Pod Be With You

Just because you cannot see something does not mean that God isn't at work. There was life itself in this determined little tree. 

You may know this as a wedding scripture - which isn't wrong. But this charge to live with un-hypocritical love is actually much more radical and challenging than we often give it credit for. These are words we need right now. 

What holds us together? Where do we need to be repaired? And where do we go when that's what we need?

"God I thank you that I am not like other people." Once you hear it, you'll hear it everywhere. But how's that working for us? 

More often than not, our most profound evangelism doesn't come through words, but through actions. Hearts and minds are changed when others see the love of God alive in us. 

Simple, but not easy. This week, here's a metaphor anyone can understand, but not everyone is living out: we are members of the same body. We are in this together, and we need one another. Can you believe that? 

Fear and faith are not necessarily mutually exclusive; we can be very afraid of something and still step out in faith. In fact, maybe fear is what makes faith, faith. 

This planet we share - our true community - will be saved by compassion. 

Wow, there's a lot here. Maybe a bit more than usual, but if you stick with it, we think you'll find it worth it. At issue here are tradition, hypocrisy, gender relations, prophetic protest, prejudice, and more - all culminating in another life-saving healing.

Another miracle, as resonant and rich as the one that came before. Here, Jesus takes time for self care, Peter takes a leap of faith, and the disciples all see another layer of this man they are following.