As we wrestle to understand what it means to follow Christ two millenia after the perfecter of our faith lived his ministry in the world, may we be brave enough to let go of old patterns so we may more readily and boldly hold steadfast to the Way!

Jesus, the Bread of Life, sustains our spirit in a way that food cannot sustain the body. While the Gospel of John's high Christology might have us focus on the spiritual and put aside the physical, we should acknowledge the incredible way that the physical world provides the premise for Jesus' signs and for conveying the grace of God in Jesus Christ.

The two images at the center of Pentecost in our readings are wind and fire. They help us to understand and know the Holy Spirit more tangibly just as we know wind by its feel and effects. And the Spirit, like fire, is interactive with, and within, us.