Presence

As I sit here, the beating of my heart,
the ebb and flow of my breathing, the movements of my mind,
are all signs of God’s ongoing creation of me.
I pause for a moment, and become aware
of this presence of God within me.

Freedom

Thank you for the gift of freedom, Lord.
Grant that I may always choose to follow You.
Keep me ever mindful of Your ways,
of Your love and concern for all people.

Consciousness

How am I really feeling? Lighthearted? Heavy-hearted?
I may be very much at peace, happy to be here.
Equally, I may be frustrated, worried or angry.
I acknowledge how I really am. It is the real me that the Lord loves.

The Word of God

⁴⁴No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me, and I will raise that person up on the last day. ⁴⁵It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. ⁴⁶Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. ⁴⁷Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. ⁴⁸I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. ⁵⁰This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. ⁵¹I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever, and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

Inspiration

In teaching us that Jesus is the bread of life, St John emphasises that it is because Jesus has come from heaven, from his Father, that he is this bread of life. If his hearers don’t accept his claim to come from God, then they won’t accept that he can give them his flesh to eat. The question of who Jesus is becomes central here, as does the question about his divinity, which people struggled with in past centuries. Jesus continues to challenge us with, ‘But you, who do you say I am?’ We can tell him again in prayer what he means to us.

Conversation

I begin to talk to Jesus about the piece of scripture I have just read.
What part of it strikes a chord in me?
Perhaps the words of a friend, or some story I have heard recently, or some experience,
will slowly rise to the surface of my consciousness.
If so, does this memory throw light on what the scripture passage may be trying to say to me?

Conclusion

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.

Amen