Gospel for April 9, 2008

John 6:35-40

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. But I told you that although you have seen [me], you do not believe. Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it [on] the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.”

Gospel for April 8, 2008

John 6:30-35

The crowd said to Jesus, “What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” So Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father 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.” So 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 hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

Gospel for April 7, 2008

John 6:22-29

The next day, the crowd that remained across the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not gone along with his disciples in the boat, but only his disciples had left. Other boats came from Tiberias near the place where they had eaten the bread when the Lord gave thanks. When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. And when they found him across the sea they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered them and said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.” So they said to him, “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”

Gospel for April 6, 2008

Luke 24:13-35

That very day two of them were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing as you walk along?” They stopped, looking downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?” he replied to them, “What sort of things?” They said to him, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him. But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place. Some women from our group, however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive. Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see.” And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures. As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther. But they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning [within us] while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?” So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them who were saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

It is sunday today...let us go to church and hear God's words.

Gospel for April 5, 2008

John 6:16-21

When it was evening, his disciples went down to the sea, embarked in a boat, and
went across the sea to Capernaum. It had already grown dark, and Jesus had not
yet come to them. The sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. when
they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and
coming near the boat, and they began to be afraid. But he said to them, "It is
I. Do not be afraid". They wanted to take him into the boat, but the boat
immediately arrived at the shore to which they are heading.

God wanted us to be brave despite the fearful circumstances that we are in. He wanted us to believe that He is always with us in every event of our lives. We could not avoid the feeling of fear, especially in unexpected or unpredictable times but to always trust in the Lord, then there is nothing to be afraid.

You Are Blessed

If you woke up this morning
with more health than illness,
You are more blessed than the million
who won't survive the week.

If you have never experienced the danger
of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment,
the agony of torture, or the pangs
of starvation, you are ahead of
20 million people around the world.

If you attend a church meeting without fear
of harassment, torture or death
you are more blessed than
than almost three billion in the world.

If you have food in your refrigerator,
clothes on your back, a roof over your head,
and a place to sleep, you are
richer than 75% of this world.

If you hold up your head with a smile,
on your face and are truly thankful,
you are blessed because the
majority can, but most do not.

If you can hold someone's hand
hug them or even touch them
on the shoulder, you are blessed because
you can offer God's healing touch.

If you can read the words here
you are more blessed than over
two billion people in the world
that cannot read anything at all.

You are so blessed in many ways
you may never even know.
Have a happy and blessed weekend.

Gospel for April 4, 2008

John 6:1-15

Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples. The Jewish feast of Passover was near. When Jesus raised His eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to Him, He said to Philip, "Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?" He said this to test him, because He himself knew what He was going to do. Philip answered Him, "Two hundred days' wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little. One of the disciples, Andrew, brother of Simon Peter, said to Him, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many"? Jesus said, "Have the people recline". Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number. then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. When they had had their fill, He said to His disciples, "Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted". So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat. When the people saw the sign He had done, they said, "This is truly the prophet, the one who is to come into the world. Since Jesus knew that they were gong to come and carry Him off to make Him king, He withdrew again to the mountain alone.

Jesus has satisfied the hunger of the five thousand people who came to him. And He wanted us to be free from hunger for the years to come. We may be full in the stomach but are we full spiritually? The hunger for peace within ourselves, the hunger for righteousness could all be filled by God if we come to Him.

Reflections:

Am I feeding others? Or am I fed by others?