Friday July 22, 2022

Jesus said to them : I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. John 6. 35

And they said : Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know ? How then does he say : I have come down from heaven ? John 6.42

Feeding on Jesus

Jesus spoke the words reported in the heading of this leaflet the day after he had miraculously fed 5,000 men by the Sea of ​​Galilee. This miracle, known as "of the multiplication of the loaves", announced that Jesus is he who alone can respond to our need for life, for eternal life.

Jesus' interlocutors were quite ready for him to feed them bread, but accepting that Jesus is the living bread that came down from heaven was unacceptable ! They recognized him as the son of Joseph, but not as the Son of God from heaven.

So Jesus goes further : "The bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world" (John 6. 51). It's too much for his listeners ! Why, the son of Joseph cannot give eternal life!

By "flesh", Jesus means: the substance of his body, but himself in his human condition. “The Word became flesh” (John 1:14). When he speaks of giving his flesh, he is referring to his death, the gift of his life. Faith does not only see in Jesus "the living bread that came down from heaven", that is to say, his heavenly origin. But it recognizes the One who passed through death in order to overcome it for those who believe in him. "Eating the flesh, drinking the blood" of Jesus is the sign of a real, deep faith. It is to believe that Jesus became a man for me, that he died for me. By his life given, by his blood shed, he blotted out all the sins I had committed against God. This is the mystery and the glory of the cross !

Source (The Good Seed)

Thursday July 21, 2022

(Jesus said to the Samaritan woman) : Whoever drinks the water that I will give him will never be thirsty, and the water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water that will well up into eternal life. John 4. 14

Jesus was to pass through Samaria - Proposed reading : John 4.1-42

Going through Samaria was the shortest route from Judea (southern Israel) to Galilee (north). But the Jews rarely crossed this region, which they considered "contaminated" by the origin and religion of its inhabitants. They preferred to make the detour of around 40 km through the Jordan Valley. They considered the Samaritans a despicable people.

But in the chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus had to pass through Samaria. He had to meet a person, certainly responsible for his difficult situation, but who nevertheless aspired to happiness and peace. Jesus stands by a well at noon, the hottest hour of the day when no one usually fetches water, and he approaches this woman, against all odds, given the context. He, a Jewish man, is interested in the situation of this disreputable Samaritan woman, because he has deep compassion for her and wants to change her heart ? He reveals to him that he is the source of life, of eternal life. She will be the first of his witnesses among the Samaritans. These will declare, after having heard Jesus : "We know that he is truly the Savior of the world" (John 4. 42).

Jesus still seeks today those who are despised, rejected, foreigners, excluded, hated, because he loves them.

Source (The Good Seed)

Friday July 8, 2022

Jesus said to him (to the repentant malefactor) : I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise. Luke 24. 43

Wide is the gate, wide is the way that leads to destruction. Matthew 7. 13

Up or down

My aunt is in rehabilitation following an operation of the neck of the femur. She gradually resumes walking between the parallel bars and now tackles the painful exercise of going up and down steps. To mount, the valid leg must be advanced first. To remember it well, the physiotherapist asks him to say each time : "I go up to heaven". To go down, you have to start on the contrary with the operated leg, which is more difficult and more painful. It is suggested to him to say : "I am going down to hell"... It makes you think, doesn't it ? Can man both ascend to heaven and descend to hell ? Where again, how far can man ascend, and how low can he descend ?

God tells us in the Holy Book that there is indeed a way to ascend to heaven. These words of Jesus to the repentant malefactor on the cross bear witness to this clearly. This path necessarily passes through repentance and faith in the Son of God, who died for our sins.

Likewise, there is a wide road which itself leads to eternal perdition. The Lord adds that there are many who enter through this door and walk on this path.

Let's ask ourselves the question : am I climbing towards God who wants to be my Father in Jesus, or am I on this slippery slope that will take me away from him forever in a place of torment without end ?

As long as you are alive you can change direction, turn to Jesus Christ. And God is reaching out to you to help you climb the first steps !

Source (The Good Seed)

Friday July 1, 2022

I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. (words of God) Ezekiel 36.26

Cast away from you all the transgressions by which you have sinned ; make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Ezekiel 18.31

He changed me

"When he was incarcerated, John said :

- But I'm a good guy !

In prison, he decided to join a Bible reading group, to enjoy cake and coffee. Soon the visible happiness of the Christian prisoners hit him, and he began to cry during the first song. Later he received a Bible. His reading of the book of the prophet Ezekiel changed him, as if lightning had fallen on him, he said : "If the wicked turn from his wickedness and practice righteousness and justice, he will make his soul live. If he open your eyes and turn away from all the transgressions he has committed, he will live, he will not die" (Ezekiel 18:27,28). The Word of God came to life in him and made him realize one thing : “I was not a good guy... I was mean and I had to change”. Later he told the chaplain : I found Jesus Christ, and he changed me." (from Amy Boucher Pye)

Can we change, can I change ? I remember a colleague telling me that you don't change. It's true : in our own strength we cannot change. However, accepting what we are before God — transgressors, rebels — and at the same time trusting in his grace in Jesus will produce a fundamental change in us. It is an interior transformation : when we believe in the Lord Jesus, he gives us a new spiritual life with new motives for living, the desire for purity, justice, to do good, a new love for him and for our neighbour. Thus a new heart and a new spirit come to dwell in us forever. Jesus comes to dwell in us and we dwell in him.

Source (The Good Seed)

Thursday June 23, 2022

Your way was in the sea, your path in many waters, and your tracks were no longer recognized. Psalm 77. 20

He stopped, calmed the storm, and the waves died down. They rejoiced that they had calmed down, and the Lord led them to the desired port. Psalm 107. 29, 30

Crossing

Jesus asks his disciples to get into a boat and go ahead of him to the other side of the lake (Matthew 14. 22-33). Then he goes up the mountain to pray, alone. Soon the disciples are caught in the storm ! The Lord sees them from afar. He prays for them, and when their distress is at its height, he appears, walking on the raging waters.

It can also happen that we see our problems worsen, when we think we are obeying the Lord. Are we going to get discouraged, give up, doubt his love and his power ? No situation is hopeless for him, no matter how high the waves or how strong the wind. But sometimes we are so deep in our difficulties that we no longer even discern the Lord, like the disciples who did not recognize him.

If we do not see the hand of the Lord in the trials we are going through, we are missing the purpose for which He permitted them.

The Lord always seeks our good. The trace of a boat on the water is invisible : we do not necessarily distinguish the reasons for our difficulties, but remember that He knows them, and will not allow them to exceed what we can bear. He who created the worlds has the power to stop the storm and deliver us. But he wants above all to accompany us in the crossing and to find a real welcome in our life and our circumstances. He will never leave us, he paid us too much to abandon us ! Let's trust Him.

Source (The Good Seed)