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Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, Year A – 2023

9 juin 2023
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: accept, argue, God's gift, intelligence, John 6:51-58, leap of faith

 

When reading some texts of the gospel, I like to note the reaction of people listening to Jesus.
Today’s text shows us the listeners of Jesus reacting to his saying that he is the bread of life (John 6:51-58).
We are told:

“The Jews began to argue sharply among themselves”.    

They simply cannot agree between them on the meaning of Jesus’ message.
Of course, his words were rather astonishing.

He was saying that the bread he was offering came down from heaven.
Anyone eating it would not die but live on for ever.
He added that the food he wanted to give them was his own body and blood.

We must admit that this way of speaking is far from usual.
A human being telling others to… eat his flesh and blood.
Our own reaction may be astonishment, yes, but even, possibly, refusal to believe.
We may feel that this is… beyond what we can accept and… do…

We have to realize that God is precisely… beyond –
beyond what our intelligence can grasp…
beyond what our minds can imagine…
beyond what seems to us logical and acceptable…

This is where we come to what spiritual writers call ‘the leap of faith’…
And it is a mighty one!…
A leap that brings us into God’s own way of being – exactly what he wants to share with us.

Jesus says it clearly:
“As I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me”.

Amazing, but true.
Astonishing, but real.
God’s gift, purely and simply…

 

Note: Another text is available on a different theme, in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/fete-du-corps-et-du-sang-du-christ-annee-a-2023/

 

Source: Image: LDS.net

 

4th Sunday of Year C

1 février 2019
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: 1 Cor.13:12, accept, believe, hope, receive, see God

“Now we are seeing a dim reflection in a mirror ;
but then we shall be seeing face to face.” (1 Cor.13:12 – 2nd reading)

It is said and repeated.
It is claimed and proclaimed.
It is promised and published …

But, do we believe this?
It is so astonishing!

It is announced and assured…
It is taught and sung…
It is preached and explained…

But can we accept this?
It is so amazing!

We hear it.
We read it.
We say it…

But can we receive this?
It is so overwhelming!

One day, we will SEE GOD face à face.
This is what he meant from the beginning.
This is what we are meant for… one day!

For now: We… Believe – Accept – Receive… in hope!

Note: Another reflection is available on a different theme in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/4e-dimanche-de-lannee-c-2/

 
Source: Image: videoblocks.com

4th Sunday of Lent, Year B

9 mars 2018
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: accept, activities, bargain, choices, décisions, desire, discovery, God's gifts, God's merc, God's Spirit, inaction, Lent, offer, options, plans

When told that something is free, or at a big discount, some people will rush to benefit from the offer.
Others may be more suspicious wondering whether this is a genuine bargain or not.

Could it be that we react in a similar way when what is on offer is… from God?!
We, human beings, have sometimes this strange attitude of wanting to prove ourselves to God…
True, it has often been said to us that we must earn what we want.
We should make efforts, sacrifices, and gain merits!

It is definitely not Paul’s conviction which he shares with the first Christians of Ephesus.
He writes to them (2nd reading – Eph.2:4-10):

“God loved us with so much love that he was generous with his mercy…
It is through grace that you have been saved.”
 
And a few lines further in the text, Paul repeats it:
“It is by grace that you have been saved,
not by anything that you have done, but by a gift from God.”
 
Does this mean then that we have nothing to do, simply wait for God to pour his gifts in our lives?
If his blessings are a gift, then we need not strive to be better and do better…

We most certainly have something to do – something yes, simple, yet which we sometimes find difficult.
Our part is to DESIRE and to ACCEPT –
to DESIRE God’s intervention and to ACCEPT his action in our lives, in our very selves.
We are sometimes like the stubborn child, stubborn in our refusal to be guided by God’s Spirit –

  • guided in our options and choices,
  • guided in our plans and decisions,
  • guided in our activities and… our purposeful inaction…

We pretend that we can ‘handle it’, we can manage on our own.

The truth of the matter is that… we don’t do so well!
And all the while God offers his overabundant and generous gifts…
No wonder we struggle and end up dispirited.
God’s Spirit is awaiting our… desire and acceptance to work wonders in us, for us, through us!

Lent is a good time for such a discovery!

Note: Another reflection is available in French on a different theme at: https://image-i-nations.com/4e-dimanche-careme-annee-b/

and a second short one at: https://image-i-nations.com/misericorde-2/

and a video on the gospel personnage of Nicodemus at: https://image-i-nations.com/homme-sage-desirait-savoir-davantage/

Source: Images: cleinman.com  Amazon.com   (handle it)