faith

John 9:1-41-"Clearing the Way for Christ: Seeing First with Fresh Eyes (COVID #1)"

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Synopsis:

Jesus heals a man born blind. His disciples assume he is born blind because of his parent’s sin, but Jesus tells them this is not so, spits in the mud, rubs it on his eyes, and sends him to wash in a pond. Immediately, everyone in town who knows this man start asking questions, and the religious authorities get involved. Because Jesus heals on the sabbath (using religious rules as a technicality rather than celebrating this man has been healed), the Pharisees are outraged and interrogate the man who is now seeing for the first time in his life with fresh, healed eyes. They want him to agree that Jesus is a sinner for healing him on the sabbath and that Jesus is a charlatan. With great humility and simplicity the man responds, “Look, all I know is I was blind, and now I see.” No matter our level of sight impairment, the trans-formative power of the Gospel illuminates our mind’s eye to imagine new possibilities beyond the situations into which we are born. We are invited to re-imagine our lives (through dreaming), our relationships (through reconciliation), our homes (through clearing), and our communities (through peacemaking and justice) with fresh eyes as if we were seeing the world for the first time.

Jeremiah 29:4-14 - "Into Exile: Bloom Where You Are Planted"

Synopsis: Jeremiah challenges the Hebrews carried away in captivity to Babylon. He invites them to see exile not as a short transition period but as an opportunity to bloom where God has planted them. They are invited to build houses, plant vineyards, have children, and God promises to give them a future, “for I know the plans I have for you says the Lord…” Wherever we find ourselves in our journey, God gives us the opportunity to see ourselves as agents of God’s reconciliation as we bear witness to God’s love, compassion, and justice in our communities and lives.

Keywords: Jeremiah, Exile, hope, future, mission, faith, courage, wisdom, incarnation, presence, love, community

"The Courage to Be" - Jeremiah 17:5-10

Jeremiah and the Hebrew Prophets preach against three sins of the people: idolatry, ritualism, and social injustice. These three sins are all rooted in giving people a false sense of security, but true trust in God come from the courage (from the Latin cor meaning “heart”) to be authentic, vulnerable, and honest with ourselves, with others, and with God. The Christian practices of confession and repentance protect us from the temptations to live under the weight of legalism and perfectionism which drive us to destructive choices, but Jeremiah tells us that those who trust in the Lord will be like trees planted by water.

Keywords: Courage, vulnerability, authenticity, repentance, honesty, confession, Baptists, Mister Rogers, truth, trust, faith