Vox Veniae Podcast

What might it mean for you to make a home in God’s Love? On this sixth Sunday of Easter, Christopher Mack wonders what it means for us to make an intimate, safe, and revolutionary home by mirroring Christ’s Love. [John 15:9-16] Reflection In what ways do Jesus’ words meet and stretch you during our divisive, violent, and overwhelming times? Are there creative yet practical ways Jesus’ example inspires you to selflessly love your neighbor and enemy?  What hope or empowerment might come from knowing Jesus shared everything he heard from God? Resources Book: Renovation of the Heart in Daily Practice: Experiments in Spiritual Transformation  by Dallas Willard and Jan Johnson

When you think of baptism, what comes to mind? On this fifth Sunday of Easter, Kimberly Culbertson explores the inner commitment, public declaration, and the mystery of baptism in Christian spirituality . [Acts 8:26-38]   Reflection  Are there areas in your life where you need to practice agency, repentance, or return? How does the embodied experience of baptism fit into your story? How might you incorporate kinesthetic rituals into your spiritual practice?  Where might you need to lean into community for witness, support, or celebration? Where might you step up to provide this kind of community? Resources Book: This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories Make Us  by Cole Arthur Riley

Who is someone who makes you feel safe? On this Good Shepherd Sunday, Kelly Cutbirth leads us through practices that ground us in the goodness of God’s companioning presence. [Psalm 23]   Reflection What familiar advice do you often ignore? What practices help you find a sense of safety and rest? How does the Shepherd’s promise of mercy and goodness, even in the midst of life’s challenges and hardships, feel to you?   Resources Book: Good Enough: 40ish Devotionals for a Life of Imperfection by Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie Book: What Is God Like? by Rachel Held Evans and Matthew Paul Turner

This discussion dives into the significance of embodied resurrection and the rich tensions it brings to our faith journey. It highlights living through vulnerabilities and scars while embracing a wide range of emotional responses. The podcast explores the challenge of reconciling physical limitations with spiritual beliefs, emphasizing empathy and healing through shared experiences. It also encourages listeners to accept the complex coexistence of joy and grief, advocating for authentic embodiment of faith amid imperfections.

Oil and Dew What are barriers we perpetuate to keep ourselves and others from experiencing belonging? On the second Sunday of Easter, Christopher Mack delves into the very good experience of unity and the messiness that ensues as we work toward it. [Psalm 133:1-3]   Reflection How might you feel delight in your body this week? Where is an oppositional identity persistent in how you understand and react to the world?  If in revenge we imitate the one who wronged us, then how might reconciliation be an invitation for you to reflect God?   Resources Book: Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road? by Brian McLaren Book: The Psalms  by Robert Alter Poem: Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front by Wendell Berryhttps://allpoetry.com/poem/12622463-Manifesto--The-Mad-Farmer-Liberation-Front-by-Wendell-Berry

Being at Home What does it mean to be at home? On this Easter Sunday, Gena St. David centers our resurrection hope in our embodied experiences. Allowing the good news to be something that shows up in our bodies, emotions, and relationships. [Mark 16:1-6]   Reflection What would be different if I felt “at home” in my body? How might I practice “name it to tame it” with my emotions? Who do I wish to tell or express my love to this week?   Resources Book: Black Liturgies: Prayers, Poems, and Meditations for Staying Human by Cole Arthur Riley Video: “That’s Emotions, Mama!”: 4-Year-Old Has Heartfelt Conversation About His Feelings by Jonisa Padernos via Storyfulhttps://video.storyful.com/record/27877  Book: Old Path White Clouds by Thich Nhat Hanh Book: Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed

Anticipating Someone You Love What’s in the box? On this Palm Sunday, Vanessa Maleare heightens anticipation about experiencing and participating in life with God. Through the acts of Palm Sunday we see Jesus as the sort of king who came to serve everybody else and who doesn’t like to see even his enemies get hurt. [John 12:12-16]   Reflection When you picture Jesus back in the day what does he look like? When you picture Jesus in heaven with God what does he look like? Is Jesus someone you wouldn’t be able to wait to see?

Upside Down Glory Where have you seen systems of oppression benefiting from the glorification of suffering? On this fifth Sunday of Lent, Christopher Mack glimpses an Upside Down Glory of God that does not require the renouncing of our Divine Image; sets us in solidarity on a path of downward mobility, and reveals the violence of othering and casting out. [John 12:23-32]   Reflection Are there deforming religious ideas of denying your humanity you are invited to name & renounce?  What might it look like to embody a self-giving love that honors your personhood as well as others? How might we become more aware of where our own impulse to cast ‘others’ out drives us? Resources Book: The Wisdom Way of Knowing by Cynthia Bourgeault Exhibit: The Archaeology of Silence  by Kehinde Wiley at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston Film: X-Men: The Last Stand  Directed by Brett Ratner Written by Simon Kinberg & Zak Penn Book: Pleasure Activism by adrienne maree brown

Where might you be misperceiving God’s intent in your life? On this fourth Sunday of Lent, Kimberly Culbertson considers how we navigate challenging seasons by looking at the story of the Hebrews wandering in the wilderness. [Numbers 21:5-9] Reflection How has God carried you through times of trouble? Where might you be “looking at snakes” and misperceiving God’s intent towards you? How might God be steadying you through a season of change even now?

What is your relationship to power and authority? On this third Sunday of Lent, Weylin Lee invites us to disrupt oppressive systems, embody our anger through protest, and reimagine decentralized power in light of the story of Jesus' confrontation in the temple. [John 2:13-22]   Reflection How are we revealing and disrupting oppressive systems? How are we connecting with and expressing our passions as a form of protest? How are we reimagining ways of decentralizing power and removing gatekeeping?   Resources Book: Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson Film: Origin Written and directed by Ava DuVernay Book: Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames by Thich Nhat Hanh