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Bread of Life

by Vicar Lisa

On Sunday, we will begin the first of five Sundays with gospel readings from John 6. The first four focus on Jesus as bread of life. On Sunday, our lectionary gives us the story of Jesus feeding thousands of people with five loaves and two fish.

Let us consider bread, simple bread. I have baked bread before, and it is at the same time incredibly simple and infinitely complex. At its most basic, it is made of just four ingredients: flour, water, yeast, and salt. It’s so mundane that we use it as a way to talk about God’s provision for all of our needs. The terms “daily bread”, “bread winner”, and “breaking bread” are so woven into our vernacular that we forget they refer to actual, literal loaves that nourish us and that taste delicious too.

At the same time, bread is a difficult skill to master. Variances in flour type, water temperature, ambient humidity, and elevation can all affect the outcome of a loaf. Bakers can commit their entire lives to the craft of breadmaking and still forever have more to learn.

To understand all that is involed in the use of bread metaphors in scripture, especially Jesus’ self-identification as the Bread of Life, maybe we should begin with actual bread baking. It’s only in this way that we can fully understand the beauty and tension of the simultaneous simplicity and complexity at hand. Feeling the transformation of flour and water into a tacky dough, seeing the development of gluten that takes place in the hours ahead, then smelling the final death of the yeast as the loaf takes form in the oven — it teaches us that bread is not merely a metaphor but also a tangible means of knowing God in our hands and on our tongues.

10th Sunday After Pentecost July 28

10 a.m. Worship with Communion

Council Meeting Notes

Zion's Lutheran church council met on Sunday, July 14. We welcomed Julie Morris who was elected by council to complete the term vacated by Jeff Smith.  

Vicar Lisa has been officially endorsed for internship as part of the TEEM program. Her Internship Supervisor is Pastor Carrie Baylis of First Lutheran in Colorado Springs. Her internship committee is led by Sharon Sorenson, and made up of Jan Everhart, Becky McNeil, Mike McNeil, Ernie Parker, and Melodie Lanosga.

Lynn Chase and Kathy Broman volunteered to work on the church council Behavioral Covenant. God's Work Our Hands Sunday is Sept. 8. We are making plans for a picnic and looking for a project for this annual day of service.

Julie W. is heading up the annual garage sale scheduled for Aug. 3 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Donations can be dropped off at the fellowship hall the week of July 29-Aug. 2. Please call her at 719-846-6904 to make sure someone is there to open the door. Volunteers are needed to organize and price items Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings and to help on Saturday. Sign-up sheets will be posted in the fellowship hall or contact Julie W.

Vicar Lisa reported that we had good participation at the two cottage meetings in June. Discussion questions were "What do you love about Zion's?" and "What opportunities and challenges do you foresee Zion's facing if we become an RIC (Reconciling in Christ) congregation?".

Jan E & Jan R shared their stories on July 14 and members from Grace Lutheran in Colorado Springs will be here to discuss their RIC journey on July 21. Peter Severson from the Bishop's Office will be here on July 28 to discuss the synod's history and position on the RIC designation.

A special congregational meeting has been called for August 4 to discuss the future of the Reconciling in Christ designation at Zion's. Notices went out to voting members on June 22 and included a Zoom link. Let Julie W or Vicar Lisa know if you need another notice.

Respectfully,

Julie Wersal, Council President

Announcements

  • Fellowship Times: Join us after worship for fellowship to continue our ongoing RIC discernment. Peter Severson from the Bishop’s office will be giving us some information regarding synod's history and position on the RIC designation
  • Save the Date: Join us Aug. 4 for a potluck dinner and a special congregational meeting. Bring your favorite dish and stay for the meeting. If you are a voting member who cannot attend the meeting in person, we will have a Zoom option. Details below:

A special congregational meeting will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Aug. 4, to discuss the Reconciling in Christ (RIC) designation for Zion’s. To attend via Zoom use this link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81694574416?pwd=dbnDJk1uRveCBwTIDWbEaMyb3VIzQq.1 -- Meeting ID: 816 9457 4416 -- Passcode: 323101 -- Find your local number: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/kedQill4aZ"

  • Bible Study: Our Wednesday weekday study is on summer hiatus. Check the bulletins, e-formations, and newsletters for updates.
  • Garage Sale: Every summer Zion’s conducts a garage sale designed to raise funds for special ministries or needs of the church. This year, the garage sale is planned for 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 3, in the Fellowship Hall. If you can help with the garage sale on Aug. 3, please let Julie Wersal know. Help is needed with set up, the sale itself, and clean up afterward. We will begin accepting donations for the sale the last week of July.
  • Five Loaves Volunteers Needed: We need volunteers to help prepare 5 Loaves Meals on Friday, July 26, and to make deliveries on Saturday July 27, if you can help, please let Norine Hazen or Jo Moss know.
  • Flowers: There are days available to sponsor flowers. Select the date in the flower book in the sanctuary, write your name and the commemoration. A minimum donation of $35 is encouraged.
  • Prayer List Updates: We are updating the prayer lists for the summer. If you have changes for the current list or requests for additions, please let Vicar Lisa, Julie Wersal, or Jo Moss know.

E-formation – 10th Sunday after Pentecost, July 28

For the next five Sundays, our gospel readings come from John, rather than from Mark. The Gospel of Mark was the earliest gospel written about 70 ce, and the Gospel of John the last, about 100 ce. All five weeks will focus on Jesus as the bread of life. Come to worship, to hear and to eat.

John 6:1-21

The story of Jesus feeding the multitude is told six times in the four gospels. John’s account, which fills chapter 6, was probably written about 100 ce, and the attention the fourth evangelist gives the story probably reflects the church’s growing sense of the importance of the weekly assembly meal. In John, the loaves are barley, which was the bread of the poor, as well as being the bread of the Elisha story. By setting the event near Passover, when the Messiah was expected to appear, John uses the story to proclaim Jesus’ messianic identity. Jewish expectation of the messianic banquet included references to fish, perhaps thought to be the sea monster now destroyed and eaten. Twelve baskets of leftovers remain, a sign of completion, enough for all the twelve tribes, or perhaps of the ongoing mission of the disciples. The following narrative of Jesus crossing the sea by walking on water recalls the story of the Exodus. Jesus’ answer to the disciples, Ego eimi in Greek, can be translated either “It’s I” or “I am who I am,” the very name of God in Exodus. “Here I Am” might best render this Christological claim. Yet John clarifies that the messiah is not an earthly king.

2 Kings 4:42-44

The books we call 1 Kings and 2 Kings were written probably by one religious historian in the mid-sixth century bce who viewed events in light of the theology of Deuteronomy: if Israel and Judah are faithful to the covenant, they will be blessed by God; if not, they will be punished. In 2 Kings 4, the miracle worker Elisha, who is remembered for healing a foreign general and raising the dead, feeds a hundred people with twenty barley loaves, “according to the word of the Lord” (v. 44). This story is one of many Old Testament references to the hope that the messiah would feed the poor.

Ephesians 3:14-21

This invocation includes an early reference to the triune God and presents petitions that are simultaneously praises of God. The risen Christ is the power alive in the present, turning us into persons of love. Rather than residing in a temple, this God lives in the hearts of believers. “The church” (v. 21) means the assembly, the community of believers.

Zion's Lutheran Church

zionsluth@gmail.com

719-846-7785