Scripture Reflections for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Year A, Lectionary 112
In God we are fed and nourished, we have life. Apart from God we break down into divided selves and are lifeless. But Jesus comes to us and offers his very self to bring us back to life and into communion with God. May we be open to accept this unmerited gift from Christ.
Hate feeling lost on Sundays at church? Searching for a better explanation of the Bible than what you hear from your pastor's sermon? Check out the following collection of audio, video, and text commentaries from various Christian experts for a better understanding of today's scripture that deal with: Abundance • Anxiety • Banquet • Care • Communion • Community • Compassion • Covenant • Cross • Eucharist • Fear • Feed • Frustration • Gift • Grace • Grateful • Healing • Helpless • Hesed • Hope • Inseperable • John the Baptist • Journey • Love • Meal • Miracle • Movement • Offering • Prayer • Regret • Relationship • Separate • Serve • Share • Sign • Sin • Suffering • Tired • Unity • Welcome •
“When Paul gives the list of things that can't separate us from the love of God, he lists sufferings, not sins”
“Paul's calling the Romans, the Christians in Rome, to look beyond appearances to the reality of the fact that Christ crucified is also Christ victorious”
“Love is not just the warm fuzzies, love is work, love is action”
“The whole story is asking you and me, will we be like Jesus who gave up his precious little time off? Will we be like the crowd and follow Jesus to hostile and lonely and deserted places with no provision? Or are we more inclined to be like the disciples holding on to the little bit that we have, not ready to give up the little meager gifts that we have?”
“God is the one who blesses. God, God's grace is endless but God is looking to us just as Jesus gave those baskets to his disciples. He's saying, 'I'm giving you everything but not for you alone.'”
“If our practices serve more to fortify our own sense of security than to heal the multitudes, we may want to spend more time in quiet conversation with God, as Jesus was fond of doing”
“But finding Christ today means speaking out against anything that isn't of Christ, which means speaking out against anything that promotes an injustice and more starvation.”
“Stop waiting until you have enough. Bring what, bring to Christ what you have and watch what becomes possible when your 'little' enters the hands of God.”
“we are supposed to give the multitude something to eat and don't worry about it, where it's going to come from, God will supply our needs”
“God has always had a remarkable habit of doing extraordinary things with offerings that looked impossibly small”
“Because if Jesus is with us in our anger, if we worship a Jesus who grieves, he can show us what to do with it. He can show us how to turn it into the will and the engine that sustains our work for justice.”
“Each one of us is a raw material for a miracle that is waiting”
“...we start to realize that God's love is abundant. With this abundant love, I can share my time, I can share my talent, I can share my resources. We dwell in abundance. We can share peace, joy, forgiveness, and compassion constantly.”
“See the Bible says 'they ate and they were satisfied'...Though satisfied doesn't mean you will not be hungry anymore...What it means is that your soul will be filled.”