Gospel Meditation 21st April 2021
“Jesus answered, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never hunger, and whoever believes in Me will never thirst. But as I stated, you have seen Me and still you do not believe. Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day. For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” ( John 6:36-40)
“For I do not seek to understand, but I believe in order to understand. For I believe this: unless I believe, I will not understand.” ( Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury & Teacher of the Faith,1109)
The Basic principle of the Christian faith is that we believe that God is the Creator of all things and that Jesus Christ is the saviour of the World that God created. He is the originator, and perfector of our faith. As Anselm said – this is the approach that we must take. Interestingly this is the “Scientific Method” We base our lives on this Hypothesis and observe the results and the truth will reveal itself. We are surrounded by evidence of God’s hand in our lives, we are surrounded by evidence that God cares for us, that he has a plan for us. When we read Scripture we can use the text as a Hypothesis and test it in our own lives, that way the text is not just a story out of history but provides a context and a reality for us. The reality is and it is expressed throughout Scripture and history, that the last enemy’ ‘death’ has been overcome. This is proven in two ways. Firstly Jesus rose from the dead and there is overwhelming evidence of this. Secondly the belief in the Resurrection makes everything in life make sense. If we live, and then we die, life is futile. But if our lives have eternal consequence, then life has purpose and meaning and this is what Jesus offers. A life of meaning and purpose. Now reorder your thoughts around this hypothesis – life has meaning and purpose and Jesus the great teacher, reveals those things to me through His life and teaching.
If you believe that life is without design and without purpose, you will live a life that is futile. If you believe that Jesus is the Christ and that you are God’s child and that you are loved and that your life has value, then you will live a life of meaning and purpose, regardless of your circumstances. If you believe that Jesus came into the world and lived in human form and endured the things that you endure, and was tempted and suffered, then all your life experiences are in him and with him and through him you will live a life to His praise and glory.
Today set you heart on believing the Word of God and the testimony of God through Jesus the Christ. The three pillars of Anglicanism are Holy Scripture, Tradition (the teaching of the church throughout the ages) and Reason.
It’s not blind faith – its reasonable, logical, deduced faith. When we believe to understand, then life makes sense. When we believe, then we look for evidence to support our belief, and it is all around us – I pray that you will see that today, and every day.
let us pray!
Lord open our spiritual eyes that we may see you in every aspect of our lives. Guide our thoughts and inspire our “hearts mind” that we may feed on the bread of life and receive the life that you offer us. Amen.
