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Fear, Love, and Holy Disruption
A sermon on Matthew 1:18-25. [For an audio recording of this sermon, click here. Photo by Majestic Lukas on Unsplash.com] Last week, we heard Mary’s response to her divine pregnancy in the form of her song of praise, and I shared my wonder at her ability to respond with such eagerness to the total disruption of her life. This week, we get Joseph’s reaction, and at first glance it is much more understandable than Mary’s, although still laudable. He learns that the girl he is s
Receiving Meditation
(This is a meditation intended to be done in a group. If you are engaging this practice on your own, you may use the embedded image when you reach the section of the meditation for receiving a word - simply close your eyes and ask God to guide you to your word, then open your eyes. The word your eyes see first is your gifted word.) It’s the time of year when we tend to get asked what we want. Loved ones and friends want to show us they care by giving us a gift for Christmas,
Holy Disruption and the Upside-Down Kingdom
A sermon on Luke 1:46-55. [ for an audio recording of this semon, click here. Photo by Trevin Rudy on Unsplash] I had an interesting experience this week. I had a meeting at my son’s school with one of the administrators. He was interacting with me as the parent of one of his students, so as he was bidding me farewell in the hallway he said, “Bye, Mom. Thanks for coming in.” I am used to being addressed as “mom” in contexts where the adults know me through my children, so I t
Stone Meditation
The first step in any transformation is to name that which needs to be released. When we name the things that bind us – whether past experiences or future expectation; fears, or wishes, or frustrations, or losses – we loosen their grip on us. When we can acknowledge the ways in which we have been locked into one way of being, we can begin to imagine something different for ourselves. We can prepare our hearts to welcome God’s revelation of a way forward that does not simply r
Repentance and Holy Disruption
A sermon on Matthew 3:1-12 [for an audio recording of this sermon, click here. Photo by Brandon Hoogenboom on Unsplash.] I have never been especially drawn to the character of John the Baptist. Perhaps it was the shock of learning what “locusts” were, when I was a little girl, and retching a little at the idea of someone crunching on bugs as a major source of their nutrition. Or maybe it is the imagery of a man out in the desert dressed in hides, and the leap my mind just aut
Breathing Meditation
[Meditation drawing on readings from Genesis 1:1-5, and Isaiah 40:1-5] Just as God began the forming work of creation by breathing over the chaos of the waters, so we begin the forming work of our meditation with our breath. Breathe in slowly. Hold. Then breathe out. Breathe. Be Still. Breathe out. As you pull the air in, receive it as a gift. As you let it out, allow it to pull away whatever thoughts, or tensions, or discomfort could distract you. Breathe slowly, and deeply,
Holy Questions
A sermon on Matthew 24:36-44. [for sermon audio recording, click here. Photo by Hans-Peter Gauster on Unsplash] This past Sunday, during coffee hour, we held a pre-Advent activity introducing the theme that will be shaping our worship over the next 4 weeks. That theme is (as I just shared in the children’s sermon) “Holy Disruption,” and to get us thinking about what that pairing of words might mean, I invited the participants to first do some word association with each of th
