Less Politics, More Neighbor

 July 7, 2024

The Presidential debates of this past June were met by many with frustration and anxiety; they felt like one more sign of the dysfunction and malaise hanging over our political world.

Pastor Rob reflects on Mark 6 when Jesus sends out his disciples. The world they lived in was a world of brutal political and social realities.  Yet Jesus still sent them out.  

It turns out, that Jesus has sending his disciples out over the past 2,000 years, even though the world has been — at all times — complex, fragmented, broken and sinful.  This includes countless Christian women — who couldn’t vote in the 19th century — making quilts to guide slaves along the underground railroad.  The political dysfunction of society does not limit the capacity of disciples to be faithful to God. 

Pastor Rob exhorts us to focus less on the political reality we live in and give more heed to what we can do for our neighbor.

The sermon concludes with a reflection on what this might look like for us to live as a people of hope in this time and place.  

The artwork is from the Smithsonian Museum website.

Tip of the Emotional Iceberg

 June 30, 2024

Sickness is like an iceberg in that we often only see the tip of the situation.  The Gospel writer Mark takes us on a deep dive into the emotional undercurrents of illness, exploring what is going on in the hearts of the families of two women who are healed by Jesus (Mark 5:21-43).  These stories speak to the reality of our emotions, but they also speak to the compassion and faithfulness of Jesus as he moves towards suffering to bring salvation.

The way that Mark tells this story, he not only draws us closer to these two women and their families, but he draws us into the story, inviting us to recall the times in our lives when we’ve encountered chronic and acute illness.  This reveals to us how Jesus is also at work during those times in our life — offering compassion, summoning faith and finally carrying us.

The emotional iceberg comes from a website selling products that can be used for working with people in tough times