I think of the impact Jesus Christ has had
On human history….
And on my life.
Then I dialogue with him.
I tell him what it is about him
That appeals to me the most
And listen to what he says in reply.
I tell him which of his words
Had the greatest impact on me
And how those words have influenced my life.
His disciples sometimes speak
Of his presence in their lives.
I think of when I first felt His presence in my life.
-Marianne Dreyspring
A gracious, wide crape myrtle stands in our yard near the street.
During certain times of the year, leaves and seed pods from that lovely tree fall in just such a pattern as to block a few critical inches of our driveway. The drainage path to the curb gets clogged up.
And then I find myself pulling up during a rainstorm to step out of the car into ankle-deep water. I slosh across the driveway to that one corner and, in my already sodden shoes, kick the minuscule, problematic bundle of leaves, seed pods, and twigs out into the water flowing along the gutter. Continue reading Lenten Reflection from Jennifer Sanders: Stuck and Unstuck
Concerning the why and how and what and who of ministry,
One image keeps surfacing: A table that is round.
“Mitakuye oyasin” is an expression from the Lakota Sioux language. It reflects the worldview of interconnectedness held by indigenous peoples of North America. The phrase translates as “all my relatives,” “we are all related,” or “all my relations.”
It is a prayer of oneness and harmony with all forms of life: other people, animas, birds, insects, trees and plants, and even rocks, rivers, mountains and valleys.
Continue reading Lenten Reflection from Neko Linda: Mitakuye Oyasin
Listen to Marta Gómez singing Manos de Mujeres (translation below).
Hands of Women Continue reading Lenten Reflection from Palmer Maxwell: Hands of Women
“Of course, pain or disappointment threatens whatever sense of wholeness we may have reached. This is a fragile balance. Life is a fragile and unpredictable journey; anything can happen. But the wisdom traditions tell us that these trials and tribulations can also be integrated. The suffering can be integrated as a way of deepening and intensifying our experience of wholeness.”
-from Health & Wholeness by Laurence Freeman, OSB
Today’s reflection comes from Rev. Angie’s parting words to us at her final service with us last month.
I once had a dream that I was given a very sacred duty of safely carrying a very large, very fragile vessel across a fallen log suspended over a raging river.
I dropped it.
Continue reading Lenten Reflection from Rev. Angie Wright: The Promise
“Did you mean to die like that, was that a mistake? Or did you know your messy death would be a record breaker?” ! ! ! ! !
– Judas in Jesus Christ, SuperStar
As Easter people, we are called to be in the presence of the Christ.
As present day humans, we did not personally know Jesus as a man. He was not a friend whose presence was felt and then his absence endured. We are asked to know his presence, now, within us.
When those we love so deeply, for so long, or perhaps briefly, change or influence our lives, perhaps even the course of our lives, dies, we have a presence/absence/presence relationship.
So, I used to think that I don’t “do” Lent. The part about fasting or giving up something for 40 days is just hard for me to get with.
Continue reading Lenten Reflection from Robyn Hyden: Am I Really Doing This?
Blue Transformation, by Macha Chmakoff
Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke with them.
Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face; but whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he would take the veil off, until he came out; and when he came out, and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, the Israelites would see the face of Moses, that the skin of his face was shining; and Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with him. -Exodus 34:29-35
Continue reading Sermon from Rev. Chris Hamlin: In God’s presence
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