Vessel Houston

Two strangers encounter one another along the road. By all religious and social custom they are not to interact, and yet they depart as siblings in Christ. To understand why is to understand who we are as those who claim to follow Jesus in a world of man-made borders. (sermon begins at 01:00)

Scripture & Quotations

Acts 8:26-40

Isaiah 56

Perhaps Philip, on the basis of his experience in Samaria, was able to recognize that God was doing a new thing to widen Philip’s previous understanding of the boundaries of the people of God.

- Christopher B. Hayes & Richard B. Hayes - The Widening of God’s Mercy: Sexuality Within the Biblical Story

In our first worship gathering since Resurrection Sunday, we reflect upon the conversion of a murderous zealot into one of the most influential figures in the early Church; Paul/Saul reminding us that the journey of renewal is ever unfolding. (sermon begins at 01:00)

Scripture & Quotations

Acts 9:1-22

Galatians 1:13-14

1 Timothy 1:13-15

1 Corinthians 15:9-10

“The convictions that form the background for Christian growth take the form of a narrative that requires conversion, since the narrative never treats the formation of the self as completed… Christians are called to a new way of life that requires nothing less than a transvaluation of their past reality — repentance…. Therefore, conversion denotes the necessity of a turning of the self that is so fundamental that the self is placed on a path of growth for which there is no end.”

- Stanley Hauerwas - A Community of Character: Toward a Constructive Christian Social Ethic

Resurrection is far more than an abstract promise of distant reward, it is a new way of seeing and being in the world today. At a time in which many “Christian” voices are anything but Christ-like, may the light of Jesus’ new day transform judgement and condemnation into ever-expanding embrace. There’s a seat for ALL at the table of grace. Halleluiah, He is risen indeed!

Scripture & Quotations

John 12: 1-8, 12-26

John 13:1-20

Mark 11:12-14

“Mary Magdalene is the icon and archetype of love itself—needed, given, received, and passed on. She is a stand-in for all of us who seek an intimate and loving relationship with the divine. Jesus’ appearance to her first and alone is the clear affirmation of the wonderful and astounding message that we do not need to be perfect to be the beloved of Jesus and God.”

- Richard Rohr

Given what little we know about Jesus’ precise activities preceding his unjust imprisonment, punishment, and death, we ought to take special note of the practices in which he engaged and especially those he repeated in his final hours. Through two consecutive stories of foot washing, the author of the stars embodied the humble servant, that we might do the same. (sermon begins at 01:00)

Scripture & Quotations

John 12: 1-8, 12-26

John 13:1-20

Mark 11:12-14

“Mary Magdalene is the icon and archetype of love itself—needed, given, received, and passed on. She is a stand-in for all of us who seek an intimate and loving relationship with the divine. Jesus’ appearance to her first and alone is the clear affirmation of the wonderful and astounding message that we do not need to be perfect to be the beloved of Jesus and God.”

- Richard Rohr

Jesus tells a story of a fruitless fig tree, and later encounters one along the roadside. In one case, we witness God’s boundless mercy, and in the other, see how the “performance” of fruitfulness ends in a withering curse. In this Lenten season, might we all give up the act? (sermon begins at 01:00)

Scripture & Quotations

Psalm 13:1-2

Luke 13:1-8

Mark 11:12-14

“Calamity strikes and we wonder what we did wrong. We scrutinize our behavior, our relationships, our diets, our beliefs. We hunt for some cause to explain the effect in hopes that we can stop causing it. What this tells us is that we are less interested in truth than consequences. What we crave, above all, is control over the chaos of our lives.”

- Barbara Brown Taylor, “Life Giving Fear”

“During times of doom, people become what they never before imagined. Many are sucked into a black hole of shared, mutually confirming stupidity. Some become blamers, shamers, thieves, thugs, criminals, vigilantes, terrorists, traitors, escapists, hoarders, panic-stricken crybabies, cultic conspiracy theorists, scammers, or craven cowards. Others become heroes, saints, resisters, martyrs, organizers, problem solvers, protectors, community builders, non-anxious presences, leaders, healers, and old fashioned good neighbors. There may be times when we have to make our way alone, but finding or forming a little huddle of just two or three or five or fifty can make all the difference.”

- Brian McLaren, Life After Doom: Courage and Wisdom for a World Falling Apart

This week marks the beginning of our yearly pilgrimage through the “desert” of Lent. Jesus wasn’t the first biblical figure to spend forty days in the wilderness. Join us in considering Elijah’s fearful exile, and the multifaceted care God brings in the midst of his trial. (sermon begins at 01:00)

Scripture & Quotations

1 Kings 19:1-16

“These forty days are a sacred journey through the wilderness, which means there will be moments of challenge. Even if we live in the middle of the suburbs or the in the heart of the city, the wilderness becomes a metaphor for those places we need to wrestle and ultimately soften toward ourselves, bring lavish compassion to the things we struggle with, and listen for ancient wisdom to practice our way into a renewed way of being.”

