Vox Veniae Podcast

Where might we compassionately reconsider the messages we are embodying and passing on? On the seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost, Christopher Mack wonders how we might learn to use our words to build a more compassionate world for ourselves and others. [James 3]   Reflection Are there words of wisdom you can immerse yourself in over the coming weeks? Who is someone whose wise presence you might seek out and from whose practice you might learn? How might you choose life giving words for family, friends, and social media this season?

What excites you about what Vox is (or could be) creating?  On the sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Kimberly Culbertson propels us into creative tension as we consider our communal gait. [Matthew 13:31-34]   Reflection How often have you seen yourself as a vital part of the church body versus as a recipient of church services? How does the concept of tensegrity shift the way you think about the Vox value of participation? Do you see Vox as part of a new imagination or new movement of the church? And if so, what does this energize you toward?

If our practice of faith is to be aligned with the way of Christ, what are we invited to embody? practice? On the fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Weylin Lee grounds us in a nonreactive posture of engaging with presence and intention toward others. [James 1:22-27] Reflection How might our posture of listening facilitate a healthier practice of faith? What does a more freeing and sustainable practice of faith look like for us? How is our practice of faith being guided by the most vulnerable around us? Resources Book: This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories that Make Us by Cole Arthur Riley  

What comes to mind when you think of Christ’s power? On the fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Christopher Mack examines the armor of the oppressive Roman Empire, and how it was reimagined as strength for creative nonviolent resistance in challenging and tumultuous times. [Ephesians 6:10-20]   Reflection How might you practice pivoting toward God’s Peace in this season? What does it mean to experience God’s Peace without detaching from challenges around you? How might we creatively embody God’s Peace for our loved ones? For those marginalized?

When you think of wisdom, what do you usually think of? On the thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Lilly Ettinger sees in Wisdom not boredom, over-spiritualizing, or dry asceticism, but joy, celebration, and a way of seeing clearly. Wisdom is an invitation to really live. [Proverbs 9:1-6]   Reflection How does the imagery of Wisdom building a house and preparing a feast invite me to live this week? How do the metaphors of Wisdom resonate with my understanding of spiritual nourishment and growth? What does the invitation to “Leave your impoverished confusion and live!” (The Message) mean for me? Resources Quote: “We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us.” -9th Step Promises, Big Book AA Quote on Hospitality: “We make sure we always create space to welcome others” -Lilly Ettinger

How much do I look to God as I try to discern what is true and good? On the twelfth Sunday after Pentecost, Kimberly Culbertson acknowledges that to speak the truth requires us to wrestle with our practice of discernment, rather than outsource it to others. [Ephesians 4:24, 29] Reflection What stops me from engaging the practice of discernment? What stops me from speaking the truth? How can I lean into community as I practice discernment? Resources Prayer: “God, grant me the serenity to accept that there are things I do not know, The courage to speak the truth I do know, And the Wisdom to know that even what I think I know today may seem wrong tomorrow.”  –Serenity Prayer revised by Kimberly Culbertson

What are the ways we might impose our own priorities onto Jesus and fail to see him for who he really is? On the tenth Sunday after Pentecost, Nic Acosta reminds us to acknowledge our own biases, how we project them onto Jesus, and how God’s generosity is active among those we consider to be wrong . [John 6:1-15]   Reflection What do I find when I engage with Jesus as presented in the Gospels? How might our cultural and political biases be keeping us from seeing Jesus clearly? How can we be gracious and generous even toward those who misrepresent Christ?

How many of us feel an incongruence throughout liturgy, questioning if we really believe the prayers and psalms passing through our lips? On the ninth Sunday after Pentecost, Vanessa Maleare breathes life into our incongruencies around faith and life by inviting us to make space. [Matthew 14:13-21]   Reflection What space are you craving? What beliefs are you wrestling and contending with? What nourishment are you lacking and who might you ask for what you need?   Resources Book: A Faith of Many Rooms: Inhabiting a More Spacious Christianity by Debie Thomas Book: Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis by Lauren Winner Book: Feminist Prayers for My Daughter: Powerful Petitions for Every Stage of Her Life by Shannon K. Evans

When you feel joy… how do you know?  On the eighth Sunday after Pentecost, Gena St. David, delves into the relationship between joy and grief and points us to how embodying joy can be an act of sacred resistance. [2 Samuel 6:14-19] Reflection When you’re experiencing joy what do you sound like?  When your body feels joy, what do you notice? When you want to share joy, what does it occur to you to do? Resources Book: This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories that Make Us by Cole Arthur Riley Article: Why Michal Rightly Despised David, Womanists Wading In The Word by Wilda Gafney https://www.wilgafney.com/2018/07/12/why-michal-rightly-despised-david/

In a world bent on dividing and condemning, how might we listen to and seek reconciliation with the complex song our whole life is singing?  On the sixth Sunday after Pentecost, Christopher Mack seeks illumination on the intimacy shared between David and Jonathan, and what it teaches us about loving ourselves and loving our enemies. [2 Samuel 1:23-27]   Reflection What part(s) of your life and story do you struggle to welcome or find wholeness?  Where have our interpretations of scripture  reinforced problematic, or unjust understandings of ourselves or others? How can we embody God’s good news to ourselves and others? Resources Book: Jonathan Loved David: Homosexuality in Biblical Times by Tom Horner  Book: The Love of David and Jonathan: Ideology, Text, Reception by James E. Meredith Book: Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words by David Whyte