Scripture Text (NRSV)
John 6:25-35
6:25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to
him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?"
6:26 Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking
for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of
the loaves.
6:27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that
endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it
is on him that God the Father has set his seal."
6:28 Then they said to him, "What must we do to perform the works
of God?"
6:29 Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you
believe in him whom he has sent."
6:30 So they said to him, "What sign are you going to give us then,
so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing?
6:31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is
written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"
6:32 Then Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, it was not
Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who
gives you the true bread from heaven.
6:33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and
gives life to the world."
6:34 They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always."
6:35 Jesus 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.
Comments:
We are having a Thanksgiving Community wide supper at our church this
Saturday and I am expected to give a devotion. I may have a communion
service after the meal. I also like the thought of the folks singing
Rejoice In The Lord Always in the round. With all else that's going on
my great Nephew was murdered last Friday. Pray for me. Harold in
Alabama
Harold -
That's TERRIBLE!!! You are in my prayers. I, too, am the preacher (a
church service, no meal) at the community Thanksgiving service. I
preached this one and the epistle together at yet another community
service about 6 years ago (ain't I lucky?). I had them just say
"Rejoice" when, every once in awhile I'd say, "Rejoice in the Lord,
always, again I say ___" and then I'd just motion with my hand for
them to say it. Repetition can be pretty powerful.
Sally in GA
Harold, I am so sorry about your nephew. Why can't we revere life? My
sympathy to you and your family. Nancy-Wi
The deuteronomy skit would be very appropriate for a thanksgiving
dinner. It is very short. I can tell you how to get it if you email
me. Nancy
This scrripture may be appropriate especially the humanitarian aid
drop to afganistan....and feeding soldier thanksgiving meal....hmmm
UMC Lady preacher Ohio
Dear Harold in Alabama - I am so sorry to hear about your great
Nephew. My prayers go out to you and to his family. reverend KJ
Thank you all for your prayers and concern. I tried something this
morning that you all might try. WE Did psalm 100 as a responsive
reading, We used the Old Testament reading as being thankful for God's
natural provisions, we used the Gospel of John and talked about
thankfulness for God's Spiritual food and provision and then we used
Philippians and talked about Thanksgiving as an every day event in the
life of a Christian and not a once a year party. Harold in Alabama
Harold- God be with you and your family in this difficult time. The
truth of Philippians 4:7 may not seem very real through the days
ahead, but what you did with the lessons provides a good path for you
to travel. You are never alone. LLPinPC
To LLP in PC
Thank you for your concern and I'm grateful for your comments. It
seems like more and more when I wake up The first thing I say is thank
you Lord. I usually say Good morning Father, good morning Jesus, good
Morning Holy Spirit. But more and more I'm thanking Him for no other
reason than to just say thank you. When I crushed my toe a few years
ago I said, "Lord it's kind of hard to thank you for this toe right
now but I can thank you that you are with me." We need to be thankful
for His presence every day. In the hard times as well as the good.
Sorry to be preaching.
Harold in Alabama
Harold in Alabama; God be with your family in this time of tragedy.
Remember that Jesus said that He is the Resurrection and the Live. For
whatever reason, your great nephew was taken from here to be the Lord.
He is in better shape than we are right now, so praise God for the
time together. I, too, am a pastor who has just buried two cousins,
but I know that God is both merciful and gracious. Look up and you'll
find the answer. Rev. Ray in Springfield, Ohio
This tension between the physical bread and the spiritual bread
reminds us on thanksgiving to be thankful not only for the physical
blessings which we enjoy, but much more importantly, to be thankful
for the source of all blessings. Focusing on God and not the material
blessings helps us to be thankful regardless of our circumstances.
Compare Phillipians 4.
This reference to Manna is interesting. Raymond Brown in the Anchor
Bible points out that a tradition developed which stated a second
Messiah (Moses being the first messiah) would come, and once again
rain bread from heaven. The people seem to be articulating a belief in
this tradition when they ask Jesus to provide a sign comparable to
Moses providing Mana.
David
from Saskatoon. SK.
What has happened to giving thanks, making eucharist? Why has our
culture turned its back on saying "thank you." Where are we headed?
I'm going back and forth between this text and the Phillipians one. I
really am trying to introduce the liturical calendar to my folks in
such a way that it makes a difference to them, but I don't want to
push too much, too fast. So, I'm going to be concentrating (at least
some, somehow)on this being the last Sunday of our church year. Next
Sunday, the 1st Sunday of Advent is a new beginning for us, again. So
maybe the Phillipians would lend itself more to reflecting back and
looking forward... or maybe this text would give more depth as an
underlying structure -- this is what's its all about? Are you hungry?
Are you thirsty? Are there those around you that are? hmmm... how can
it possibility be Wednesday again! Yikes! RevAmy
To Stan:
I moved in Aug. to the southwest side of Louisville. I am pastor of
Valley Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the Valley Station
area of Louisville. I pastored two churches in W. Ky., in Bardwell and
Wickliffe. My dad is a retired Disciple pastor. He pastored the
Disciple congregation in Princeton.
As for this passage, the crowd was thankful for the free lunch and
tha's why there back again today. But Jesus confuses them by talking
about the food that endures. Work for food that endures. But, they
think that they have to work for this kind of food. Wrong again! All
they have to do is believe in Jesus and they get the bread of life. If
we interpret the bread of life as that which is necessary to sustain
us and all we have to do is believe in Jesus to receive that which can
sustain us, then I believe that we have something to be thankful for
that goes beyond the trite. In Jesus we have something that can
sustain us even when we don't have the material goods at our disposal.
I hope some of this rambling makes some sense.
John in Ky.
