The Ember Wednesday within the Octave of the Feast of Pentecost
Posted on May 27, 2026 by under
Scripture: St. John 6:44-52 (NKJV)
6:44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”
52 The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?”
Devotion
Jesus speaks hard, yet comforting truth in verse 44. Our fallen will cannot choose Him; the Father must draw us. This drawing is not coercion, but powerful grace—through the Word that creates faith where there was none.
The Jews grumbled, just as many still do: “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?” Their offense is our own natural offense. We want a manageable Jesus, a teacher of morals, not the One who says, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” This is no metaphor. Jesus gives us His true body and blood in the Sacrament of the Altar for the forgiveness of sins. The same flesh given on the cross is now given to us under bread and wine, so that whoever eats this bread with faith will live forever.
We do not come by our own reason or strength. The Father draws us to the Son through the Word purely preached and the Sacraments rightly administered. There the Spirit creates faith that receives this astonishing gift: Christ for us, Christ in us, Christ raising us on the last day.
Collect: O Lord, may the Comforter, Who proceedeth from Thee, enlighten our minds, we beseech Thee, and guide us into all truth, even as Thy Son hath promised; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Collect for the Feast of Pentecost (Whitsunday)
O God, Who didst teach the hearts of Thy faithful people, by sending to them the light of Thy Holy Spirit: Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in His holy comfort; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
