Still Listening

Letters on loss, healing, and the mystery of being alive —
from deep in the woods.

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Author: Peter Woods

  • Cannibal or Mystical? Ordinary 20b John 6:51-58

    John 6:51-58 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; 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…

  • What beggars know about bread. John 6:35-51 Ordinary 19b

    John 6:35-51 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and…

  • Jesus the Janitor? John 6:24-35 – Ordinary 18B

    John 6:24-35 So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I…

  • Catering for our fears – John 6:1-21 Ordinary 17B

    John 6:1-21 After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the…

  • Can you feel the gut wrenching care?- Mark 6:30-56 Ordinary 16b

    Mark 6:30-56 30The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. 31He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32And they went away in the boat…

  • You’re a prophet? Have you lost your head?- Ordinary 15b

    Mark 6:14-29 King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some were saying, “John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him.” But others said, “It is Elijah.” And others said, “It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of…

  • Familiarity breeds CONTENT – Mark 6:1-13 Ordinary 14B

    Mark 6:1-13 He left that place and came to his home town, and his disciples followed him. On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of…

  • Jesus has no time for triage – Ordinary 13b

    Mark 5:21-43 When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea. Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet and begged him repeatedly, “My little daughter is at…

  • And behold there came a great…SMILE! – Mark 4:35-41 Ordinary 12B

    Mark 4:35-41 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so…

  • The rhythm of organic kingdom growth-Ordinary 11B

    Mark 4:26-34 He also said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in…