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Showing posts from June, 2015

"Do not fear, just believe." a fearless call to worship. (Mark 5:21-43)

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Jesus, you healed the untouchable and gave life to the dead. In our doubt you told us, “Do not fear, just believe.” Jesus, you are in the midst of us; healing and loving. When we shy away from our call as Christians to love as you loved, remind us, “Do not fear, just believe.” Jesus, you are present to us in our suffering. You walk alongside us in grief. You mourn the hatred that ensnares all of us. When we feel as if we cannot love anymore, encourage us, “Do not fear, just believe.” Jesus, you fearlessly faced the cross of our hatred. You fearlessly loved those whom society rejected. You fearlessly spoke truth to power. Grant us the perspective to see all around us as our neighbors so that we might not fear the stranger, but believe that they are children of God.  Grant us patience to be present to those with whom we disagree that we might not fear their view point, but believe that they have passion and integrity just as we do.  Grant us the courage to speak truth to power

Luke 22: Jesus' Good Politics and Wartime Propaganda

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The 22 nd Chapter of Luke has a scope that transcends what a brief bible study could cover. To adequately reflect on this story of the prelude to Christ’s Passion the church sets aside a Holy Week. Holy Week for us normally begins with “Palm Sunday” but Luke and Mark both do not have an account of the Jesus’ arrival into Jerusalem on a Colt or Donkey. All of the Gospel accounts, however, place their account of the Passion narrative during the Passover festival, which makes the account of Christ’s journey to the cross undeniably connected to the use of lambs’ blood to protect the firstborn of the Hebrew slaves in Egypt from death . During Passover, Jesus institutes one of two of our sacraments: the Lord’s Supper, and called us to repeatedly come together and eat and remember. The Lord’s Supper as the powerful “sign act” of remembering and receiving the real presence of Christ contributes to how we are saved as Christians. But we can also acknowledge something else about the Lord’s S

A Resolute Call to Worship (2 Corinthians 6:1-13)

When life demands of us more than we think we can give, never give up! When our relationships are broken and reconciliation seems impossible stand firm! When nature becomes a source of destruction in our lives, never give up! When we witness our communities becoming a source of destruction in the lives of the marginalized and oppressed and we are called to respond, stand firm! When we experience affliction, hardship, and calamity, never give up! When living into the love of Christ becomes a costly endeavor, stand firm! When the forces of evil interfere with our capacity to be agents of Christ’s love in the world, never give up! When fear of the stranger causes us to waver in our duty to be an inclusive church, stand firm!

Luke Chapter 21 "The Temple and the Titanic"

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It ’s always important to remember when reading scripture that things like chapter/verse numbers, pericope(story) headings like, “The Widow’s Mite,” and even punctuation found in scripture were not included in the original versions of what we read today. Chapter 21 of Luke’s gospel is distinctive from Ch. 20. In Ch. 20, as you might remember, we encountered Jesus’ tit-for-tats with religious authorities and community leaders. There are no such confrontations in Ch. 21, rather we see Jesus where he seems to belong: in the temple teaching and preaching. That being said, an interesting segue has occurred for us regarding the Widow’s offering: Ch. 20 45  In the hearing of all the people he said to the disciples, 46  “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets. 47 They devour widows ’ houses and for the sake of appearance say l