Thursday 5 May 2022

Today is Thursday the 5th of May, in the third week of Easter.
One Hope Project sings, ‘My Soul Rests’.
Here in this mystery
Here in Your majesty
I find myself
With nothing to offer
Your love surrounds me
You give me yourself
My soul rests my soul rests
In your embrace
My spirit sings my spirit sings
All your praise
My soul rests my soul rests
In your embrace
My spirit sings my spirit sings
All your praise
Here in your presence
The whole host of heaven
Bows down low
There’s no higher honour
No love that’s greater
You make us your own
You’re so close Jesus so close to me
Like the breath in my lungs
You’re so close Jesus so close to me
Like the breath in my lungs


Today’s reading is from the Gospel of John.
John 6:44-51
No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It 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. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’

In this passage, Jesus comes to the climax of the ‘I am’ discourse. We are reminded that our journey towards Jesus is a response to the Father calling through him. How do you respond to this?
‘I am the bread of life’. We know that we need bread to live. We hear of the manna, the miraculous bread, given to the Israelites to sustain them in their travels. Now, in Jesus, we have the bread of life, recognised in his Word and in the Eucharist. Consider what sustains you. Are you drawn towards God?

As you listen to the passage again, hear the assurance and invitation in Jesus’ voice.
‘They shall all be taught by God’. God’s desire is for all of us, and for eternity. In a time of prayer, ask the Lord to draw you to what is life-giving and filled with grace.

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.