Today's Scripture
Exodus 16:2-4,9-15 (NRSV)
Psalm 78 BCP., p. 696
Ephesians 4:1-16 (NRSV)
John 6:24-35 (NRSV)
Blog Reflection
The past two weeks have inundated us with the news about Chick-fil-A and their position on marriage equality. This past Wednesday, was "National Appreciation Day for Chick-fil-A". There were pictures released to show the many, many people lined up at Chick-fil-A to buy and eat their food to support their stance on the idea that marriage equality for LGBT people should not be legalized, nor celebrated. It is said that they made well over a billion dollars on August 1st. In addition, they are known to donate millions to organizations that oppose equality, by spreading misinformation about LGBT people that negatively stereotypes and dehumanizes us.
On Thursday, August 2nd, I saw this remarkable sign on Facebook.
I regret that you can't see everything that is written there, but it says: "You'd never see that many Christians lined up to help a food bank or homeless shelter. And that's something Jesus actually said to do."
What is written there is quite fair. Jesus did ask us to feed him and clothe him in other members of his family in Matthew 25: 31-40. Jesus himself, fed the five thousand as we read last weekend, without asking them what their position on abortion or gay marriage was. Jesus did reiterate the idea of loving our neighbor as ourselves (see Matthew 22:34-49, Mark 12:28-34). Rather than mandate rules and laws that further oppress the marginalized, Jesus healed the sick, including the Centurion's gay slave in Luke 7:1-10. Jesus was far more interested in providing what people really needed such as compassion, inclusion and a closeness with God. Jesus was so wanting to bring God into the lives of those he encountered, that he even provided the means and the substance by which God's presence would be known.
In our Gospel today, Jesus is more interested in uniting people with God's presence so that they would know God. Feeding people with the Bread of Life that is Jesus, so that God's people might know that God provides for all their needs was the purpose of Jesus' words in John 6.
We are all in need of a physical touch from God so that we might know that we are loved. The Holy Eucharist is one of those ways in which the Erotic Christ is able to touch us physically and spiritually. In the Eucharist, the Bread of Life, the very presence of God becomes part of us in an intimate and sensual way. The holiness of God also provides a means of wholeness, as the real presence of Christ is united with us as we consume what cannot be completely consumed. God's presence is personal and unselfish. Jesus gives himself totally and freely for the good of those who come to him in Holy Communion so that we may grow into a fuller image of the Divine.
To understand this better, I think we could use some thought about what place bread has in our world. There is no better smell than to be in a house or bakery with bread in the oven. When we are hungry, whether it be in need of regular nourishment or comfort food, there is something about bread that fills that need. When we eat bread it warms our stomach and calms our soul. It gives us a sense of fulfillment and peace. Whatever else may be going on in our lives, when we eat bread, we feel as if just for a moments time all is well. We experience a sense of being connected.
In Holy Communion, Jesus provides us with that connection to God's creation in the wheat, flour and water that comes from God and those whose working hands played their part in it. At the same time, we receive and are united with the presence of the Divine by which our humanity and God's mystery are combined. Yet, as part of that presence, is the mission and desire for us to become for others, what God has become for us. The means to unconditional and all-inclusive love. As the presence of God becomes real to us, that same presence must be come real through us.
As lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, the Holy Communion becomes the real presence of Christ as we accept who we are, and how we have been created to love others. To love them with a true sense of ourselves, in recognition of the presence of the Divine God in others, even those who are different from ourselves. We are touched by the living God as Christ gives us that grace to believe in the One who sent Jesus. Even while Chick-fil-A, the National Organization for Marriage and others attempt to denigrate us, the presence of God through those churches and people who know that we are who we are, because of God's love, call us to embrace Christ in each other. To uplift one another, and to love ourselves, our partners/spouses, etc by recognizing and affirming the presence of Divine and holy grace that comes from God.
In Paul's letter to the Ephesians we read and hear that while we are all one in Christ, each of us has our particular calling and ministry to fulfill. Every person is empowered with gifts and abilities that can be used to welcome, reconcile and heal those wounded by the Church and society. Jesus, the Bread of Life is still greater and more powerful than all the billions of dollars that Chick-fil-A can donate to anti-LGBT hate groups. Because through those who open ourselves to the power of the Holy Spirit given to us, we can be God's ambassadors for inclusive love, and work towards peace, justice and equality for all people. We can say no to the continued efforts to target Muslims, Jews and people of other religious traditions, or those who practice no religion at all. We can play a role in telling the truth to the lies told by people like Bryan Fischer and Tony Perkins. We can chose peace and justice to those promoting violence and oppression in both the Church and society, by being living examples of God's truth, that all people are loved, cherish, accepted and have a destiny in this life and the next.
Amen.
Prayers
Exodus 16:2-4,9-15 (NRSV)
The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."
Then the LORD said to Moses, "I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not."
Then Moses said to Aaron, "Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, `Draw near to the LORD, for he has heard your complaining.'" And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. The LORD spoke to Moses and said, "I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, `At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.'"
In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat."
Psalm 78 BCP., p. 696
Ephesians 4:1-16 (NRSV)
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ's gift.
Therefore it is said
"When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people."
(When it says, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love.
The next day, when the people who remained after the feeding of the five thousand saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" 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. 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." Then they said to him, "What must we do to perform the works of God?" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." 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? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, `He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" 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. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." 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 be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."
