Pod Be With You

Some classic Call stories this week, the Calls of Isaiah, Peter, and Paul. And a through-line that runs across all of them? "I'm not worthy." I'm not worthy. Not words we utter that often in the Progressive Church, but words I know we feel deep in our hearts. And Christ is there, saying, "Don't be afraid." Don't be afraid, friends, to answer, to intend, to do. 

It's been a minute. And what could be more wonderful to come back to than the Apostle Paul's musings on love in 1 Corinthians 13? It feels like he wrote these words about how we are to be in the world, and with each other, with this time in mind. Easy? No. Necessary? Yes. Love, he seems to be declaring, should be, must be, at the heart of the Christian life.

Happy New Year! This week, we explore the different gospels' renderings of Jesus' baptism - especially that of the Gospel of Luke. Less of a public declaration and more of a private revelation, Jesus is reminded who and whose he is - all in the wake of John the Baptist's arrest and imprisonment. Jesus is praying about what's next, and the answer he receives is: "You are what's next. I love you - now get out there and get to work!" In some ways, this is the story of all our baptismal callings: "I love you. You have what you need to make a difference. Now go do it!" Like Jesus, this is a call we need, not even during challenging times, but especially. 

It' s the second week of Advent, and our scriptures this week bring us the amazing and hope-filled stories of both Ruth and Naomi, and Mary, Mother of Jesus. And on of the things that resides at the heart of both of these wonderful tales is chesed, the indwelling faithfulness and commitment of God to us, and of us to each other. Join us for a journey through the scriptures today.

Thanksgiving can be hard...both the national holiday, and the act of gratitude. But Jesus, in our Gospel lesson for today, a clip from the Sermon on the Mount about worry, providence, and thanksgiving, offers us a solution. We can find ourselves poisoned by the negativity around us and within us sometimes, and gratitude opens us up to...more. More joy, more connection, more life. So join us today for a meditation on the power of gratitude.

It's time for All Saints Sunday, folks, one of the weirdest and, arguably, most wonderful celebrations in the Christian Year. We take a Sunday to remember and honor and grieve those who have died...but it's not a morbid service. It is an affirmation of legacy, and love, and life, the connections that still hold us together. Enjoy today's conversation, and maybe find a church on Sunday to enter in to the mystery that is life. 

Welcome to the book of Job: one of the most fascinating and frustrating books in all our scripture. Famous, but often misunderstood, this ancient work of fiction brings us to questions of grief, accident, and loss. How do we make sense of life when it is so blatantly unfair, and God is absent and/or mysterious? Are we faithful simply to work a system of reward and punishment, or because righteousness is inherently good? What are the ways we are helpful (or profoundly unhelpful) to those in the midst of suffering? Do we truly believe God can handle the messiness of our rage and lament, when those are the only honest and holy responses? Job is a book that resists resolution and easy answers, but it will bring us to some timelessly important questions. 

It's Worldwide Communion Sunday, and we are revisiting the vision of unity, abundance, and wholeness that is at the heart of what Communion is. This Sunday reminds us that this "togetherness" is not just a mystery, but something we live out daily in the way we enact our faith. Two Gospel stories this week...Zacchaeus, and John's version of the Feeding of the 5000...illustrate the heart of the Kingdom...welcome, plenty, transformation. 

We talk often about how the Bible is written by many, many authors across many, many years, and so there will be differing perspectives, opinions, and voices contained within its pages. This a good thing, leading to depth, richness, and diversity.

But sometimes our scriptures speak loudly, with one voice. And this week is one of those times...James and Mark are both proclaiming the same truth about the ways of this world, and the ways of God's Realm. And though they employ different ways of communicating, the message is the same. Join us this week for a journey into pride and humility, power and servanthood, death and life.

James has a lot to say this week about the power, for both good and for evil, of speech. In twelve short verses, he drills down to the bedrock of the matter, that the words we speak and how we speak them can create, and nurture, and inspire, or they can destroy, and poison, and defeat. He bases this in solid Creational theology, and calls upon Christians to speak words of life. Good stuff. Join us as we explore the power of words.