Scripture Readings
Psalm 23
John 14:1-11
Picture #1: The Apostle Phillip assisting Jesus with the feeding of the five thousand.
Picture #2: Photograph by David Hutson with Roger Coleman at a food camp in Ethiopia during the famine of 1985.
“A Simple Faith (In Confusing Times)”
There is an argument sometimes used to support accuracy of the New Testament stories. It goes like this. These episodes must be true. “Why else would the followers of Jesus, those closest to him, be so often painted in a bad light – that bad light being a lack of understanding of his teachings, of his purpose, of his ministry?”.
If the New Testament was a Shakespearean play, we might think that this confusion is planned, a foil used to focus greater attention on the wisdom of Jesus.
But the New Testament is not a play nor is it a novel like Don Quixote with a need for a Sancho Panza. It is a collection of stories meant to help us understand the nature of God – stories that burn in our very hands if we hold them too long.
Examining this confusion by the Disciples and looking at some of the confusions we face today, will be part of the challenge this Sunday as we continue our post-Easter journey, “Experiencing the Living God.”
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