​“There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.”
             -  Mahatma Gandhi
 
It is our bread we eat, not my own… Now none dares go hungry as long as another has bread.
                                                                 - Dietrich Bonhoeffer 

READINGS:
Acts 2.41-47 (The Message)
That day about three thousand took him at his word, were baptized and were signed up. They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers. Everyone around was in awe—all those wonders and signs done through the apostles! And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person’s need was met. They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved.
 
Exodus 16.1-3, 11-18, 31 (The Message)
On the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left Egypt, the whole company of Israel moved on from Elim to the Wilderness of Sin which is between Elim and Sinai. The whole company of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron there in the wilderness. The Israelites said, “Why didn’t God let us die in comfort in Egypt where we had lamb stew and all the bread we could eat? You’ve brought us out into this wilderness to starve us to death, the whole company of Israel!” God spoke to Moses, “I’ve listened to the complaints of the Israelites. Now tell them: ‘At dusk you will eat meat and at dawn you’ll eat your fill of bread; and you’ll realize that I am God, your God.’” That evening quail flew in and covered the camp and in the morning there was a layer of dew all over the camp. When the layer of dew had lifted, there on the wilderness ground was a fine flaky something, fine as frost on the ground. The Israelites took one look and said to one another, man-hu (What is it?). They had no idea what it was. So Moses told them, “It’s the bread God has given you to eat. And these are God’s instructions: ‘Gather enough for each person, about two quarts per person; gather enough for everyone in your tent.’” The People of Israel went to work and started gathering, some more, some less, but when they measured out what they had gathered, those who gathered more had no extra and those who gathered less weren’t short—each person had gathered as much as was needed. The Israelites named it manna (What is it?). It looked like coriander seed, whitish. And it tasted like a cracker with honey.

 REFLECTION:
​As we continue our study of The Lord’s Prayer on Sunday, we will finally switch gears and talk about something practical, something close to home, something that touches our lives day by day by day, something oh-so-important for our lives: sustenance, food and drink, i.e. our daily bread, as in “Give us this day our daily bread.”
 
It’s fine to talk about all that high falutin’ theology at the beginning of the prayer; theology whose meaning passes us by. God in the highest heavens, above, beyond, and before the reach of our vision and understanding; something we can’t control, possess, or hold on to. Say what? Then there’s the matter of that mysterious kingdom of God. What is it? When is it? For that matter, where is it? Come on now! Surely we can find something more accessible to talk about.
 
Even if we don’t understand God’s kingdom; this much we know… we must wait patiently for it. We must wait and wait and wait on God’s good pleasure. The timing of God’s kingdom arriving on earth is kind of like that old farming expression; we must wait “till the cows come home!”
 
If that’s the case, it’s a good thing we switch gears and talk about daily bread. We will certainly need a whole bunch of it as we wait on God’s kingdom. The prayer might as well read, “God, while we wait on you, give us bread every day so we can keep up our strength.”
 
But what if that’s not the case? What if the request for daily bread doesn’t represent a switch from the abstract to the practical? What if the bread we seek doesn’t describe what we need while we wait for God’s kingdom? What if bread, daily bread, describes the nature of God’s kingdom present now, bread we receive as we depend on God who is not only in the highest heavens, but in our midst? And what if the bread we receive is meant to be shared with others? In this instance, bread becomes a powerful symbol of life in the kingdom.
 
Luke knows that the kingdom is present now. “Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you” (Luke 17.20-21).
 
John knows that the kingdom is present now. “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life” (John 5.24).
 
The writer of 1 John knows that the kingdom is present now. “We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another” (1 John 3.14).
 
They all know that the bread we receive and share with others describes life in the kingdom, and symbolizes life in wonderful harmony where all receive what they need, where all live in pursuit of justice and fairness. They know that such life is possible only in God’s kingdom.
 
The question for us is this, “Do we know this and live the life of God’s kingdom?” Let’s examine that question on Sunday morning, when I hope we will worship together at 8:30 or 10:30.
 
Bo 

Matthew 6:7-15 (Common English Bible)
“When you pray, don’t pour out a flood of empty words, as the Gentiles do. They think that by saying many words they’ll be heard. Don’t be like them, because your Father knows what you need before you ask. Pray like this:
Our Father who is in heaven,
uphold the holiness of your name.
Bring in your kingdom
so that your will is done on earth as it’s done in heaven.
Give us the bread we need for today.
Forgive us for the ways we have wronged you,
just as we also forgive those who have wronged us.
And don’t lead us into temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one.
 “If you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you don’t forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your sins.

Acts 2:42-47 (Common English Bible)
The believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the community, to their shared meals, and to their prayers. A sense of awe came over everyone. God performed many wonders and signs through the apostles. All the believers were united and shared everything. They would sell pieces of property and possessions and distribute the proceeds to everyone who needed them. Every day, they met together in the temple and ate in their homes. They shared food with gladness and simplicity. They praised God and demonstrated God’s goodness to everyone. The Lord added daily to the community those who were being saved.

REFLECTION: One of the most interesting parts of our tour throughout Jordan and Jerusalem last January, were the number of cities we actually got to visit.  While our itinerary said we would visit 8 cities, or something to that effect, I would gather that we visited more like 15-20.  How, you might ask?  Not only were we visiting the modern day city of Jerusalem, but we were also visiting the 3 or 4 or 5, or maybe even 6 layers of city that lay underneath and shed light on who we are as a civilization.  