- Christine Valters Painter, A Different Kind of Fast: Feeding Our True Hungers in Lent

To begin 2025, we are utilizing a series of Jesus’ parables as a lens through which we might better see and live into God’s Kingdom in the messy here and now; not a distant destination, but a present, parallel reality which we have a hand in cultivating. In this third entry, we look to the familiar story of a wounded stranger on the roadside and consider the responses of those who happen to be passing by. (sermon begins at 01:00)

Scripture & Quotations

Luke 14:15-24

Matthew 23:4-7

“… this meal was supposed to be a sacred theater of Sabbath righteousness. Instead, it is really only a carnival of the prevailing culture’s prejudices, ambitions, and social barriers.” 

- Thomas G. Long, Proclaiming the Parables: Preaching and Teaching the Kingdom of God

To begin 2025, we are utilizing a series of Jesus’ parables as a lens through which we might better see and live into God’s Kingdom in the messy here and now; not a distant destination, but a present, parallel reality which we have a hand in cultivating. In this third entry, we look to the familiar story of a wounded stranger on the roadside and consider the responses of those who happen to be passing by. (sermon begins at 01:00)

Scripture & Quotations

-Luke 10:25-37

-Horton Hears a Who, by Dr. Seuess

The Christ comes into the midst of ongoing history, not at its end.

- Eugene Boring, An Introduction to the New Testament: History, Literature, Theology

The appearance of the merciful Samaritan on the Jericho road is not simply the arrival of another traveler, a despised enemy, or even a good example. It is, rather, the arrival of another world, an unexpected and life changing reality in which mercy overcomes alienation.

- Thomas G. Long, Proclaiming the Parables: Preaching and Teaching the Kingdom of God

I imagine that the first question the priest and Levite asked was: 'If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?' But by the very nature of his concern, the good Samaritan reversed the question: 'If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?’

- Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love

I am not yet discouraged about the future. Granted, the easygoing optimism of yesteryear is impossible. Granted, that those who pioneered in the struggle for peace and freedom will still face uncomfortable jail terms and painful threats of death; they will still be battered by the storms of persecution, leading them to the nagging feeling that they can no longer bear such a heavy burden; the temptation of wanting to retreat to a more quiet and serene life. Granted, that we face a world crisis which leaves us standing so often amid the surging murmur of life’s restless seas. But every crisis has both its dangers and its opportunities, its valleys of salvation or doom in a dark, confused world. The kingdom of God may yet reign in the hearts of men.

- Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Eulogy for James Reeb

To kick off the New Year we’ll be considering a series of Jesus’ parables, and how they invite us to see and live into God’s Kingdom in the messy here and now; not a distant destination, but a parallel reality that is always breaking through in glimmers and one which we have a hand in creating. In this second week, we look to mustard leaves and yeast to consider the explosive and surprising manner in which God brings certain things into growth. (sermon begins at 01:00)

Scripture & Quotations

- Matthew 13:31-34

- Amos 5:18-24

  Mustard . . .  with its pungent taste and fiery effect is extremely beneficial for the health. It grows entirely wild, though it is improved by being transplanted: but on the other hand when it has once been sown it is scarcely possible to get the place free of it, as the seed when it falls germinates at once.

- Pliny the Elder, Natural History

To kick off the New Year we’ll be considering a series of Jesus’ parables, and how they invite us to see and live into God’s Kingdom in the messy here and now; not a distant destination, but a parallel reality that is always breaking through in glimmers and one which we have a hand in creating. We pray that it would be a blessing to you, wherever you are in your journey. (sermon begins at 01:00)

Scripture & Quotations

- Matthew 25:1-13

EMILY: It goes so fast. We don’t have time to look at one another. I didn’t realize. All that was going on in life, and we never noticed. Take me back – up the hill – to my grave. But first: Wait! One more look. Goodbye, world. Goodbye my beautiful town ... Mama and Papa. Goodbye to clocks ticking, and Mama’s sunflowers. And food and coffee, and new-ironed dresses, and hot baths, and sleeping and waking. Oh, Earth! You’re too wonderful for anybody to realize you…. Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it? I mean every, every minute? 

STAGE MANAGER: No. The saints and poets, maybe they do – some.

- Thornton Wilder, Our Town