Ordinary Time

Jan 28 2025

Scripture Study for

After their deliverance from Egypt, Israel finds itself in the wilderness, where the people begin to murmur that they have no food and water. The failure to trust that God will provide for them leads them to fear they will perish, which in turn causes them to regret leaving “the house of bondage” in the first place. It is imperative at this early stage of the relationship that God show Israel the capability to provide for their most basic needs. This will be important later when God insists that Israel must not turn to any other gods for assistance in such matters. Thus the provision of manna (from the Hebrew man hu, “What is this?”).

Paul has been urging the Ephesians to recognize that, having been renewed and transformed through their incorporation into the one church, they are not the same people they were before they were baptized. They are fundamentally and radically different now, and they must begin immediately to acknowledge this. Their baptism and incorporation into Christ’s body must mean, among other things, a complete reassessment of their lives, leading to a renewal in their way of thinking and of evaluating the world and its ways. Now, as members of God’s church, they must manifest the very character of God, which is “righteousness and holiness of truth.”

Shortly after the feeding of the five thousand, the people find Jesus in Capernaum, where their initial question, “When did you get here?” begins a dialogue about Jesus himself. He accuses the people of setting their sights too low by “working” for perishable food instead of seeking eternal life. They take this to mean that they themselves can “work” for this “food,” but the only work they can, or need to, do is to believe in him, who was sent by the Father. Now skeptical, the people demand proof of this. Moses was sent by God and provided manna in the desert; what can Jesus do? He responds that it was God who gave manna in the desert and it is now God who gives the “true” (authentic, incomparable) bread from heaven, the source of life, Jesus himself.

Jan 27 2025

Seeing with Eyes of Amazement

Grass? That word jumped out at me when I first read today’s passage from John. Grass? In Israel?

When I look out of my window, I see green. I see grass, rich green grass. I see the dark green of spruce, the rich green of maple, the forest of green in the woods of oak and walnut and cherry. The region in which I live is in the rain shadow of Lake Michigan, and bursts with the color green on the first day of August. Water is abundant. All is vibrantly green.

I don’t recall that depth of green when I visited Israel, especially not in unirrigated places. So it startled me to read “there was a great deal of grass in that place” (John 6:10). I asked a Palestinian friend about that. She said, “That would be very unusual. Maybe a few places in early spring?”

The author of John writes in multiple layers of meaning, often frolicking with witticisms that we don’t comprehend in translation. So why the “grass?”

I looked up the Greek word used for “grass” . . . and surprise! Grass wasn’t something that you mowed to play soccer. This Greek word means “fodder” or “hay”—something that you feed to animals.

Clever, isn’t it, that Jesus would tell them to recline on the “fodder” when he is about to feed them?

Our God is surprising. Philip did the math—a hundred days’ wages wouldn’t be enough. How can we feed these folks? (Elisha’s servant asks the same thing: “How can we do this?”)

Using Eucharistic language, the Lord’s abundance was unexpected. He worked through an unlikely person: an unnamed little boy. Jesus’s unwillingness to be king was unexpected, too.

When you look at grass, think how astonishing God is: “The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs” . . . in totally unexpected ways.

Consider/Discuss

As we head into a month of Bread of Life discourses, we will see Jesus continually doing the unexpected—feeding five thousand people, walking on water, ducking away from those who would make him king, calling himself the Bread of Life, making his supposed followers grumble at his audacity as they walk away. God’s ways are not our ways. Even more, God’s ways seem to be radically different from our expectations. How could we cultivate an “eyesight of amazement” this month, allowing the Holy Spirit to surprise us in ways that we might not expect?
In what unpredicted ways has God met your needs or answered your prayers? Who has helped you to “pick up and get going,” even someone whose help you did not expect?

Living and Praying with the Word

Lord, what an adventure it is to follow you! You take us places we never imagined we might go. You have worked through people whom we never would have expected. Thank you for keeping us alert and attentive to your ways, always hoping, always wondering how you will feed us today. Give us this day our daily bread, with baskets left over! What are you going to do today, God?

Jan 27 2025

Scripture Study for

The books of Kings contain several stories of the prophets Elijah and Elisha providing for the destitute. During a drought, Elijah ensures that a widow’s jars of flour and oil will not go empty until the drought ends (1 Kings 17:9–16). Elisha performs a similar miracle for another widow, filling all of her vessels with olive oil for her to sell (2 Kings 4:1–7). Here we have a multiplication of barley loaves. All of these stories point to the providence of God, particularly for the needy. The role of the prophets is necessary, however, for it is through them that God provides for “the widow and the orphan,” a care that God insists throughout scripture is the job of all Israel.

In last’s week reading, Paul spoke of the reconciling action of Christ, who reconciled Jew to Gentile and both to God, creating “in himself one new person” and bringing peace. Paul now returns to the theme of unity and peace. The church does not exist for itself but has a mission to announce God’s plan of salvation in Christ, which requires that Christians reflect the unifying and reconciling work of Christ by their behavior toward one another. Others must be able to see that the church, though made up of very different people, is “one body” (not a collection of individuals), animated by one Spirit, motivated by one shared hope in the one God and the one Lord, Jesus Christ.

