Matthew 5:1-13

There is no blessing for those who place order above wholeness, or the law above what is truly right. But there is a blessedness beyond reason to those who place wholeness and righteousness above human whims.

John 1:1-14

We will only be able to worship this tiny, fragile baby Jesus, when we dwell in his presence with those who are vulnerable.

Luke 2:1-20

Christ is brave enough, strong enough, powerful enough to stand the smell of this world, the ugly reality we know, the darkness all around us, and invite it into his eternal light.

Luke 1:26-38

Joy makes us live in new ways, with new habits, and new families, and new responsibilities, because we are called to herald the complicated, yet saving birth of Jesus Christ. We are called to herald new life—each and every time—by choosing joy.

Job 19:23-27a

Before any social or material change to his circumstances, and before anything concretely changes in his life, Job’s redemption comes in the form of an authentic articulation of his inner life.

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7

Once we shake up the etch-a-sketch, and we accept the reality of our circumstances, that’s when we get to have fun. Try drawing a new image, in a new style, with a different story. You can use that image you drew to give inspiration to the next; our dreaming was practice for the new dreams ahead of us.

DEUTERONOMY 30:15-20

In the exodus from Egypt, in wandering in the wilderness, in observing the sabbath, in building the homes of God, and in prophesying against injustice, we see that choosing life places us on a path that is anything but straightforward; and we see that choosing life requires choosing it again and again.

Galatians 6:1-16

Paul writes to the church of Galatia about the obsession to be right and its close bedfellow: the obsession to gain power over others. But Christ’s crucifixion gives us a very different set of rules and affections, ones which will surely lead us to plant seeds for tomorrow.

Luke 9:51-62

Let the dead bury the dead, and let’s start making room for the living. Everything depends on plowing a furrow ahead, getting ready for the Spirit’s seeds of hope, and anticipating a harvest that our children and grandchildren will reap.

Acts 2:1-21

The Spirit pours out flames upon each of us, not for the sake of growing our finances, or for the sake of larger membership, but for the sake of our neighbors. We’re not a cargo freighter at sea; we’re a dinghy on a lake, and when we open our sail, can easily catch the wind of the Spirit.

ASCENSION OF THE LORD ∙ Acts 1:1-11

These disciples are rubbernecked to heaven — to a spiritual event of the past, and a ministry of the past, and their ways of the past. In trying to figure it out, they forgot about Jesus’ words: “To Jerusalem, to Judea, to Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5

The church has never, ever, ever been called to tune out. It has been called to be tuned-in, with a heart and set of eyeglasses that give it a different lens: a bifocal faith.

Acts 11:1-18

Peter saw everything he was taught to avoid, and everything he was taught to reject, coming down in a sheet. He was being called by God to support and love Samaritans and eunuchs and Romans and foreigner gentiles. He was being asked to transgress the boundaries he formed and the lines in the sand he drew.

Acts 9:1-20

Saul’s physical impairment was a mark of the resurrection, a mark of his inner journey toward Christ, and a mark of his gestating faith. In meeting the risen Christ, in what might seem paradoxical, Saul loses his sight and receives wholeness.

Luke 9:28-36

For men who often lack friendships and emotional intimacy with others, it is extremely uncomfortable to chart a path toward a connection and belonging to others in Christ. But singing together—like times in Scouting and even military service—provides a ritual that moves us toward connection.

Luke 3

Baptism was the start of Jesus’ ministry among us, stirring him to a life of radical peace, hospitality, healing, and hope. We see, flowing from Jesus’ baptism a life that was marked by relationships with the poor, sick, and morally disreputable. And that same baptism is wrapped around our waists, too, leading us back to the love and grace of our Creator.

John 11

All Saints' Day is when we break the silence on grief—pull the cork out of the bottle together—and acknowledge that to be alive, means to have a relationship to death. Life, and death, are always talking to each other.

Mark 10:17-31

Being a disciple of Jesus isn't about following the script and checking the right boxes that are found on the pages of our Bibles and Book of Confessions. It’s to become alive and participate in the music of the Gospel, to be changed and follow the voice of our Creator and Great Composer, to encounter the Spirit within and around and behind our vocations as baptized people.

Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-25

“The man who tried to be a superhero has come to realize that he’s not a superhero. Worse yet, Moses made himself a martyr by his own hand — trying to be so faithful, so righteous, so perfect, that he inadvertently destroys himself and his neighbors."

Mark 5:21-43

What is God calling you to interrupt? What injustices are holding this planet back from God’s love? What conversations need to happen to interrupt bias or social scripts or structural obstacles? And how can you pull on the hem of Jesus’ garment, reaching out in courage?