My thoughts (David Zier):

I remember when I was in high school and thinking about my career options. I thought along the lines of Math and Science because they were my favorite subjects. I was one of those high school nerds that really got into Physics and Calculus, and was on the school Math Team.

My Grandmother had asked me (well, maybe told me) on several occasions, I ought to be a doctor and go to medical school. The images of what I would see and have to deal with would make my stomach turn! I remember in Biology getting the creeps from just explaining something in words without even seeing it!

But when I thought about the years and years of dedication it takes to be a doctor, well, that kind of commitment was out of reach in my mind. I wasn’t ready to commit the next ten years to school and a lifetime to blood and guts! So, I majored in engineering and worked on the medical side from a more technical and design perspective.

When I read today’s passage, I get caught up in the response to the teaching. The disciples indicate that the teaching in yesterday’s passage about the living bread “being my flesh” was difficult. The words convey some obscure imagery, but I think the spiritual meaning about eating and drinking is about becoming a true disciple in Christ — being “consumed” by the call of Christ — committing to a lifetime of discipleship.

Many of the disciples turn back because they did not have the level of commitment Jesus required. They no longer followed Jesus.

It is easier to look at life in stages, and commit to things when we can opt out when things become difficult. Just as I looked at medical school as this huge commitment I was not inclined to make, some of the disciples in Jesus day turned back once they realized what it was they were committing themselves to.

What about us? Some of the things Jesus asks us to do are difficult. Sometimes it seems easier to turn back because discipleship is hard work — it’s a lifetime commitment to be transformed in Christ. But on our spiritual journey in discipleship, we can soak up the rays of God’s grace and glory, and know that through Christ, we can go the distance.

Thought for the day: Am I committed to following Jesus?

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. Use the item above as a starting point, or consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

My thoughts (Tyler Connoley):

Jesus said the works he did testified to the fact he was sent by the Father. In the face of great opposition from the religious leaders of his day, he was able to stand up straight and say, “There is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that God’s testimony to me is true.” The proof of Jesus’ sonship was the work God was doing in his life and in the lives of those around him.

When I read this passage, I think of what Jesus said in John 14:12: “Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these.”

Today, we also experience persecution from religious leaders. As far as we know, no one is plotting to crucify the leaders of LifeJourney Church, but modern-day Pharisees certainly stand against us for breaking their rules, just as they persecuted Jesus for healing on the Sabbath. Can we, like Jesus, point to the work God is doing in our lives and say God testifies on our behalf? I think so.

In the last chapter of our book, The Children Are Free, Pastor Jeff and I put forth an important argument for the full inclusion of lgbt people in God’s kingdom, which is essentially the same as what Jesus says in John 5. In the section titled You will know them by their fruits, we spend several pages chronicling the way God is working in the lives of lgbt Christians around the world — from lives transformed to miracles of healing. Then we say, “Everywhere you look, the gift of the Holy Spirit (God’s seal of approval) is evident in the lives of gay and lesbian Christians and our worship communities.”

Thought for the day: Maybe the opposition of religious conservatives still scares you. If so, think about how God is working in your life. You are a child of God, and like Jesus, you can say, “I know God’s testimony to me is true.”

Today, let’s join together in prayer for: those we know who have a hard time believing they are God’s children — and that can include ourselves, as well. May we listen to God’s testimony, and really believe what God says to us.

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. Use the item above as a starting point, or consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

My thoughts (Robert Ferguson):

In our scripture today we find the disciples right in the middle of doing what Jesus had told them to do. After feeding the multitudes with bread and fish, Jesus retired to the mountainside and the disciples went down to the lake for the long journey home.

As fishermen, the disciples had worked these waters leading to Capernaum many times, but this night was different. The wind had whipped up and this had made for troubling seas.

The last time the disciples were in a boat during a storm, Jesus had been right there with them, but this time they were required to trust him without being able to have him physically present. The weather made handling the boat difficult. After hours of hard work the disciples saw Jesus walking towards them on water. At first they were afraid and thought they were seeing a spirit. Jesus, once again, brings his calming presence and says to the disciples, “It is I; do not be afraid.”

Walking this Christian walk is difficult, and at times it can be scary. Life constantly places obstacles and hurdles in our paths. I had a friend once who said that life just happens and indeed it does. I often find myself rolling along on auto pilot, believing that I am doing exactly what God has planned and out of nowhere comes an unexpected circumstance that causes me to ask God why.

It is during those most trying times when we must remember that Jesus is always close by. No need to fear, we hear Jesus say, it is I. When life’s storms reach their most tumultuous we need only reach out our hand and take the always open hand of Jesus. We may be surprised to find that he is so much closer than we ever realized.

Thought and prayer for the day: God, help me to see you in the storm I’m in today.

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to begin, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

My thoughts (Kay Olry):

Where are you in your faith journey? Are you in the same place you were last year at this time? Five years ago? Twenty?

