Awaken Community

Mark 14: 53-65, Jesus goes before the Sanhedrin where he experiences firsthand the at times unjust system of religious law. Micah brings forth the invitation and challenge to welcome outside perspectives, listen to voices who do not find themselves in the majority, and in doing so find ourselves experiencing an old story with new eyes.

Mark 14:27-51, The humanity of Jesus is on full display as he prays to God for relief from distress, another path that might not lead to death. Micah highlights the ways Jesus becomes our truest friend and ally in life because he entered into the deepest struggle of humanity.

Mark 14: 12-26, Micah explores the meaning of Passover and the ritual that would have been normal and habitual for a Jewish person. What is Jesus doing by deviating from the Passover script?

Mark 14: 1-11, Jesus gets anointed at Bethany by an unnamed woman. The deed is met with disdain by the disciples, but is welcomed by Jesus who recognizes the significance of the moment and his coming death. Micah sits with the questions, can you recognize the moment you are in? And how will you be remembered when all is said and done?

Mark 9:1-13, Jesus appears transfigured atop a mountain and the disciples finally see where the journey of transformation has lead. Judy Howard Peterson walks us through its meaning and translation into our lives.

Mark 8: 14-21, The previous section (ch 5-6) has 4 different stories with the number 12 in it. Why? What is so clear to Jesus that seems to be so unclear to the disciples and what do 12 & 7 baskets have to do with it? What is "leaven" and what does it have to do with the Pharisees?

Mark 3:20-34, Jesus is pursued by his family and his response carries significance in his journey to transfiguration. Any work of transformation and becoming will take us on a path that leads us right back to where we've come from with our family of origin.

Jesus has two encounters with the Pharisees and it ends with "he looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts. The pharisees are hung up on rules and obedience to rules as the pathway to holiness. Part of Jesus' transformation is that he's paying attention to the anger that he's feeling and he responds to it in a way that's healthy and not destructive. 

I Forgive You / Mark 2:1-12 / A lame man is brought to Jesus and the first thing he tells them is that his sins are forgiven. This of course upsets the pharisees because only GOD can forgive sins. But this is what Jesus is coming to know and in this moment, speaks out loud into the world what he knows to be true about himself. What does it take to get to this place of knowing oneself? What holds us back from putting out into the world what we may know to be true in our hearts?

Jesus seems to learn early on that if he's going to live into his calling and become who he's intended to be, he will need to have times of solitude and stillness where he's not DOING but rather he is BEING in the presence of the Divine.