God's Generosity and Abundance

Tenth Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 12 (Year B)

John 6.1-21

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Our Gospel readings for the next five weeks are the “Bread of Life Discourse,” found in the sixth chapter of the Gospel according to John. In this discourse, Jesus repeatedly refers to himself as the “bread of life” and provides some explanation as to what this means. This discourse begins with the famous feeding of the 5,000 with a mere five loaves of bread and two fish. While Jesus does not use the term “bread of life” in today’s reading, bread does feature prominently, setting the stage for the discourse that is to follow. So important is this particular story that it is the only miracle recorded in all four Gospels. But while “the Synoptic Gospels call attention to Jesus’ compassion for the crowd, John’s emphasis is on leading the disciples to deeper belief and recognition of the power of Jesus as the one who brings life to the world” (Synthesis, Proper 12, July 29, 2018). As the one who provides and indeed is the “bread of life.” This is particularly emphasized in that John does not call this a miracle, but a “sign.” An event that reveals something significant about who Jesus is, and in turn, about who God is.

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Where's the Good News?

Eighth Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 10 (Year B)

Amos 7.7-15; Ephesians 1.3-14; Mark 6.14-29

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Really? REALLY? This is what we’ve got to work with today? As if it weren’t bad enough that last week we had to tackle the story of Jesus’ being rejected and rendered powerless while visiting Nazareth, today we have two story that are, to say the least, real downers. The impending destruction of Israel, and the beheading of John the Baptist.

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Instructions for Ministry

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 9 (Year B)

Ezekiel 2.1-5; 2 Corinthians 12.2-10; Mark 6.1-13

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Well, that was awkward! Fairly early in his public ministry, Jesus takes his newly called disciples with him to his home town of Nazareth. He undoubtedly wants to show them where he came from. And he has some sense of pride in his hometown, wanting to share it with the disciples. He visits the local synagogue, where the hometown boy-turned-rabbi is invited to speak. The townsfolk have heard about all he has done and want to experience Jesus for themselves. At first there is enthusiasm. “Wow! Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands!” And then things start to head south. What they are hearing is a new message. He’s challenging them in ways that might be a little uncomfortable for them to hear. They start rationalizing. “Wait! Who does he think he is? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary?” The initial sense of pride in the hometown boy-made-good turns to discomfort and then to offense when they realize that he is not the same little boy they remembered. “How could that little boy be up there now, spouting this new, radical interpretation of the Torah?” In their “we knew him when” mentality, the people of Nazareth are convinced of Jesus’ ordinariness and are therefore unable to believe in what he is teaching, in what he has accomplished . They knew too much about him to take seriously his wisdom and his gifts.

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Lesson from a "Nobody"

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 8 (Year B)

Mark 5.21-43

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

When it rains, it pours! At least sometimes it seems that way when you are engaged in ministry. Jesus goes across the Sea of Galilee on a pastoral mission to heal the Gerasene demoniac and no sooner does he return when he is hit with not one, but two, major pastoral emergencies. As we heard in today’s Gospel, Jesus is confronted with two appeals for healing—one direct and one a little more surreptitious. Two stories of healing that are woven together into one—indicating that the two accounts, while very different, together paint a picture of a greater truth.

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