None of us are the people we once were. Time marches on, and our thoughts, circumstances, and beliefs have all changed as we’ve grown (and hopefully matured). As we live and learn, we grow into new people with new ideas about who we are and our place in the world.

Our faith and our beliefs are one of the areas where growth and change are most obvious. Like 1 Corinthians 13:11 says, “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I put childish ways behind me.”

Figuring out what our faith means to us as adults can be one of the most difficult, yet most rewarding, journeys that we can ever take. When we begin to question the faith of our parents, and ask ourselves what all of the “God stuff” means to us, it can be a very scary road.

The amazing part of all of it is how God manages to meet us where we are. The person who has never been exposed to the teachings of Christ is met by the Holy Spirit, and their journey begins. The person who hasn’t ever known a day without God and faith at the center of their lives can pray and study and grow in their faith for the rest of their lives, and yet will still be able to continue growing. There are layers and layers of understanding that keep their journey fresh and new day after day.

We are all building on what we have learned from others. A seed gets planted in our mind and with the help, love, and prodding of the Spirit we become new creations. 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

Thought for the day: Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will. (Romans 12:2)

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to begin, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

My thoughts (Theresa Benson):

In researching today’s passage, I found all kinds of interesting ideas we could take away from this story. Some scholars found meaning in the five loves made from barley. They theorized that the number five represented the five books of the Torah, and barley, which is difficult to harvest but rich in flavor once you get to the kernel, similar to the old laws, hard and firm, but rich in tradition.

Others discussed the differences between Philip’s and Andrew’s responses to Jesus’ question. They point out that Philip was over-thinking things a bit, and Andrew, while obedient, was ashamed of what little he’d found to offer Jesus.

Now here’s something I didn’t realize: this particular story, of all the miracles recounted in the Bible, is the only one which appears in all four Gospels. Why? Why a miracle about fish, loaves, and hungry people instead of, say, the raising of Lazarus from the dead? Why is this story so important?

Here’s what I think. This one story captures a fundamental teaching on how to relate to God and each other. It’s so basic and important that I think each of the Gospel writers included it in the hopes that we’d “get it.”

Here’s what I see in this story:

• While Andrew and Philip freak out a little that they don’t have enough for everyone, Jesus has the crowd sit down and get comfortable. (When things seem impossible, God tells us to be still and remain calm — things are still under control.)
• Then, this little boy turned over everything he had, not questioning if it was enough, or feeling embarrassed it wasn’t very much, just giving what he had. (How many times have we looked at what we’ve got and thought we didn’t have anything to offer? (I don’t know how, I can’t learn, I’m not smart enough, I’m not “x” enough…) Don’t you love little kids who haven’t yet learned insecurity, and how they give and love and imagine in a way we adults have forgotten?)
• After Jesus blessed everything, he personally didn’t hand it out to the multitude. He gave it to his disciples, who in turn handed it out. (God blesses the gifts we give, and then works though us to give spiritual nourishment to others.)
• Everyone’s fed until they’re full. (In life, there’s plenty for everyone; God isn’t a God of scarcity, but rather, a God of abundance.)
• Jesus has them pick up the leftovers to take with them. (God is a God of abundance, but not gluttony. And, no matter little or much we give for God’s purposes, we will always get more than enough in return.)

So the next time I get exasperated and don’t know how to get out of whatever pickle I’m in, I’m going to follow the example of today’s message: I’ll sit down, take a deep breath, give my faith to God, and trust that God knows there’s a solution — and in return, God will give me answers in abundance, and my faith will grow by leaps and bounds, I’m sure.

Thought for the day: It may sound trite, but it’s not: What do I need to give to Jesus today?

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to begin, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

My thoughts (Christen Peters):

It seems that when I’ve looked at this passage in the past, I’ve really focused on how the sheep know Jesus’ voice and how Jesus calls his sheep by name. Somehow I’m not feeling that focus this time. As I’ve pondered this passage during the last week, I am most struck by verse 16.

In the time that the Gospel of John was written, this verse would have seemed quite revolutionary. What was most striking and fearful for the people of the time was that it meant that Gentiles were Jesus’ sheep also. Talk about turning things on end. The Old Testament (or First Testament) scriptures talk over and over again about the Jewish people being God’s chosen people. But here is Jesus saying “Hey — there are others that will be my people too.” Imagine the chagrin of those who had been going through their lives trying their best to keep all 613 Old Testament laws.

Today we might feel great justification in proclaiming this verse as argument for the inclusion of groups that some ultra-conservatives may feel don’t qualify — like, perhaps, those of us who are GLBT, and those who love and support us. Which really brings me to the thing that most sticks with me:

Who is it that I have unfairly judged as most surely NOT being one of Jesus’ sheep?

Am I willing to take to heart that Jesus’ people are not for me to pick and choose?

Thought for the day: God, help me to remember that it’s not my place to pass judgment — that my testament to your goodness and mercy would be much better served by my love of all my fellow beings.

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to begin, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.