Normally, I would tie the spiritual practice of the month to the focus passage for the week, and in some ways, what I'm about to share does tie in in that the people in the gospel story for this week showed up with an expectation, with a hope, with faith. But today's sharing is much more personal. Today, I'm headed out for two retreats: the first is a Mission Madness Workshop at Belk Park in Wood River. For three years, we worked side by side with local agencies at least twice a month to support their work in the community and to offer our embodied prayer through mission work. We have continued that work in the last year remotely, working in our homes, checking in via Zoom, and it has been good, but we long to be back together in person and to work alongside those agencies again. It is hard, with varying policies in place during the transition and folks in different places with comfort levels around vaccinations for various reasons. We are excited to be able to work together outdoors to keep our commitments to those working diligently in our community for those who are in need. Showing up in whatever way one can to do what God has called us to do is obedience.  

The second retreat is a Prayer Art Retreat at Von Dell Gallery & Studios, also in Wood River. I have one person registered. One. It takes me back to five years ago ... four years ago ... even three years ago when I was working hard to get A Place of Grace off the ground. I can't count the hours I spent alone waiting for someone to come or the number of retreats I led with one participant. After a year of COVID, it feels like I'm starting all over when I had literally just gotten this thing off the ground. I'm not the only one. Small business owners/ministry leaders such as myself all over the world are struggling with the same challenges: How do we welcome with hospitality those who are feeling anxious about being out and in group settings? How do we combat Zoom-fatigue, particularly in weather that lures people into their yards vs their dining room tables or offices? I don't have the answers to those questions. Like everyone else, I'm trying my best to figure it out. But obedience to this call, obedience to the One who has remained faithful through this challenging time, requires that I show up.

It would have been easy to stay home today, to decide it wasn't worth loading my van to the gills to move from one thing to the other and unload and reload multiple times. So easy. But obedience is not about taking the easy path. Obedience is about showing up. Obedience is about loving our neighbors and doing our best to provide safe spaces for them to share in community. Obedience is about proclamation of the Word and the shelter and nurture of humankind. So today, I'm showing up, and like the father of the dying girl and the woman who has been bleeding for years, I am trusting God will be present ... that God will provide ... that God will heal what is broken. Where is obedience calling you to show up this week?

Gather, you faithful.
Gather around the teacher,
around the hope he offers,
around the proclamation of the Good News.

Come, you believers.
Press in.
Name the healing you desire
for yourself 
and others.

Fall at the feet of the Savior.
In fear and trembling, touch the garments ...
speak your truth.
Do not fear ...
only believe.

​The windstorms of life arise
and threaten us,
but God is present with us in the storm.
The waves rock the boat
and terrify us
and make us ill,
but God is present with us in the storm.
We are overwhelmed
by the incessant onslaught
coming at us from every direction,
but God is present with us in the storm.
Even when we are afraid
and questioning our faith,
God is present with us,
speaking peace to our spirits
in the midst of the chaos.
Let us worship God,
whom even the wind and sea
​obey.

This week's passage (Mark 4:26-34) centers on parables. Jesus used stories to help his followers understand his message. Storytelling as sabbath practice is not just a wonderful conversation starter, but a discipline. In fact, the PC(USA) has included storytelling in its list of five individual and communal Essential Practices grounded in scripture. While Jesus does not give us a command in this passage, he does set an example. Obedience leads us to follow the example set for us in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, who told stories of God's activity in the world. These stories illustrate the ways in which God has been at work throughout the history of the world and continues to work today. Our job as followers of this storyteller is to continue to share these stories, authentically and with love. With whom can you share the stories of God's activity in your world this week? 

Call to Confession

All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) Let us confess our sin before God and seek God's mercy.

Prayer of Confession

Forgive us, O God.
We plant our seeds of hope in you,
and we despair when we do not see them grow
and bloom
and bear fruit.
Seeds of justice seem to dry up
when the calls for fairness drift on the wind.
Seeds of mercy seem to disappear
when those who need it come from different places --
geographically or politically or theologically or socially --
than us.
Seeds of peace themselves explode
in boiling soil under the white hot blaze
of nationalism
and egocentricity.
We do not listen to your explanations,
do not accept your subverted methodology,
do not wait patiently for your seeds of love to grow
in us,
to change us,
to transform our way of thinking.
Be gracious with us,
and teach us to show grace to others.
Have mercy on us, we pray,
and teach us to be merciful.
Quiet our minds and spirits
that we may hear your still, small voice in the storm
and bear the fruit of peace ourselves
​to a world that longs for hope.

Assurance of God's Grace

God has promised that when we confess our sin, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive us our sin, removing it as far as the east is from the west, and remembering it no more. (1 John 1:9, Psalm 103:12, Hebrews 8:12) In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Thanks be to God!

Since God has forgiven us in Christ, let us also forgive one another.
The peace of Christ be with you.
Please extend the peace of Christ to all whom you encounter this day.

The kin-dom of God is growing,
like seeds planted and left to sprout.
By the mercy of God, it is growing,
offering shelter to all who seek it.
The kind-dom of God is growing
until such time as the harvest is ready.
Join in the training for kin-dom planting.
Join in the active waiting for kin-dom harvest.
Sower, seed, and shelter,
​worship the Lord!

The focus passage for this week is Mark 3:20-35. In vs. 35, Jesus tells the gathered crowd that "the person who obeys God's will is his brother or sister or mother." (The Message) What does it mean to obey God's will? Many will point to the ten commandments as God's will, but Jesus boiled the commandments down to two, summing up the law and the prophets: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. This is God's will for us. To love. 

Loving is more than being kind. Being kind is kindness, and that is part of loving, but it is not all of loving. Loving is be respectful and thoughtful. It is listening to another person and responding to what they need the best way you can. Sometimes loving means moving out of our comfort zone. Sometimes loving means standing up for them. It always means meeting them where they are, and walking alongside in a way that honors their truth. 

Obedience to God this week is loving God in action and in truth, and loving God is loving our neighbors, the stranger, the enemy, and the marginalized. Loving them ... not tolerating or enduring or ignoring or politely imposing your own will ... but loving them. May it be so.

Call to Confession

​"Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter," Jesus said. (Mark 3:28) Let us confess our sins and blasphemies, and seek God's mercy. 

Prayer of Confession

Forgive us, God.
Your church has become a rumor mill,
creating false narratives ...
alternative facts ...
fake news ...
out and out lies ...
about justice work
because it threatens our egos
and our separateness.
We have distorted your message
for our own purposes,
to secure our positions.
We have revised history 
to support the belief
that we are your chosen,
and not those who don't look like us,
who don't love like us,
who don't live like us.
We are not who you have called us to be.
Have mercy on us!
Teach us to obey your law of love
with hearts that are open,
transformed by your grace
and overflowing with gratitude, 
that we may truly be called your siblings
and live, indeed, as those who are.

Assurance of God's Grace

Jesus said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3:34b-35) In the name of Jesus Christ, our sibling, we are forgiven. Thanks be to God!

Since God has forgiven us in Christ, let us also forgive one another.
The peace of Christ be with you.
Please extend the peace of Christ to all whom you encounter this day. 

The end has come for the Disruptor.
Jesus has come 
and has bound up evil,
so that it no longer has a stronghold.
Let all who believe gather.
Let Christ's siblings gather together.
In obedience to God's commands, 
let us gather in worship,
united in love.