- Deuteronomy 8: 2-3, 14b-16a
- Psalms 147: 12-13, 14-15, 19-20
- II Corinthians 10: 16-17
- John 6: 51-58
- Faith sharing through the generations
- In certain Protestant circles, sharing your testimony of God's goodness in your life is called "witnessing". I always looked upon such sharing as an opportunity to show appreciation to God for His goodness. Now I feel as though I can go deeper, looking for the Presence woven through affliction and pain, the strength provided in weakness, the hope that shines through despair. If only we can learn to listen for it.
- Thinking back to stories that you heard from previous generations in your family, can you see the hand, the Presence, the voice of God in those?
- Has God been faithful to your family, your community through the years, the decades?
- How has that faithfulness become evident for you?
- I'm special
- None of us wants to just be "one of the herd". We all want to stand out, be special for one reason or another. That specialness helps us to identify and define our purpose, our mission. But the hard part can be finding the best use for that specialness in each of us, seeing where God wants to use that gift that each of us has.
- Can you think of someone in your life who has made good use of the blessings that God has given them?
- How have they figured out where to apply themselves?
- How has that inspired you?
- We are one Body
- Jim O'Neil used to go to Communion, and when the Eucharistic minister handed him the sacred host with the words "The Body of Christ", Jim would say "Yes, we are." The Eucharistic minister offers the Body of Christ to the Body of Christ that we might all become more perfectly the Body of Christ
- How had your celebration of Communion changed you through the years?
- What difference does your celebration of the Eucharist make to you on Monday morning when you have to face your day to day challenges?
- How do you prepare for your next celebration of the Eucharist?
- Sacraments of sustenance
- Sacraments are funny things. They are easy to take for granted if you are not careful.
- We only get baptized once in life. We only get confirmed once in life, yet some go to Communion daily. Why is that?
- If daily Communion is good, would twice a day be even better?
- How long do the effects of Communion last in you?
- Preparation for Reconciliation
- How is God's faithfulness changing me today?
- Where might God be calling me to give myself away in some new capacity?
- How am I sustained through the week by my celebration of the Eucharist?
- How might I gain more from my celebration of Communion?
We Sing Alleluia
It is easy to view the world around you through the lens of self-love.
After all, you are the only one of you in the entire universe.
You know yourself better than anyone else knows you,
So naturally, you know what your legitimate needs are.
Others deflect all attention from themselves, no matter the occasion.
Always worried that any attention on them is wasted -
Especially when so many others are perishing for lack of care.
Unloved, unheard, shoved to the side by indifferent hordes.
Still others look for a balance, a give and take between self and others
Trying to find a natural and organic way to gently sway from one to the other
Always trying to keep self and others in healthy harmony
Refereeing the struggle to attend to both, making sure they play fair.
Maybe a deeper dynamic beacons use in the bread we share, the cup we pour.
Jesus gave everything for all of us, yet He found time for warmth, laughter,
The occasional cup of local wine, the family meal shared with loved ones.
He was, is, ever shall be One with, in, and through all of us.
And we are as much One with Him as we too are One with each other.
Shalom!
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