Noon
devotion
July
7, 2020
Today’s reading is from the
gospel of John,
After this Jesus went to the
other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. A
large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing
for the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his
disciples. Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. When
he looked up and saw a large crowd coming towards him, Jesus said to Philip,
‘Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?’ He said this to test
him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him,
‘Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a
little.’
One of his disciples, Andrew,
Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, ‘There is a boy here who has five
barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?’ Jesus
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. (Probably not
including the women and children among them.)
Then 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. When they were satisfied, he told his
disciples, ‘Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be
lost.’ So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley
loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. When 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.’
In the gospels of Matthew, Mark
and Luke, there is some form of Jesus’ last supper with his disciples…and it is
from those gospels where we receive the instruction and the words of
institution which we say right before communion. This is my body…This is my blood…given for
you.
The gospel of John, however, no
last supper story…well, there is the meal…and Jesus washing the disciples’
feet, and the command to love one another…but no mention of this is my
body…this is my blood…
No command to ‘Do this,’ as we
hear in the other gospels.
So, I love hearing the feeding of
the 5,000 (plus) as the meal where Jesus feeds everyone…I love hearing this
story as John’s version of the last supper and seeing how Jesus feeds everyone
who is gathered. Jesus as the bread of
life…feeds the over 5,000 people…and feeds us.
But at the same time these words,
The Body of Christ, given for you…have incredible power, don’t they? Especially
when they are spoken to you.
The body of Christ...given for
you.
As we gathered in-person on
Sunday for the first time in over three months those were the words.
The words of hope, the words of a
promise NOT forgotten, the words of forgiveness, the words of acceptance,
welcome and community.
As we heard God’s word, sang
hymns and prayed I did not know how deeply I was longing to speak those
words. In the holy space created as
communion was distributed, I saw outstretched hands and holy eyes.
There were shared tears as
the gift was given and received.
There were the ones receiving for
the very first time: Their hands...so ready.
There were ones coming up for
something so familiar and missed: Their hands...so ready.
At the end of distribution, the
words were spoken again, this time to me. The tears could not be held back. I
sobbed in my seat hearing the post communion blessing - wrapped in the love and
grace and forgiveness of an amazing God.
A God who made certain there is a
place in the kingdom and a place at the table for me. A God who calls me to task and calls me to
rest. A God who loves me no matter what.
All in those words...the Body of Christ given for you.
So holy.
So needed.
So freely given.
Thanks be to God.
Let us pray,
Dear God, thank you for loving
us.
Thank you for the gift of your
Son.
The one who loves us, frees us
and feeds us.
We thank you for the chance to
worship together again. We thank you for
safe spaces to gather and hold in our hearts those who are not able to
gather. We pray for our sisters and
brothers with health concerns, anxiety or worry that keeps them separated, but
also offers them protection. Help us to
reach out to those whom we missed this weekend in love and compassion.
God, hold us in your love Jesus
taught us to pray,
Our father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be
done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses as
we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory,
forever and ever amen.
Receive God’s blessing,
May the
God of all steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with
one another…
May you
depart from evil and do good.
May you
seek peace and pursue it.
May you
go from this gathering wrapped in God’s grace now and forever.
Amen.
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