Clothe yourself with Love Col. 3:14

John 6:16-27 The seamless journey: An encounter with the divine When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, got into a boat, and started across the lake to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The lake became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, * they saw Jesus walking on the lake and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But he said to them, ‘It is I; * do not be afraid.’ Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land towards which they were going. The next day the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the lake saw that there had been only one boat there. They also saw that Jesus had not got into the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. Then some boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. * So, when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciple...

John 6:1-15 We are rational beings; we are glued to the dynamics of our economic, social systems we found our world using. Therefore, it’s very difficult for us to adapt the workings of faith in the Kingdom of God here and now. For a person who was born in the first century, life was rough, people’s life expectancy was much lower than it is today. Many people died at such a young age. However, in Jesus’ time still, feeding five thousand people would have been such an enormous undertaking for them as it is for us today. It would have been a shock for me as well to hear Jesus say: “let’s buy some bread for all these people!” Growing up, we get to understand what is in the realm of impossibility and what’s possible. For example, one person cannot drink a whole ocean of water. That is in the realm of impossibility. When we are talking about the spiritual realm of the Kingdom of God, its dynamics are very different from what we are used to. Jesus decided to open the eyes of Philip who in ...

Evening Prayer Reflection 080522 Acts 4:13-31 “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized them as companions of Jesus. When they saw the man who had been cured standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. So, they ordered them to leave the council while they discussed the matter with one another. They said, ‘What will we do with them? For it is obvious to all who live in Jerusalem that a notable sign has been done through them; we cannot deny it. But to keep it from spreading further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.’ So, they called them and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, ‘Whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard.’ After threatening them again, they let t...

“ But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard, what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai, they on their part acted with cunning… But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel .” Joshua 9. Today I want to consider the power of vows in our day and age. We live in a world where values are changing faster than we can speak, therefore affecting the way vows or commitment decisions are viewed. While reading this Old Testament passage, I was intrigued because a people finally realized how powerful Israelites had become and Gibeonites decided to deceive Israelites by making a treaty with them. Israelites were known to respect their God immensely so; the treaty was solid. Israelites were bound by their word sworn to Gibeonites by the Lord, the God of Israel, so they did not attack them. I learned that we are to be very careful at what we vow to. I have been in the process of officially becoming an Anglican Dominic...

Good Friday EP Reflection 041522 (Lamentations 3; Isaiah 53) “The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for one to bear the yoke in youth, to sit alone in silence when the Lord has imposed it, to put one’s mouth to the dust (there may yet be hope), to give one’s cheek to the smiter, and be filled with insults. For the Lord will not reject forever. Although he causes grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; for he does not willingly afflict or grieve anyone.” Lam 3: 25-30. “…he was pierced for our transgressions…and with his wounds we are healed.” Is 53:5 If there is any day of the year that seems quieter and darker, it is Good Friday. We remember the events that led Jesus Christ to death on the cross. The somber ambiance of the day is marked by a gruesome way of dying which led Jesus to the cross and die six hours later. This is a ...

Upon hearing the news that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, crowds came to welcome him with branches of palm trees. Normally at this time of the year, Jerusalem is filled with many religious pilgrims coming into town for the Passover festival which commemorates God’s liberation of Jews from Egyptian slavery. Just imagine the atmosphere… Festivities, decorations and lots of people in town. If there is anything of interest that happens, it’s expected to happen during this time. The OT scriptures predicted this event many years before that day: of how Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey: Behold Zion, your King comes to you, humble and riding a donkey (Zech. 9:9). Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord (Ps 118): This is what we celebrate as we process in Palm Sunday Liturgy. On one hand, we see a celebration we call “the triumphant entry into Jerusalem” and on the other, the crucifixion at the end of the week! Two opposite reactions almost a week apart. It seems surreal yet...

WED 040622 EP Reflection (Exodus 7: 8-24; Mark 10:1-16) Today marks 28 years of two presidents’ assassination that started war and Genocide in Rwanda. A painful chapter in our history and many lessons to learn. After spending some time in this Exodus passage, I began to see a pattern emerging between God and Pharaoh, a pattern which unfortunately is too common amongst us humans. It is human pride and its devastating consequences. We are a people who are thirsty of power and domination. It is a vice that can sneak quietly into our lives and into our society unnoticed. Think of when our culture says to us, that we must be masters of our own destiny. In a way, this is a positive thing but to a point! When your ambition/ destiny becomes a nightmare for other people in order for you to reach your desired outcome, then this is completely negative and unacceptable in the eyes of the Lord. This was Pharaoh’s predicament. He did not want to lose all that Hebrew work force and power. The more ...