Communion

John 6:53-56

53 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. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.

55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.

56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me,

and I in them.

Isaiah 55:2 (KJV)

… [L]et your soul delight itself in fatness.

Communion

The meal of bread and wine

transformed into

His body and blood

which changes us

from sinners to saints.

And we wonder

which is the bigger miracle:

Eating the flesh of Christ?

or

The Fallen are redeemed?

Prayer of Ruth

Lord,
In the midst of this ruthless world
we live in:

Help us bond with the disconsolate Naomi.

Hear our prayers for the homeward bound Orpah.

Bless today’s gleaning
so it is enough for our daily bread.

And may we never forget
our eternal kinsman-redeemer.
Amen.

Like Father, Like Son (Family Tradition)

Exodus 16/John 6:1-15; 22-42

Just like His Dad did
in the wilderness,
Out of love and compassion
The Son fed the people.

And just like His Dad did
in the wilderness.
The food came out of nothing
and from nowhere.

In the wilderness,
The Father’s manna was only good
for the day.
And all that was left of the Son’s meal
were baskets of bones and crumbs.

And just like His Dad
The Son learned as well
Miracles don’t generate faith
They get requests for encores.

“More food!”
The Chosen complained.
“More miracles!”
The Gentiles pleaded.

So the holy kitchens shut their doors.
The Select wandered around
Searching for the Land of Milk and Honey.
And the World wonders about
the Bread which satisfies every hunger.

Ruth 3:5

All that thou sayest unto me I will do.
Ruth 3:5

The story's strange.
For once, God wasn't talking,
Busy with some sacrifice or slaughter
Somewhere else. No plague, cloud, gushing water,
Dream, omen, whirlwind. Just two women, walking
The dusty road from Moab to Judea,
One, the younger, having told the other
(Not her own, but her dead husband's mother)
That she would never leave her. But they flee a
Famine for what, at first, seems something worse:
To come as widows to a crowded city,
To men’s appraising stares, and women’s pity.
Ruth, the pagan, heard Naomi curse,
Cringed and scanned the sky. No fire or stone
Came crashing downward. They were on their own.
Catherine Tufariello’s No Angel

Boaz Asleep

Boaz, overcome with weariness, by torchlight
made his pallet on the threshing floor
where all day he had worked, and now he slept
among the bushels of threshed wheat.

The old man owned wheatfields and barley,
and though he was rich, he was still fair-minded.
No filth soured the sweetness of his well.
No hot iron of torture whitened in his forge.

His beard was silver as a brook in April.
He bound sheaves without the strain of hate
or envy. He saw gleaners pass, and said,
Let handfuls of the fat ears fall to them.

The man's mind, clear of untoward feeling,
clothed itself in candor. He wore clean robes.
His heaped granaries spilled over always
toward the poor, no less than public fountains.

Boaz did well by his workers and by kinsmen.
He was generous, and moderate. Women held him
worthier than younger men, for youth is handsome,
but to him in his old age came greatness.

An old man, nearing his first source, may find
the timelessness beyond times of trouble.
And though fire burned in young men's eyes,
to Ruth the eyes of Boaz shone clear light.
**Victor Hugo (translator unknown)

What a Wonderful World

(Genesis 1)

The noise of the animals is a low roar.
The waves continually kissing the shore.
The breezes making the trees dance.
The humans are inventing romance.
There’s no such thing as zombies.
Creation is a just a big ole party.


The light of the stars are set on low.
The night creatures come late to the show.
The birds are singing with Eve.
God looks at all He achieved.
That’s the first Saturday night story.
Creation is a just a big ole party.

Asher Yatzar / Blessing for the Body

(Blessing upon going to the bathroom.)

Blessed are You, Adonai, source of all being,
who formed the human body with wisdom
and created within us various openings and closings.

It is known before Your throne of glory
that if one of these were to be open where it should be closed,
or closed where it should be opened,
we would not be able to stand before You and offer praise.

Blessed are You, Adonai,
healer of all flesh and worker of miracles!

Found at: Velveteen Rabbi