the 11th sunday after pentecost
the PRAYER …
Gracious God, your blessed Son came down from heaven to be the true bread that gives life to the world. Give us this bread always, that he may live in us and we in him, and that, strengthened by this food, we may live as his body in the world, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
the READING …
They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” john 6:35, 41-51
the DEVOTION …
It’s been more than three decades since the movie first showed up in theaters. A movie that took the bibleBelt by storm! There were shouts of “Blasphemy!” Cries of “Sacrilege!” For a while, righteous indignation was everywhere! You might remember it … The Last Temptation of Christ! “As he is put to death on the cross, Jesus is tempted by visions of an ordinary life married to Mary Magdalene.” For most, it came down to the sex. They missed the point. The real temptation was having children! Of his own! And watching them grow! Of course, there were protests and boycotts, the censorship and bans. But eventually, everyone just moved on.
But those memories reminded me a lot of this week’s passage! Jesus says, “I’m the living bread come down from heaven!” And his detractors say, “How can that be? You’re not from heaven! You’re from right here! We know your family! Your father! Your mother!” It’s as if being the Son of God and the son of Mary-and-Joseph are mutually exclusive. But then, maybe that’s the amazing thing about Jesus. Yes, he removed the wall between humanity and god! And sure, he removed the wall separating us from each other! But what if the same can be said about that wall still dividing earth and heaven…