Clean Hands

We have rules in life, don't we? Lot's of the rules are really good ones that are pretty self-explanatory: stopping at Stop signs; driving on the proper side of the road; not playing loud music in neighbourhoods after a certain time of night. These sorts of rules make sense, but we have others that are so ingrained in our lives, so much part of our identity and our culture, that we no longer see them as rules, would have to think hard to even list them and even harder to be able to explain why we do things that way. 

Jesus was faced, one day, by the "rule police" of his time over the fact that his disciples hadn't washed their hands before they ate. He pushes back on them and their fixation on the rules, on doing things the right way. He accuses them of following their rules (which they think came from God) rather than living in a way that would really please God. 

I wonder how often we live in much the same way. Keeping ourselves inside some invisible, indefensible, boundaries because we think they are important to our identity as Christians while totally missing the point of what God would really have us do.

This Sunday, we'll wonder together about the importance of clean hands in our lives as disciples of Christ.

Where Else

There are repercussions for demanding a lot, for using distasteful language, for telling it like it is. This happens in our lives all the time, and it happened in Jesus's ministry too. He had used some very graphic language to describe himself as the "bread that comes from heaven" and had offended many in his audience.

The synagogue empties out, the crowds go home, and Jesus is left with his small group of disciples, the twelve. Everyone else has had enough and leaves.

"What about you," he says to them, "Aren't  you going too"

Peter answers, and it is in his answer that we find encouragement for our own lives, as we strive to follow Jesus, even when it seems so hard, seems so impossible.

Join us this Sunday as we find ourselves in Peter's words.

You are What You Eat

Eating is a central part of our lives. We eat for energy. We eat to grow, We eat to stay healthy. 

Nutritionists sometimes use the slogan "You are What You Eat" to help us to make good choices about our diets. They want us to stop and think before we put something in our mouths. They want us to recognize that what we eat can have repercussions on our health, on how we can live our lives. They recognize that what we eat plays a big role in who we are. 

Jesus talks about this as well. "The one who feeds on me will live because of me," Jesus says.

This Sunday, we'll spend some time talking about what Jesus means by this, how repulsive it was for the people of his time to hear these words, and what these words mean for us today.