Blog Reflection
The past two weeks have inundated us with the news about Chick-fil-A and their position on marriage equality. This past Wednesday, was "National Appreciation Day for Chick-fil-A". There were pictures released to show the many, many people lined up at Chick-fil-A to buy and eat their food to support their stance on the idea that marriage equality for LGBT people should not be legalized, nor celebrated. It is said that they made well over a billion dollars on August 1st. In addition, they are known to donate millions to organizations that oppose equality, by spreading misinformation about LGBT people that negatively stereotypes and dehumanizes us.
On Thursday, August 2nd, I saw this remarkable sign on Facebook.
What is written there is quite fair. Jesus did ask us to feed him and clothe him in other members of his family in Matthew 25: 31-40. Jesus himself, fed the five thousand as we read last weekend, without asking them what their position on abortion or gay marriage was. Jesus did reiterate the idea of loving our neighbor as ourselves (see Matthew 22:34-49, Mark 12:28-34). Rather than mandate rules and laws that further oppress the marginalized, Jesus healed the sick, including the Centurion's gay slave in Luke 7:1-10. Jesus was far more interested in providing what people really needed such as compassion, inclusion and a closeness with God. Jesus was so wanting to bring God into the lives of those he encountered, that he even provided the means and the substance by which God's presence would be known.
In our Gospel today, Jesus is more interested in uniting people with God's presence so that they would know God. Feeding people with the Bread of Life that is Jesus, so that God's people might know that God provides for all their needs was the purpose of Jesus' words in John 6.
We are all in need of a physical touch from God so that we might know that we are loved. The Holy Eucharist is one of those ways in which the Erotic Christ is able to touch us physically and spiritually. In the Eucharist, the Bread of Life, the very presence of God becomes part of us in an intimate and sensual way. The holiness of God also provides a means of wholeness, as the real presence of Christ is united with us as we consume what cannot be completely consumed. God's presence is personal and unselfish. Jesus gives himself totally and freely for the good of those who come to him in Holy Communion so that we may grow into a fuller image of the Divine.
To understand this better, I think we could use some thought about what place bread has in our world. There is no better smell than to be in a house or bakery with bread in the oven. When we are hungry, whether it be in need of regular nourishment or comfort food, there is something about bread that fills that need. When we eat bread it warms our stomach and calms our soul. It gives us a sense of fulfillment and peace. Whatever else may be going on in our lives, when we eat bread, we feel as if just for a moments time all is well. We experience a sense of being connected.
In Holy Communion, Jesus provides us with that connection to God's creation in the wheat, flour and water that comes from God and those whose working hands played their part in it. At the same time, we receive and are united with the presence of the Divine by which our humanity and God's mystery are combined. Yet, as part of that presence, is the mission and desire for us to become for others, what God has become for us. The means to unconditional and all-inclusive love. As the presence of God becomes real to us, that same presence must be come real through us.
As lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, the Holy Communion becomes the real presence of Christ as we accept who we are, and how we have been created to love others. To love them with a true sense of ourselves, in recognition of the presence of the Divine God in others, even those who are different from ourselves. We are touched by the living God as Christ gives us that grace to believe in the One who sent Jesus. Even while Chick-fil-A, the National Organization for Marriage and others attempt to denigrate us, the presence of God through those churches and people who know that we are who we are, because of God's love, call us to embrace Christ in each other. To uplift one another, and to love ourselves, our partners/spouses, etc by recognizing and affirming the presence of Divine and holy grace that comes from God.
In Paul's letter to the Ephesians we read and hear that while we are all one in Christ, each of us has our particular calling and ministry to fulfill. Every person is empowered with gifts and abilities that can be used to welcome, reconcile and heal those wounded by the Church and society. Jesus, the Bread of Life is still greater and more powerful than all the billions of dollars that Chick-fil-A can donate to anti-LGBT hate groups. Because through those who open ourselves to the power of the Holy Spirit given to us, we can be God's ambassadors for inclusive love, and work towards peace, justice and equality for all people. We can say no to the continued efforts to target Muslims, Jews and people of other religious traditions, or those who practice no religion at all. We can play a role in telling the truth to the lies told by people like Bryan Fischer and Tony Perkins. We can chose peace and justice to those promoting violence and oppression in both the Church and society, by being living examples of God's truth, that all people are loved, cherish, accepted and have a destiny in this life and the next.
Amen.
Prayers
Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your
Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without
your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 13, Book of Common Prayer, p. 232).
O God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Savior,
the Prince of Peace: Give us grace seriously to lay to heart the
great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions; take away
all hatred and prejudice, and whatever else may hinder us
from godly union and concord; that, as there is but one Body
and one Spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one Faith,
one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may be all
of one heart and of one soul, united in one holy bond of truth
and peace, of faith and charity, and may with one mind and
one mouth glorify thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen. (Prayer for the Unity of the Church, Book of Common Prayer, p. 818).
Look with pity, O heavenly Father, upon the people in this
land who live with injustice, terror, disease, and death as
their constant companions. Have mercy upon us. Help us to
eliminate our cruelty to these our neighbors. Strengthen those
who spend their lives establishing equal protection of the law
and equal opportunities for all. And grant that every one of
us may enjoy a fair portion of the riches of this land; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Oppressed, Book of Common Prayer, p. 826).
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