Scripture:

‘Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters, and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk, without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labour on what does not satisfy?’ (Isaiah 55.1-2)

Reflection:

As human beings we have both physical and spiritual needs. Jesus reminds us that ‘Man does not live by bread alone’, but when his 5000 hearers were hungry he gave them actual bread to eat. When we pray: ‘Give us this day our daily bread’ we pray not only for food (which most of us do not lack), but for all the resources we need to meet the tasks of each day.

This prayer is not only for ourselves, but for all God’s people. One of the greatest scandals of our time is that so many people suffer poverty and hunger, not only in famine-struck countries far away but in our own society.

‘Freely you have received’ said Jesus, ‘freely give’. ( Matt.10.8)

May God help us to understand what these words mean for each one of us.

Revd Rosemary