Raise Them Up

Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ They were saying, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, “I have come down from heaven”?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, “And they shall all be taught by God.” Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’ The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ So Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; John 6:41-54

Loving Creator you call us all your children

and provide us with the sustenance of life

you have always been with the outcasts

and ignored the powerful and haughty.

You look upon us with the eyes of love

instill that view in each and every one

we choose to ignore your loving vision

seeing only the ways we can be on top.

You call us to be humble yet we are not

you call us to share and yet we do not

you call us to love our all of neighbors

we say that we do but we condemn them.

Help us to be given your sight again

let us look on every person and place

with your loving vision and tender heart

let love be our first and last thought always. Amen.