Word in the Hand

Gospel John 10:1-10  Jesus said: ‘I tell you most solemnly, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold through the gate, but gets in some other way is a thief and a brigand. The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the flock; the gatekeeper lets him in, the sheep hear his voice, one by one he calls his own sheep and leads them out. When he has brought out his flock, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow because they know his voice. They never follow a stranger but run away from him: they do not recognise the voice of strangers.’   Jesus told them this parable but they failed to understand what he meant by telling it to them.   So Jesus spoke to them again: ‘I tell you most solemnly, I am the gate of the sheepfold. All others who have come are thieves and brigands; but the sheep took no notice of them. I am the gate. Anyone who enters through me will be safe: he will go freely in and out and be sure of finding pastu...

Gospel John 10:11-18  Jesus said: ‘I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd is one who lays down his life for his sheep. The hired man, since he is not the shepherd and the sheep do not belong to him, abandons the sheep and runs away as soon as he sees a wolf coming, and then the wolf attacks and scatters the sheep; this is because he is only a hired man and has no concern for the sheep. ‘I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for my sheep. And there are other sheep I have that are not of this fold, and these I have to lead as well. They too will listen to my voice, and there will be only one flock, and one shepherd. ‘The Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me; I lay it down of my own free will, and as it is in my power to lay it down, so it is in my power to take it ...

Gospel of John 6:60-69 After hearing his doctrine many of the followers of Jesus said, ‘This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it?’ Jesus was aware that his followers were complaining about it and said, ‘Does this upset you? What if you should see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before? ‘It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh has nothing to offer. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. ‘But there are some of you who do not believe.’ For Jesus knew from the outset those who did not believe, and who it was that would betray him. He went on, ‘This is why I told you that no one could come to me unless the Father allows him.’ After this, many of his disciples left him and stopped going with him.   Then Jesus said to the Twelve, ‘What about you, do you want to go away too?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘Lord, who shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life, and we believe; we know that you are the Holy One of G...

Gospel of John 6:52-59  The Jews started arguing with one another: ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ they said. Jesus replied: ‘I tell you most solemnly, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you. Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life, and I shall raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in him. As I, who am sent by the living Father, myself draw life from the Father, so whoever eats me will draw life from me. This is the bread come down from heaven; not like the bread our ancestors ate: they are dead, but anyone who eats this bread will live for ever.’ He taught this doctrine at Capernaum, in the synagogue. Step Three - Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God (as I understood him). There are many way...

Gospel John 6:44-51  Jesus said to the crowd: ‘No one can come to me unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets: They will all be taught by God, and to hear the teaching of the Father, and learn from it, is to come to me. Not that anybody has seen the Father, except the one who comes from God: he has seen the Father. I tell you most solemnly, everybody who believes has eternal life. ‘I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the desert and they are dead; but this is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that a man may eat it and not die. I am the living bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world.’ Step 2.  Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. To be in any kind of distress is ...

Gospel Mark 16:15-20  Jesus showed himself to the Eleven, and said to them: ‘Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation. He who believes and is baptised will be saved; he who does not believe will be condemned. These are the signs that will be associated with believers: in my name they will cast out devils; they will have the gift of tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison; they will lay their hands on the sick, who will recover.’   And so the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven: there at the right hand of God he took his place, while they, going out, preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word by the signs that accompanied it. Step One; Admitted we were powerless and that our lives were unmanageable. ... In the last post some of my thinking processes had brought me back to the practice of the Twelve Step programme as a...

Mark 15:40-42 There were women watching from a distance, among them Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of the younger James, and Salome. When Jesus was in Galilee, these women followed and *served him, and had come up with him to Jerusalem. *in the Greek - diekonoun - to minister; as the angels ministered in the desert. The root assumed to be from the phrase to be 'covered in dust' as the busy servant, follower or disciple would be;  leading to the title of 'deacon'. The only person named as a deacon in scripture is Phoebe (Romans 16:1)   Much as I hate to go to the foot of the cross there is something in the air that has brought me back.  Recent reports regarding the Vatican and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious has created an incredible air of debate, discussion and argument  flying across the airways of social network and blogging sites.  The rights (and rites) and wrongs of the Catholic hierarchy is a never-ending debacle of tr...

Gospel Luke 24:35-48 The disciples told their story of what had happened on the road and how they had recognised him at the breaking of bread.   They were still talking about all this when he himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you!’ In a state of alarm and fright, they thought they were seeing a ghost. But he said, ‘Why are you so agitated, and why are these doubts rising in your hearts? Look at my hands and feet; yes, it is I indeed. Touch me and see for yourselves; a ghost has no flesh and bones as you can see I have.’ And as he said this he showed them his hands and feet. Their joy was so great that they still could not believe it, and they stood there dumbfounded; so he said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ And they offered him a piece of grilled fish, which he took and ate before their eyes.   Then he told them, ‘This is what I meant when I said, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law...

Acts 5;32,33 We are witnesses to all this, we and the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.’   This so infuriated them that they wanted to put them to death. Time to change? I seem to remember a voice that said The healthy do not need a doctor  and I have come to heal the sick. who knew... The prophet is never welcome  in his home town who interceded... Father forgive them  they do not know what they do. who called... The Christian to be a warrior for the prince of Peace and taught... To fight hypocrisy with humiity  And condemnation with forgiveness and to do it... Not seven times but seventy times seven. Amen wordinthehand2012 

wordinthehand2012