Subversive Undercroft

A weekly exploration of the message of Jesus and its meaning for our lives in the here and now

A weekly exploration of the message of Jesus and its meaning for our lives in the here and now

What brings joy in our lives; where can true peace, confidence, and hope be found?

READING

Jeremiah 17:5-10

 

Thus says the Lord:

Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength,  whose hearts turn away from the Lord.

They shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when relief comes.

They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.

They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream.

It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green;

in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit.

The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse--  who can understand it?

I the Lord test the mind and search the heart,

to give to all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings.

 

MUSIC

Be Thou My Vision, Jaimie Jorge

I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light, Union College Unionaires

Be Thou My Vision, Norton Hall Band

 

NOTES

Marie Kondo's website if you want to see what we're talking about

We don't need to go looking for God, God is present with us at all times. We only need eyes willing to see.

READING

Luke 5:1-11

Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch." Simon answered, "Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets." When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people." When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

MUSIC

Poor Wayfaring Stanger, Hillbilly Thomists

Here is Love Vast as the Ocean, Abby Scott & Chris Eaton

Ol’ Saint Peter, Digital Primitives

How do we turn Christ's imperative to respond with love into concrete actions?

READING

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

 

MUSIC

Lay Me Low, Jazzbanjorex

What Wondrous Love Is This? Sounds Like Reign

We Need Love, The Relatives

 

NOTES

Deeyah Khan produced two documentary films, White Right: Meeting the Enemy and Jihad: A Story of the Others (both of which are currently streaming on Netflix). Here is the Vox article on Khan and her films.

What is the role of scripture in our lives and what should our relationship with the Bible look like?

READING

Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10

All the people of Israel gathered together into the square before the Water Gate. They told the scribe Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had given to Israel. Accordingly, the priest Ezra brought the law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could hear with understanding. This was on the first day of the seventh month. He read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, "Amen, Amen," lifting up their hands. Then they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, "This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep." For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, "Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."

 

MUSIC

Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken, St. Paul's Chamber Choir, conducted by John Smedstad

Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God, The VGK-Sarepta Children Choir at Bellville SDA Church

Jesus Loves Me, Jeremy Camp feat. Bonnie Lancaster

image from lightstock.com

Collects, the brief prayers usually heard at the beginning of a service are short statements packed with a lot of meaning and purpose for God's people.

"READING"

Collect for the Second Sunday after the Epiphany                                                                                                Book of Common Prayer

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ's glory, that he may be known, worshipped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

 

MUSIC

Slane (Instrumental), Bobby Horton

Collect, Tudor Consort

Come My Way, My Truth, My Life, Blackfriar Music

We look at the 29th psalm and the role of suffering in our lives

 

READING

Psalm 29

Ascribe to God, you heavenly beings, ascribe to God glory and strength.

Ascribe due honor to God’s holy Name; worship the Most High in the beauty of holiness.

The voice of God is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders; God is upon the mighty waters.

The voice of God is a powerful voice; the voice of God is a voice of splendor.

The voice of God breaks the cedar trees; God breaks the cedars of Lebanon;

God makes Lebanon skip like a calf and Mount Hermon like a young wild ox.

The voice of God splits the flames of fire; the voice of God shakes the wilderness; God shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

The voice of God makes the oak trees writhe and strips the forests bare.

And in the temple of the Holy One, all are crying, “Glory!”

God sits enthroned above the flood, enthroned as Sovereign for evermore.

God shall give strength to the people; God shall give the people the blessing of peace.

from the St Helena Psalter

MUSIC

Frustration with Skype, Jon White

Star in the East, Rose Ensemble

How Great Thou Art, Lauren Daigle

Wade in the Water, Roger McGuinn

The Epiphany is bold reminder about what's important and meaningful to God.

READING

Matthew 2:1-12

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage." When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

“And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.”

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage." When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

MUSIC

We Three King, RTists for Christmas

Watchmen Tell us of the Night, Aaron & Ben DeVries

The King of Love My Shepherd Is, IKON

Through Jesus, in faith, we are called to relationship, community, and unity

READING

Galatians 3:23 - 4:7

Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.

As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise.

My point is this: heirs, as long as they are minors, are no better than slaves, though they are the owners of all the property; but they remain under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father. So with us; while we were minors, we were enslaved to the elemental spirits of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.

 

MUSIC

Go Tell It On The Mountain, Roger McGuinn

I Saw Three Ships, Ben DeVries

All Who Love and Serve Your City, Erik & Elisa Dunkin