Commons Church Podcast

Mk 6Any text is produced in a particular time, place, and context. In the case of the Bible, that context is always very different from ours as readers. “White North American Christians, especially those of us from the privileged strata of society, must come to terms with the fact that our reading site for the Gospel of Mark is empire, locus imperium” (Ched Meyers, Binding The Strong Man). This location means that we have to do the work, as best we can, to separate ourselves from our assumptions to hear what the text is saying to its intended audience.Lent provides an opportune moment to do just that. To let go of our privileged assumptions and to read from the place of surrender. This Lent, we will pick up where we left off in the fall to work through the second half of Mark’s Gospel. ★ Support this podcast ★

Confidence to be ourselves. Together.We forget how diverse the first Christian communities were. Maybe it’s because we’re from a long line of “if you don’t agree, go somewhere else.” Or we’re used to finding people like us at church, not people different from us. Or we think similarity is what the healthy body of Christ looks like. The groups of people in churches like the one Paul started in Corinth would have found each other strange. Paul gets that, and still, in the face of conflict he keeps saying, “Draw closer. Draw closer to each other. It’s your difference that makes you beautiful.” Series text: second half of 1 Corinthians. ★ Support this podcast ★

Confidence to be ourselves. Together.We forget how diverse the first Christian communities were. Maybe it’s because we’re from a long line of “if you don’t agree, go somewhere else.” Or we’re used to finding people like us at church, not people different from us. Or we think similarity is what the healthy body of Christ looks like. The groups of people in churches like the one Paul started in Corinth would have found each other strange. Paul gets that, and still, in the face of conflict he keeps saying, “Draw closer. Draw closer to each other. It’s your difference that makes you beautiful.” Series text: second half of 1 Corinthians. ★ Support this podcast ★

Confidence to be ourselves. Together.We forget how diverse the first Christian communities were. Maybe it’s because we’re from a long line of “if you don’t agree, go somewhere else.” Or we’re used to finding people like us at church, not people different from us. Or we think similarity is what the healthy body of Christ looks like. The groups of people in churches like the one Paul started in Corinth would have found each other strange. Paul gets that, and still, in the face of conflict he keeps saying, “Draw closer. Draw closer to each other. It’s your difference that makes you beautiful.” Series text: second half of 1 Corinthians. ★ Support this podcast ★

Confidence to be ourselves. Together.We forget how diverse the first Christian communities were. Maybe it’s because we’re from a long line of “if you don’t agree, go somewhere else.” Or we’re used to finding people like us at church, not people different from us. Or we think similarity is what the healthy body of Christ looks like. The groups of people in churches like the one Paul started in Corinth would have found each other strange. Paul gets that, and still, in the face of conflict he keeps saying, “Draw closer. Draw closer to each other. It’s your difference that makes you beautiful.” Series text: second half of 1 Corinthians. ★ Support this podcast ★

PART TWO: Opinions have a way, over time, of being fossilized, and that's a real danger as we enter into a new year, imagining all of the possibilities for change and growth. When your opinions get stuck, they become narratives, no longer just statements about how we view the world, but now stories that tell us how we must view the world. And this is why the practice of continually letting go is far more difficult and, to be honest, I think, far more important than we often realize, because sometimes we're not just letting go of unhealthy practices or even unhelpful ideas or just old hurts. We're letting go of all the stories that we have allowed to define us, opinions that have become fossilized and fixed. And often letting go of that is the prerequisite for all of the change that we hope to actually see in ourselves. ★ Support this podcast ★

PART ONE: Letting GoOpinions have a way, over time, of being fossilized, and that's a real danger as we enter into a new year, imagining all of the possibilities for change and growth. When your opinions get stuck, they become narratives, no longer just statements about how we view the world, but now stories that tell us how we must view the world. And this is why the practice of continually letting go is far more difficult and, to be honest, I think, far more important than we often realize, because sometimes we're not just letting go of unhealthy practices or even unhelpful ideas or just old hurts. We're letting go of all the stories that we have allowed to define us, opinions that have become fossilized and fixed. And often letting go of that is the prerequisite for all of the change that we hope to actually see in ourselves. ★ Support this podcast ★

At its heart, this season holds the mystery of how God became human. And if it’s true, the story of Christmas celebrates the full extent of divine fragility. If it’s true, it asserts a bold claim: that God stands in solidarity with our shared experience. This is a solidarity for life’s deepest valleys and soaring heights. For its lush and flourishing places and also those dry and forgotten places in our hearts.This Advent, we trace the landscapes of our lives in search of the path God takes toward us. ★ Support this podcast ★

At its heart, this season holds the mystery of how God became human. And if it’s true, the story of Christmas celebrates the full extent of divine fragility. If it’s true, it asserts a bold claim: that God stands in solidarity with our shared experience. This is a solidarity for life’s deepest valleys and soaring heights. For its lush and flourishing places and also those dry and forgotten places in our hearts.This Advent, we trace the landscapes of our lives in search of the path God takes toward us. ★ Support this podcast ★

At its heart, this season holds the mystery of how God became human. And if it’s true, the story of Christmas celebrates the full extent of divine fragility. If it’s true, it asserts a bold claim: that God stands in solidarity with our shared experience. This is a solidarity for life’s deepest valleys and soaring heights. For its lush and flourishing places and also those dry and forgotten places in our hearts.This Advent, we trace the landscapes of our lives in search of the path God takes toward us. ★ Support this podcast ★