Sixth Week of Eastertide

May 13, 2012
Sixth Week of Eastertide
Jesus and Peter

John 21:15-20
“Feed My Sheep”

Jesus, you ask me three times if I love you! Of course I love you! Why do you keep asking me? What on earth do you mean by feeding your sheep?

Wait a minute...if I listen carefully...I do see that I could do more to show you how much I love you. I really do love you, you know. There aren't any sheep running around my neighborhood, but there are a lot of hungry and hurting people around me. Help me to use the gifts that you've given me to make your world a better place for them and for me. If I pay attention to the gifts you've given me, I know I can figure out a way to feed those sheep of yours!

Prayer of Intercession...
There are so many "sheep" in your world that need tending...hurting and hungry, lost and lonely. Today, God, I lift those people up to you in my prayers and ask you to wrap your loving arms around them. God, I also ask that you help me to be more aware of the gifts you've given me that I can use to make our world, your world a better place...to bring a little bit of heaven to our earth.

Christ has no body on earth but yours, No hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion is to look out to the earth. Yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good, and yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now.   Saint Teresa of Avila

Fifth Week of Eastertide

 

May 6, 2012
Fifth Week of Eastertide
Jesus Appears at the Seashore

John 21:1-14
“Come and Be Fed"

What an amazing God you truly are! You fill those nets so full of fish that they can't be hauled back into the boat! When you call out, "Come and be fed" you really mean it! There are times when I throw out my net, over and over again, and it keeps coming back empty. How I long for my net to be filled to overflowing with your abundance! How I long to hear you call out to me, "Come and be fed!"

Is my net full, but not with what I am expecting? Are you calling out and I just don't hear you? I admit that sometimes it's difficult for me to hear your voice...when the distractions of my hectic life are so loud that they drown out your loving call. Open my ears so I can hear your voice...the voice of the one who loves me more than anyone else. Is Jesus calling out to you, offering you words of encouragement, inviting you to be fed? Listen...

Prayer for Guidance...
Guide me, O God of abundance, during the times when nothing seems to be going right...when nothing is working no matter how hard I try...when I throw out my net, and it keeps coming back empty. Help me to remember today that you are here for me, ready to fill my empty net and provide me with nourishment through my difficult days.

Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. John 16:24

Fourth Week of Eastertide

April 29, 2012

Fourth Week of Eastertide
The Walk to Emmaus
Luke 24:13-35 “Were Our Hearts Not Burning?"

Two people were walking and talking about all the unbelievable things that had been happening lately in Jerusalem. They encountered Jesus on their walk, though they were "kept from recognizing him." When he opened up the scriptures to them, he spoke with such wisdom and authority that they wanted to hear more from this wonderful teacher.  They urged him to stay with them. How sad it would have been if they had gone a different way, failed to welcome this stranger, or dismissed his words. They would have missed the unforgettable moment when they recognized Jesus as he broke bread with them.

Do you sometimes discover that Jesus has been walking with you? Is there something that is keeping your eyes closed to his presence today?  Some places, some activities, may remind you so strongly of his presence that you feel a special warmth in your heart when

scripture is opened up in your weekly worship, when you prayerfully read God's word, when you break bread with friends, when you experience the love and support of special people, when you enjoy the beauty of nature. Remember that Jesus still walks with you on all your journeys.

Prayer of Thanksgiving...

Thank you, God, for all of the ways that you make yourself known to me.  Thank you for the blossoms of spring that remind me of the possibility of new life. Thank you for the people I meet on my path who make your presence known to me.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:6-18

© 2012 Jean Foley