17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B, RCL)

David Petraeus's failings aren't the same as his biblical namesake's. No one went to die so he could bed Paula Broadwell. Still, we expected more.

This year, as many years before, I planned my summer vacation schedule with this stretch of lectionary readings from John 6 in mind. I suspect I am not alone. Five straight weeks of chewing on the bread of life is just a little more than most of us Protestants can stomach. I’m not sure I have that many sermons on the subject in me. So please take my reflections here with a grain of salt. I’ll share with you what I can, but then I’m off to the airport.

Jesus and Elisha perform great miracles. What do we modern westerners do with this?

It’s possible you come from a church background in which the obvious takeaway is to pray for God to do the same thing in our lives here and now. Or maybe you believe such events are still possible, but less probable.

In any case, most of us preachers want to avoid suggesting that the difference between then and now is our lack of faith.

David stares at us out of a mirror and shows us our capacity for sinning.

The symbol of the fish resounds throughout scripture, and it splashes well beyond the pages.

Jesus and a little boy vs. the voices of common sense

The church of my youth majored in a miserly view of God’s grace. Its message was grim. Life had no edge, no elegance and no joy, but was only a bitter temporal existence largely limited to preparations for the sweet hereafter. Our bleak church building reflected the theology: it was aptly situated in the Pacific Northwest with its endless days of dreary, overcast weather.

Do you believe God will provide what you need to do the ministry God wants done?