To kick off the New Year we’ll be considering a series of Jesus’ parables, and how they invite us to see and live into God’s Kingdom in the messy here and now; not a distant destination, but a parallel reality that is always breaking through in glimmers and one which we have a hand in creating. In this second week, we look to mustard leaves and yeast to consider the explosive and surprising manner in which God brings certain things into growth.

To kick off the New Year we’ll be looking to a series of Jesus’ parables as an invitation to see and live into God’s Kingdom in the messy here and now; not a distant destination, but a parallel reality that is always breaking through in glimmers and one which we have a hand in creating.

For the Fourth Sunday of Advent, we look to the elusive text of Revelation and discover an unlikely vision of Christmas hope. In our time of intense conflict and anxiety, how might the presence of an unexpected visitor to the manger help us to receive anew the gift of Christ’s coming as a warning to the powerful and hope to the hopeless?

During what can easily become the noisiest, most chaotic time of year, how might we embrace an intentional quiet to center our attention on the enchanted power of God’s Incarnation? Considering an often overlooked portion of the Christmas story, we witness how the gift of holy silence prepared the hearts of a faithful couple to receive the new thing that God was preparing.

The season of Advent arrives once again to shake us from our spiritual slumber; to hear and respond to the desert call of our newborn King. Will our hearts prepare him room?

The corrupt systems of worldly power would like nothing more than for you to believe that the “other” is your enemy rather than your sibling. In a time of ceaseless division and upheaval, empathy is critical to develop if these fractures are ever to be mended. As Jesus arrives to meet friends in the midst of grief, what does his response reveal about the heart of God?

Reflecting upon several core values we hope to embody as a community, we consider generosity through the encounter of Jesus and a disgraced tax collector. Zacchaeus’ greed brought no satisfaction, only distance from relationship, until Jesus calls him by name into the unexpected possibility of reconciliation.

In a culture obsessed with performance and comparison, it is easy to be misread Jesus' parable through the lens of judgment, fixated on the condition and “fruitfulness” of the soil. But what if God has lovingly hidden a better, truer story in plain sight? The choice is yours.

Humanity has always desired a “king” to swoop into the mess of the world and fix everything for us, rarely considering the oppressive realities which often occur as a result of placing our trust in earthly rulers. In the midst of a starkly divided, and deeply disorienting election season, we are reminded that our allegiance is not to any state or nation or party or hollow political promise. We pledge a higher allegiance.

Even with the compassion of Jesus directly in front of him, Peter cannot help but let his attention be drawn into comparison with the so-called “beloved” disciple now arriving to the scene. “What about [them]?” is a question we all navigate to some degree, as though certain that others must experience a greater divine favor. Join us as we seek to dismantle that destructive lie, and allow yourself to receive the boundless love of God meeting you precisely where and as you are.

Having been part of a crowd of five thousand fed with only a few loaves of bread, a group crosses the Sea of Galilee in search of Jesus, as their hunger has now returned. Jesus’ response echoes the deliverance of Exodus, and a renewed invitation to abide in the promise of daily provision. In a relentless world of FAST and MORE, rhythms of Sabbath and sanctuary help to restore our humanity and humility as finite beings.

In the Creation story, God empowers humankind to a shared vocation of care and service, which Adam rejects by separating himself from Eve in an act of othering and blame. Power over the “other” has divided humanity in conflict ever since. Jesus upends this dynamic with his disciples, granting them shared power to join in the collaborative work of his New Creation. How will we as a community embody that renewed call to mutuality and shared stewardship?

When Jesus heals a blind man in Bethsaida, it doesn't happen all at once, the full restoration of his sight only coming after a second pass. We either settle for the blur of "walking trees", or look more closely, discovering perhaps that when God's presence comes into focus, hope for everything else seems to as well.

As we inhabit a time of civilizational turbulence, the individual and communal experience of worry is inevitable. As Jesus shares wisdom from a hilltop, he invites the gathered crowd to consider how deeply their (our) anxieties are rooted in control and isolation in the face of challenging and unjust realities. What might a practice look like to respond to anxiety with a humble awareness that begins to draw us out of ourselves, and into connection and active hope?

As the Savior departs, and his people await the promised arrival of the Spirit, this newly empowered community faces its first big decision “on their own”. How they handle it is a peculiar and perhaps liberating glimpse into the improvisational nature of our call to faithful engagement within the complexities of the spaces we inhabit.

Through this series, we have been engaging with the significant encounters which Jesus initiates following the Resurrection. Peter bears the weight of shame following his denial on the night of Jesus’ arrest, only to discover that his “failure” was unknowing preparation for the next chapter of the story.

During this season of Eastertide, we are engaging with the particular encounters which Jesus initiates with his disciples following the Resurrection. A fishing expedition comes up empty until the stranger calls from onshore, proposing that they think differently. As a people called to cultivate communities of care and belonging, are we “casting our net to the other side,” or sticking with what we think we know?

During this season of Eastertide, we are engaging with the particular encounters which Jesus initiates with his disciples following the Resurrection. Thomas needed to see with his own eyes, and is met with grace and understanding. Jesus comes back bearing the marks to remind us that ours need not be hidden either. When we abide in the love of God, tending to the wounded in community, we participate in the ever-unfolding resurrection story.

During the season of Eastertide, we will consider the particular encounters which Jesus initiates with his disciples following the Resurrection. Two followers walk the road away from Jerusalem in grief, and a stranger joins them on the road. In the midst of story, hospitality, and the breaking of bread, Jesus appears for a glorious and fleeting moment. We ask: how will we embody the resurrection life as a people always looking for the face of Jesus in that of the supposed stranger?

It was a profound joy to celebrate our first Resurrection Sunday together! The message was from “short ending” of Mark; reflecting the uncertainty and fear we often battle, even in the face of good news. Like the women departing from the tomb, we have a choice. Do we truly believe these things we have heard but not seen? If so, we must then decide where will we go, whom we will tell, how we will embody and share this good news of love and liberation which is for all people.