Vox Veniae Podcast

What might baptism have meant for Jesus and what might it mean for us today? On the Baptism of the Lord Sunday, Christopher Mack plunges into waters of chaos and upheaval to hear baptism  as an invitation to be transformed into the person, who by God’s grace, we are called into becoming…for God, ourselves, and one another. [Isaiah 43:1-2; Luke 3:21-22]   Reflection What wisdom have you gained from participating in a community moving through fear and upheaval together?  How can we reorient ourselves around that which is life-giving, for our flourishing, inviting us into mutuality and interdependent beloved community? If you feel you’ve lost sight of who you’re becoming in Christ, how can you listen for the voice calling you beloved this week?

On the second Sunday after Christmas, Aurelia Dávila Pratt reminds us of our true identity as children of God, image bearers, and beloved. Repeating The Jesus Prayer and other intentional phrases and mantras, we are invited to ground ourselves in our deeper meaning and purpose.  [Luke 18:9-14]   Reflection What helps you remember who you truly are, especially when life feels overwhelming? When do you feel most grounded or connected to the Divine within you and around you? When have you felt the need to start over, and what gave you the courage to begin again?

How can we create a shared world where God’s love is experienced? On the fourth week of Advent, Vanessa Beltran highlights how moments of shared vulnerability–like Mary’s journey to Elizabeth–are essential to becoming who God created us to be, so we can truly understand God’s blessings. [Luke 1:39-45]   Reflection How can you open your heart and life to others in ways that allow both you and them to experience the blessing of God’s love, even in moments of vulnerability or unknowingness? In what ways do you sometimes forget that you are blessed by God, and how can community—your relationships with others—help you remember and live into this truth? How can you actively create spaces of relational freedom and blessing in your daily interactions, allowing both yourself and others to experience God's love and affirmation?

Is there a part of your life that feels exiled or stuck in a rut? On this third week of Advent, Christopher Mack hears in the message of John the Baptizer, an invitation for our lives to be joyfully undone in the wilderness of waiting. [Luke 3:7-17]   Reflection When have you experienced a disruption that led to transformation? How can this season of waiting re-envision our way in the world? Where is there an invitation for God’s newness in this current disruption?

What comes up for you when you think about uncertainty? Weylin Lee begins our season of advent with three markers for wading into waiting and uncertainty: discerning with imagination; recalling God’s gifts; and embodying a path of love. [Psalm 25]   Reflection How might we practice discernment with imagination? What are some of God’s gifts that you can recall in this current season? What is the path of love you are invited to walk and embody?

How powerful can we be when our one voice is not just one voice? Vanessa Maleare tends to our collective healing with four admonitions inspired from Ecclesiastes: grab your people; conserve energy; grab hold of your joy; and make decisions. [Ecclesiastes 4:9-12]   Reflection What are my non-negotiables? Who do I have to have around me? What is true for me right now?

What does it look like for you to listen to your whole life? Christopher Mack looks for a way see God in those who see differently than us and how to experience communal solidarity in uncertain and challenging times. [Psalm 146:2-3, 5-10]   Reflection How might we be centered in God’s Peace this week? Where do you find it challenging to bear witness with your whole life? How might you reconnect with the larger worlds of creation and community this week? Resources Book: Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices that Transform Us by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun Website: Hokusai: Waves of Inspiration https://nelson-atkins.org/art/exhibitions/hokusai-waves-of-inspiration-from-the-museum-of-fine-arts-boston/ :

How do we practice radical welcome? Gena St. David explores how inside each of us exists a wanderer, skeptic, and believer as we conclude our fall series “Who is Vox?” She uses the practice of walking a prayer labyrinth to help us recognize vulnerability, value the winding path, and practice small experiments. [John 3:3-8]   Reflection What does the wanderer inside you want from Vox? Who at Vox do you trust with your inner skeptic? How does the believer inside you wish to participate in Vox?

What is Vox’s invitation and practice of pursuing justice as a spiritual community that seeks to embody Christ? Weylin Lee considers our hospitality to the vulnerable, embodied presence for solidarity, and nonviolent resistance for flourishing in our fall series “Who is Vox?” [Matthew 5:3-6, 10]   Reflection Where are the places we can practice hospitality as an act of justice? What are some practical ways you can meet physical needs of the vulnerable? How might our nonviolent resistance be needed for restorative justice?

Do you have fear around showing up in church spaces? Kimberly Culbertson invites us to embody Jesus together by becoming a community of repair and wholeness in our fall series “Who is Vox?” [John 14:18-19, 25-27]   Reflection Thank you for being part of my healing. Love, Kimberly. How might God be healing you in this season, both through and for deeper community? Who is God asking you to see or champion or smile on in this season?