Magazine /

Jul 25, 2006

Volume 123, Issue #15

Lectionary

More than enough: John 6:1-21

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.

Wonder bread: John 6:24-35

It is the day after Jesus fed the 5,000. The picnic is over and Jesus has taken his disciples to the other side of the lake. But the crowds of people who shared the meal with him yesterday and who then tried to turn him into their king are not about to let him go.

Free Newsletters

From theological reflections to breaking religion news to the latest books, the Christian Century's newsletters have you covered.