God's nourishment

Dear Friends,

“The time is surely coming, says the Lord God, when I will send a famine on the land; not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.”

Jesus traveled the countryside with a kind of secret nourishment—a strength that comes from hearing and living out the Word and Wisdom of God. In physical terms he and his followers might have been eking out a living on the edge of the wilderness, but in spiritual terms they were powerful conduits for the spread of grace and peace in the ancient world. Their legacy and influence was profound, because their guiding principle was found in receiving and being Christ’s body in the world.

Our reading from the Book of Amos this Sunday is a reminder that as scary as a literal famine might be, a spiritual famine must be a larger concern for us as people of faith. We are to be concerned with the business of living into the Word: welcoming the stranger, helping the Samaritan, feeding the hungry, and standing up for justice—planting the seeds of care and compassion in our church and beyond—so that when we are set free from this mortal coil we can gather a spiritual harvest of abundant care and compassion.

Next Saturday, July 27th, we have an opportunity to remember Priscilla Weedon Mott, and to give thanks for her legacy. As we approach the 1pm service in celebration of her life, I hope you will set aside some time, in prayer for the Mott family, as well as for all those who were fed by the Word of the Lord that grew so abundantly in her life.

Blessings,

John