The readings for days 56 to 60, starting on Monday 21st April, are:
John 2:1-11 Mark 4:35-41 Matthew 14:13-21 Matthew 14:22-33 Matthew 21:18-22
3 comments:
Anonymous
said...
What sruck me for the first time today was the faith of the servants. I iamgine the consequences of trying to pass water off as wine would have been quite severe.They must have truly believed in Jesus to have followed his instructions so completely. Tantalisngly we are only given a summary of thisstory. Was it Jesus' natural authority that persuaded them or was it Mary's exaplanation as to who Jesus was that swayed them? If its the latter then Mary was effectively being and early evangelist. The main focus of this miracle in any event is faith. I had previously seen it as an early symbol of new life in Jesus, which it may be as well, but Jesus does not actually make that point here. I like that Jesus performs this miracle in a social context but doesn't use it to immediately draw attention away from the wedding couple.
Having just read today's reading, the feeding of the 5000 in Matthew 14, it made me realise how much more God has to give than I can even ask or imagine. Not only are the thousands fed from one boy's lunch, and everyone satisfied, but twelve baskets of leftovers. Jesus knew that already. He could have provided just enough. But even the leftovers are far more than they started with!
When I ask God for something, do I realise after I've received how abundantly much more he gives, for example in how other people benefit, or others are encouraged?
Ephesians 3:20 says a similar thing: God can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.
And although I'm sure the crowd were pleased with the free lunch, the focus of the story is Jesus. He is the greatest gift we can receive, and what we receive through him is 'the incomparable riches of God's grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.'
Yes this miracle shows us God's resources for our needs, which is what the EJ book picks up, but it also shows us simply what a lavish, generous giver God is!
3 comments:
What sruck me for the first time today was the faith of the servants. I iamgine the consequences of trying to pass water off as wine would have been quite severe.They must have truly believed in Jesus to have followed his instructions so completely. Tantalisngly we are only given a summary of thisstory. Was it Jesus' natural authority that persuaded them or was it Mary's exaplanation as to who Jesus was that swayed them? If its the latter then Mary was effectively being and early evangelist.
The main focus of this miracle in any event is faith. I had previously seen it as an early symbol of new life in Jesus, which it may be as well, but Jesus does not actually make that point here. I like that Jesus performs this miracle in a social context but doesn't use it to immediately draw attention away from the wedding couple.
Having just read today's reading, the feeding of the 5000 in Matthew 14, it made me realise how much more God has to give than I can even ask or imagine. Not only are the thousands fed from one boy's lunch, and everyone satisfied, but twelve baskets of leftovers. Jesus knew that already. He could have provided just enough. But even the leftovers are far more than they started with!
When I ask God for something, do I realise after I've received how abundantly much more he gives, for example in how other people benefit, or others are encouraged?
Ephesians 3:20 says a similar thing: God can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.
And although I'm sure the crowd were pleased with the free lunch, the focus of the story is Jesus. He is the greatest gift we can receive, and what we receive through him is 'the incomparable riches of God's grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.'
Yes this miracle shows us God's resources for our needs, which is what the EJ book picks up, but it also shows us simply what a lavish, generous giver God is!
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