Lorna talks about God’s generosity and gentleness in bringing healing in those areas of her life where she has most often felt fear and anxiety. She shares some ‘good news stories’ from a recent holiday, and the truth of Jesus’ familiar words in Matthew 11, that ‘my yoke is easy and my burden is light’.
As Walter’s sabbatical winds down, he shares some reflections from this time. Spoilers: he missed community and rants about AI and dopamine manipulation.
Jonathan Schut shares what he’s been learning about how MCC tries to heed the words of Isaiah 58 in its mission of “envisioning communities in right relationship with God, one another, and creation.” He particularly focused on what he learned on a recent trip to Guatemala.
During our Second Breakfast Potluck, Jess shared a selection of readings about practicing rest, and opened up a conversation about what gets in the way of prioritizing rest in our lives.
Walter used Beethoven’s example of finding joy in the midst of suffering to talk about the value of celebrating joy even when times are hard. (He was going to start listing all the ways in which we’ve been feeling hardship and loss lately, but the music got him too choked up.)
Walter’s homily shares a conversation that resonated with Jesus’ promise in John 14 that the Advocate would teach us everything. He went on to leave us with the paradox that God is in us and beyond us.
Mark explores a story of Jesus’ encounter with a man cast out by a well-off society–a clear illustration of how bringing someone to safety costs someone else their comfort. The gospel story is a challenge particularly to the comfortable: stop protecting our own peace at the expense of others… and start creating safe space, even when it costs.
Today at 2nd Breakfast, Teena shared some thoughts, videos, and quotes, and invited us to wonder about playfulness.
Last Sunday, we were privileged to experience this powerful message from a long-time friend of St. Croix Church, Dr. David Moore. David challenges us to consider the death and resurrection of Jesus as a message of divine solidarity and hope to all the Lazaruses of the world — to all the oppressed, tortured, cast out, and left for dead, Jesus says, “Come out, rise up, this is not the end.”
This Sunday Bradley Jersak shared a beautiful message with us: When we see each other with the “eyes of flesh,” we’re prone to all sorts of mistaken judgments. And when we see the world through “eyes of flesh,” we become overwhelmed and hopeless because we’re blinded to God’s everywhere presence and the beauty and love and light available all the time. But when we learn to “see with our hearts,” it’s as if the world is transfigured and those around us are precious beacons of light and hope. And how’s this for a future: “And every eye will see him, and he will wipe every tear from our eyes. No more suffering, no more death, because the Lamb will be their Shepherd.