For the next few weeks, the Lectionary departs from Mark in favor of John’s account of the feeding of the five thousand and the Bread of Life discourse. As Jesus heals the sick, he attracts a huge crowd, whom he intends to feed. Whereas Philip had noted that they would never have been able to buy enough to feed all the people, Jesus feeds them so well that there is plenty of food left over. The people rightly understand at least one implication of what Jesus has done, which is that he is no ordinary wonder worker, but “the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world” (see John 1:9). He will soon explain to them an even more astounding—and difficult— truth about who he is.

Jan 27 2025

Exhausted—Just as Jesus Was

Exhaustion. Jesus understands it. When he heals, power pours out of him. When he sits down to rest, someone shows up to talk. After he preaches all day, crowds clamor after him until night. At night, he stays up to pray. Jesus knows how draining ministry can be. The exhaustion of helping others is very real.

In the work I do with clergy, I also see exhaustion. One pastor manages eight properties (including two schools) in Manhattan, in addition to meeting the everyday needs of several thousand people. Another pastor walks the streets of his inner-city parish where the blood of shootings is regularly splattered on his church door. A staff chaplain serves four thousand employees on a college campus. Servant leadership is exhausting. Deep fatigue permeates daily life.

For parents of young children, social workers, nurses and doctors, police, ministers and teachers, burnout is an occupational hazard. Researchers have found that burnout can creep up on any of us, no matter the occupation. We work harder but produce less; we become cynical toward the people we used to enjoy helping; we awake with a feeling of dread, already emotionally drained.

In today’s Gospel, the Twelve come back both exhilarated and exhausted. These are their early days, so they are not yet burned out. But Jesus knows that they are tired. He takes them away to a deserted place to recover.

But nobody rests for long. The crowds find them. Jesus’ heart is moved with pity. Can you feel Jesus’ urgency? So many people need help. That urgency keeps us going, too. The twinned graces of duty and compassion propel us to help, even long after we’d like to stop. The mission goes on. But Jesus knows that we also need to be refreshed.

Consider/Discuss

How refreshing it is when someone offers to help lighten our load! That accompaniment gives courage to life. Love comes from the graces of compassion and duty that show up in tiny ways—a guest helps with the dishes, a grandparent takes the kids for the day, a parishioner brings a meal, a businessman volunteers to do the books. How can the Holy Spirit– inspired impulses of duty and compassion move us to help someone carry his or her load today? How can duty and compassion toward ourselves spur us to ask for help today?
Jesus knows our weariness. Some surveys suggest that fatigue is a hidden but perhaps deadly epidemic in modern life. One out of five fatal car accidents is attributed to a drowsy driver. Work productivity is impaired by a lack of sleep. We are tired. (You might even be nodding off while you read this!) The graces of duty and compassion keep us going. Yet how can we allow the Holy Spirit to inspire us to take steps toward restorative rest?

Living and Praying with the Word

Lord, you said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest.” Thank you for knowing what I am going through. Thank you for recognizing my need. Thank you for your compassion. This moment as I pray, I am falling asleep. Hold me now, tender Lord. Soothe my soul, blessed Savior. Let me rest in your calm for a moment. Then I’ll get up and get to work. Or maybe not. Good night, sweet Jesus.

Jan 27 2025

Scripture Study for

Today’s passage from Jeremiah occurs in a section of oracles from the very last days of Jerusalem. The prophet’s strongest criticisms are reserved for the Davidic kings, who are charged with maintaining justice and ensuring covenant fidelity. Yet these “shepherds” have failed to uphold justice and correct worship of God. Because of their negligence, Israel is now under judgment, which will include exile (the scattering of the sheep). Yet God insists that this judgment is not the end of the story. After a time, God will gather the sheep and return them to the land, placing over them a righteous Davidic king who will lead the people as God expects them to be led.

Paul reminds the Ephesians that before they became Christians, they were dead in their transgressions, but have now been brought to life in Christ, a completely unmerited gift (2:1–7). The Gentile Ephesians have thus been brought into the household of the God of Israel through the blood of Christ, who has erased the boundary that separated Jews from Gentiles. What was once two people is now one people. Not only has the estrangement between Jew and Gentile been overcome, but the estrangement of both from God has been healed in the very body of Christ, both the body of Christ on the cross and now in the body of Christ that is the church (the “one new person”).

The apostles Jesus sent out last week have returned. The work of proclaiming the Kingdom is exhausting, and so they are invited to rest. But the work is never actually over; the more the kingdom is proclaimed, the more the people clamor to receive its gifts. Jesus knows, however, that the apostles must be rested and fed so that they can continue their ministry. Yet the people keep coming, looking for Jesus. Not only is this a sign of the faith that Jesus admires and praises so much, but it is also a sign of the needs of the people. It is in response to both the faith and the need that Jesus begins to teach the crowd.