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.

Reflection

We have just returned from our annual vacation at the Lutheran Summer Conference at Silver Bay, our 28th year. We had two major storms while we were there, losing power both times. Being without any fans when the temperature was in the 90s and the rain was coming sideways (a little cooling, but definitely scary) made for some chaotic times -- physically chaotic, but also mentally and emotionally chaotic. How long would we be without power? How cranky was our 21-month-year-old grandson going to get? I'm sure the disciples felt mentally and emotionally at sea, too. But was their chaos related to the wind storm - or to the fact that they were without Jesus? After Jesus said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid," the boat immediately reached solid ground, the solid ground of Jesus.

Please pray for:

• People suffering from storms, externally and internally
• People who are hungry in body and soul
• People looking for solid ground -- financially, emotionally, spiritually
• Children, parents, and grandparents
• People who are enjoying time with family and friends
• People who are feeling lonely

Quotation - Anyone who doesn't believe in miracles is not a realist - David Ben-Gurion