Scripps Sundays

"What does the empty tomb mean to you?" This was the question that they posed at Union today. Renee noted that “empty” often is a negative word--- empty room, empty pocket, empty wallet, etc. It points to the the lack of something. But Easter points to something wildly different. Empty reminds us that this is not the end of the story. Easter reminds us that God is not done with us and all the messy and broken parts of our stories.  What are the messy things you need to bring to God and ask for grace because it feels like too much? Where do you need encouragement that God is not done with you or with that situation? Where do you need encouragement that this is not the end of the story?   All the “isms”- racism, sexism, classism, imperialism, etc.--- all the ways we wound our lives, the lives of others, and the life of the world--- these do not have the final word. Easter reminds us that God’s mercy and grace have the last word. He is risen indeed! I am so grateful you got to...

We had Zion Lily over for one of our Monday night dinners this past week, and she was sharing about what she is learning in the Seattle School where she is getting trained as a therapist.  She said that she took a class where they had a listening lab, where they really practiced listening skills in a more in-depth way than she'd ever done before. She described true active listening like a comet- where the head of the comet is the person sharing their story. The person listening is the tail of the comet and is listening so intently and following where the head of the comet leads them. The thing about true listening is that it is very vulnerable because we are open to going on a journey we may not have imagined and we are open to being changed by what the person shares.  Of course I thought of you as you are such a wonderful deep listener. Thank you for your willingness to be changed with your curiosity and love and authenticity that you show to others again and again. 

   

 

This is for you to open now so that you can have it on your phone but to read again next Sunday, March 24th since I don't know what your internet access will be there in Antarctica..... 💙 For What You Find on the Mountaintop We thank you for allowing us to journey up. That we would be able to see a place not just from within it but from a distance is a gift we do not readily comprehend. Here, as we look out at what seems as if it can fit in the palm of our hand, remind us of beauty’s vastness. In this moment may we be both large and small. Remind us that beauty isn’t merely for our consumption, but that it is something to be protected. Grow in us a wonder that is willing to bow to the beauty of the natural world, that it would be a path to humility and not ego. That we would understand it does not exist for us, but it is our divine fortune that we would be moved by it. And we are moved, God. May this view form us and keep us, as we allow our souls to remain stirred when we retur...

 two reflections for you today as you go on this grand adventure and soak up so much wonder.... For Beauty in the Mundane God of every beautiful thing, make us people of wonder. Show us how to hold on to nuance and vision when our souls become addicted to pain, to the unlovely. It is far easier to see the gloom and decay; so often it sings a louder song. Attune our hearts to the good still stirring in our midst, not that we would give ourselves to toxic positivity or neglect the pain of the world, but that we would be people capable of existing in the tension. Grant us habits of sacred pause. Let us marvel not just at the grand or majestic, but beauty’s name etched into every ordinary moment. Let the mundane swell with a mystery that makes us breathe deeper still. And by this, may we be sustained and kept from despair.  -Cole Arthur Riley, Black Liturgies   The sun was too intense. I could not take in the view without raising my hand to block the disc of the sun. Now I co...

    

I read this sermon below today on gratitude and pulled out some key pieces that I thought you would really appreciate..... Giving thanks for YOU today!  2013 10 years later-- 2023 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ---------------------------------------------- My question today has been: Grateful? What has that got to do with  now ? How do we live in times like these? What does gratitude have to do with it? The text that I chose is the text from 1 Thessalonians 5:12-18 that was just read, “be at peace among yourselves.” A very familiar text that ends with these famous words, “rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” One of my main memories of this text is from years ago, when I was visiting a friend in seminary, I got really sick. I don't k...

   

I read this passage this week and thought of this picture we’ve had in our kitchen for years with the same verse from the Message: Salt and Light 13  “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage. 14-16  “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.   Read this a few times this week and consider the follo...