Vox Veniae Podcast

Homily Title: Reconstructing Spirituality: From Guilt to Growth While many of the ideas and practices handed down to us about God and the church may have shifted, there is something about Jesus we still find compellingly beautiful. Often, after letting go of what wasn’t working, we struggle to find a way forward that shapes our lives to mirror the Beloved Community of God.  Our Fall Vision series, Reconstructing Rhythms, begins with Christopher Mack inviting us to consider the practice of Rhythm of Life as a way of allowing the simple seed of God’s kin-dom in our lives and world to become a vibrant, yet surprisingly great shrub. [Mark 4:30-32] Reflection  What preconceptions about how God is supposed to work today might actually prevent you and others from growing in God’s Love? Do you sense a distraction you might lay down or change your relationship with over the next month? Is there an area in your life where you wish to take a simple step for the next month in the hope of experiencing growth? Resource Book: Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices that Transform Us by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun PDF: Vox Veniae Rhythm of Life

Claire Kinder, Hannah Friesen, Gena St. David, and Lindsay Stanek share about Vox Veniae’s new global partner, American Friends of Combatants for Peace, and the good work of nonviolent peacemaking happening between Palestinians and Israelis working in solidarity to advance a just peace. [Psalm 133]   Reflection  What is the cost of peace without justice, and who bears it?  What systems am I part of that maintain peace for some and oppression for others?  How can I disturb my comfort to open the way to collective peace rooted in justice? Resource Website: https://www.afcfp.org/contact-us 

What is perpetually draining you of hope and joy?  Aurelia Dávila Pratt encourages us to steward a full cup for our own embodied self and the Body of Christ in relation to our time and how we relate to social media. [1 Corinthians 12:12-26] Reflection  What’s something that quietly energizes you—or helps refill your cup-when you’re feeling drained?  Where in your life are you being invited to pay closer attention, to tend gently and intentionally to what matters most?  What does it mean to belong—to yourself, to others, to something larger—and how does that truth live your body today? Resource Book: How to Focus , by Thich Nhat Hanh

How can I do something for someone else that brings me joy? Vanessa Maleare defines self-care by casting a vision of service as self-care. [1 Peter 4:7-11]   Reflection  What area of helping others bring you joy or energy?  Is there an area of service in which you’d like to grow?  If there is a barrier to you giving your time somewhere, could that barrier be moved in a creative way? Resource Book: How to Be a Living Thing: Meditations on Intuitive Oysters, Hopeful Doves, and Being Human in the World by Mari Andrew

What’s your favorite call to adventure? Christopher Mack hears the call to reconsider our relationship with the status quo as we are invited to daily form Beloved Community. [Luke 14:25-33]   Reflection  Where do you feel an invitation to subvert the values and expectations of the status quo? How might a cruciform vision of spirituality challenge you? Is there a way you might explore the practice of awakening to the Divine Presence daily this week? Resource Book: Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer  by Richard Rohr Book: Present Perfect: Finding God in the Now by Greg Boyd

How do you know when you are standing on your own sacred ground? Christopher Mack imagines a table where we are not serving our unhealthy fixations and impulses, but are living out of attachment to God’s Inclusive and Transformative Love. [Luke 14:1, 7-14] Reflection  Which strategy for pursuing happiness seems primary for you right now? Who might you share your honest experience of life with this week? Is there someone you. Might invite to experience the radical love and grace of God’s Beloved Community this week? Resource Book: Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices that Transform Us by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun

Is there an object of place that connects you to prayer? Amy Wolfgang dusts the cobwebs off the ritual of the rosary prayer, from their religious upbringing, infusing it with joy and sacredness in our lives and being. [Revelation 12]   Reflection  Can you take a moment to meditate on the needs of a person or group you might pray for intercession for this week? Where has God invited you into a “queer-ing” of your experience of Christianity? If Mary spans the divine and human, interceding on our behalf and welcoming us to heaven; how can you take the next small step to root your prayers in spiritual and earthly action? Resource Book: Birthing the Holy: Wisdom from Mary to Nurture Creativity and Renewal by Christine Valters Paintner Website: Pride Resources Mentioned in Homily

What gives people power in Western societies? Eric Robinson cultivates compassion and curiosity around how we relate to power in light of the cross and resurrection, as we seek to embody a multicultural and diverse body of Christ. [Isaiah 11]   Reflection Where is God calling you to lean more into the cross? Where is God inviting you to embrace resurrection? How might you intentionally change one thing in your life this week to live out the Peaceable Kingdom?

What is the difference between an encounter and an interaction? Caroline Cody explores the merciful Samaritan parable through the lens of how we can open ourselves more fully to people we encounter in our paths. [Luke 10:25-42]   Reflection What is a creative way you can show up differently to put yourself more in the way of others? Who might Jesus have pointed to as your “neighbor” if you could ask him today? In what ways can we also embody care for our neighbor like Mary, by sitting at the feet of Jesus?

What is your life desperate for? Jennifer Cumberbatch of Full Measure preaches about how we our desperate for connection to the life of God and deep relationship with one another, and how Christ embodies this Hope and in-breaking reality.  [Colossians 2:6-15]   Reflection What am I desperate for or about? How would it look to truly be alive without guilt? Can you ask God to restore your hope in Christ