Some Greeks had a notion that there were layers of humanity: The Golden Age, the Silver Age, the Bronze Age, the Heroic Age and the Iron Ages.  Some said that these ages were descending, getting progressively worse.  Other Romans had a notion that humanity was progressing through world powers: the Assyrians, the Medes, the Persians, the Macedonians and the Romans.  These were ascending, with Rome as the climax.  And then we have Jerusalem, who may have held fast to ascending humanity, or to descending civilizations, but nonetheless, provides evidence that there are certainly layers of the human experience.

Regardless of the civilization or the culture, Greek, Roman, Jewish.... We can see that for thousands of years we, as human beings, have been operating on this "layer" system in which we see different levels of our human experience.  So when we hear the words, "Thy Kingdom come," it is hard not to think of God's kingdom as the ultimate layer of existence.

Is God's kingdom the very top?  Do we get to see God's kingdom at the very end?  Or is God's kingdom at the very bottom, the very foundation upon which we are building, but perhaps covering up?  Are we waiting for God's kingdom to come at some future point and time, or could God's kingdom come right here and now, in our own lifetime?  We pray each and every week, "Your kingdom come," but how does God's kingdom come?  We pray each and every week, "Your will be done," but how is God's will done?

Join us this Sunday as we discuss more about the Lord's Prayer and the foundations of the church, as we focus on the second phrase, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

Our faith community simply isn't the same without everyone in our community present - so we hope you will join us!

Our lord’s prayer is as puzzling as it is profound. In fact, to say it is puzzling is perhaps an understatement, because when we look closely at the prayer, it’s not at all what we think it is. It ignores much of what we take to be the heart of faith, and it challenges our tendency to talk about God rather than giving God reign in our lives.  Over against all this, this great prayer from the lips of Jesus delineates a humble, simple life of faith that invites us into the very heart of God. 
                                               - "Bo" James R. Crowe

READINGS: 
Luke 11.1-4 (NRSV)
He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.”
 
Acts 1.1-2, 4-11 (NRSV)
In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. “This,” he said, “is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?”  He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.  While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

REFLECTION:
Christians celebrate the weeks between Easter and Pentecost as the great fifty Days. This corresponds to the period of time Jesus’ disciples waited in Jerusalem for God’s empowerment to ministry. We have a tendency to take this period for granted, a time of little significance, because all the disciples did was wait around, twiddling their thumbs.
 
But is this really true? Were they simply killing time until something exciting happened, like descending tongues of fire and the wind of the spirit? I would say the answer is a resounding no. According to Luke’s narrative, this time was spent in prayer; a time of spiritual preparation for whatever God had in store for them. This may not seem as exciting as tongues of fire, but it is equally significant. Think about it. The church didn’t appear out of thin air. Its appearance was preceded by prayer. The ground was prepared by hearts opened earnestly to God.
 
Prayer and church are intimately related, so to understand God’s church, it is necessary to understand prayer. This line of thought led us to our worship focus between Easter and Pentecost. We propose to study Our Lord’s Prayer, the prayer from the lips of Jesus uttered in response to that heartfelt request, “Lord, teach us to pray”; and to see how much of this prayer was reflected in the early church. Was it faithful to the prayer? Did the disciples “get it,” so to speak, and incarnate this prayer in the early church?
 
These are good questions, and we stand to learn a good bit about the early church in answering them. But we won’t stop there. We will go on to ask how the church in our day stands up to Our Lord’s Prayer. This inquiry promises to be both enjoyable and spiritually fruitful, and I invite you to join us Sunday mornings at 8:30 or 10:30.
 
Bo

​Being a disciple means being constantly ready to bring the love of Jesus to others, and this can happen unexpectedly and in any place: on the street, in a city square, during work, on a journey. ~Pope Francis from Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), 2013

Reading:

Later, Jesus himself appeared again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. This is how it happened: Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two other disciples were together. Simon Peter told them, “I’m going fishing.”
They said, “We’ll go with you.” They set out in a boat, but throughout the night they caught nothing. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples didn’t realize it was Jesus.
Jesus called to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?”
They answered him, “No.”
He said, “Cast your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.”
So they did, and there were so many fish that they couldn’t haul in the net. Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard it was the Lord, he wrapped his coat around himself (for he was naked) and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they weren’t far from shore, only about one hundred yards.
When they landed, they saw a fire there, with fish on it, and some bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you’ve just caught.” Simon Peter got up and pulled the net to shore. It was full of large fish, one hundred fifty-three of them. Yet the net hadn’t torn, even with so many fish. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples could bring themselves to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread, and gave it to them. He did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

When they finished eating, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
Simon replied, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” Jesus asked a second time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Simon replied, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Take care of my sheep.” He asked a third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was sad that Jesus asked him a third time, “Do you love me?” He replied, “Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. I assure you that when you were younger you tied your own belt and walked around wherever you wanted. When you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and another will tie your belt and lead you where you don’t want to go.” He said this to show the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. After saying this, Jesus said to Peter, “Follow me.”

Reflection:

I wonder what might have been going through Peter's mind when Jesus asked him three times, "Do you love me?" Did he become frustrated? Was he confused? Maybe he was aprehensive as Jesus' question was both simple yet complex at the same time.

What does it mean to love Jesus? What did it mean to Peter? And what does it mean to us? 

On this first Sunday following Easter, we are confronted by the Risen Christ who asks, "Do you love me?" What will your answer be?

And then the next step is not always so simple. "Follow me." Just two words. This is the command given to Peter by Jesus on this day by the sea. "Follow me." 

Do we dare to follow?