Praying for a different kind of darkness

On December 23, 2016December 23, 2016 By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Theological Animation, UncategorizedLeave a comment

flame Advent Prayer by Lydia Wylie-Kellermann

Oh God,
This Advent we come to you
bent over with an ache in our soul,
with muscles that have held rage,
with eyes bloodshot from tears,
for there is a darkness this year
that is crawling with monsters.
The creatures of patriarchy, white supremacy,
and Christian hegemony
are emerging from their shadows.
Arrogantly crawling into our schools,
our churches and social media.
They are emerging as weaponized water
against water protectors
who are freezing to death.
They are emerging as walls and registries.
And it isn’t going away. Continue reading “Praying for a different kind of darkness” →

Prayer of Intention

On December 21, 2016December 17, 2016 By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Theological AnimationLeave a comment

A poem for the Winter Solstice from Ric Hudgens.

When night comes early
darkness creeping in
before we sit at supper
an urge rises beneath
my throat for connection
with this earth and all
that is connected by it. Continue reading “Prayer of Intention” →

Sermon 4th Sunday Advent: Joseph’s Yes

On December 20, 2016December 19, 2016 By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Theological Animation, Uncategorized1 Comment

Written and preached by Denise Griebler

Matthew 1:18-25
Isaiah 7:10-17

So Mary and Joseph are engaged.

To get to an engagement – there’s been, well, engagement. Mary and Joseph have been engaging with one another. They’ve been engaging each other’s families. There have been a long series of yeses.

But it’s not a straight line. It rarely is.

Matthew is so sparse in his description of events that it’s difficult for brain and heart not to search out Luke’s account and collapse the two. It’s not good exegetical form to do this. But I’m afraid my heart cannot resist the temptation. In the passage that comes just before this one we get a long list of fathers and sons (with a few interesting mothers thrown in the mix – Tamar the prostitute, Rahab the spy, Ruth the immigrant – outsiders, upstarts, all outrageous and unexpected) – and then at this long list of sons begat by fathers, comes the promise of a child, who will be God with us, God’s own and Mary’s. Continue reading “Sermon 4th Sunday Advent: Joseph’s Yes” →

Recovering Our Advent Awe

On December 18, 2016December 18, 2016 By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Theological AnimationLeave a comment

An Advent sermon from Rev. Timothy Jones of Community Baptist Church of New Haven, CT–a look back at last week’s Hebrew Bible text Malachi 3:16-18:

There’s no question that the secular imagination of the Christmas Holiday has an influence on how we imagine this Advent season. There are many aspects of what I’m going to call “the Holiday Season” that overlap with Advent, but in some very real ways, we need to distinguish between “the Holidays” and Advent. There is, in the Holiday sense, a Happiness, a kind of jolliness that is associated with the season that is different from the very real and situated joy that should come from Advent. And sometimes I’m worried that the Jolly sensibility of the Holiday season makes it difficult for us to receive all that God has for us in this season. Continue reading “Recovering Our Advent Awe” →

Lead us beside and into the still Darkness

On December 16, 2016December 1, 2016 By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Theological Animation, UncategorizedLeave a comment

A Prayer for Advent. Written by Wesley Morris

Our God – who moves in heaven – and Earth
We praise and bless your holy name
Author of night and day

Lead us beside and into the still Darkness.
Into the womb of advent, the place of preparation.
When the world condemns our effort to reveal the true life,
draw us near – one to another.
Whisper to us in our communion –
reminders that you are here.

In this season, we seek the gentle care of your instruction
To find your simple peace.
You are our best guide in these times.
Teach us to hold our concerns
In community
With beloved speech and listening.
Our hearts, though tossed and turned, find refuge in your complete shadow.

Your word heals a multitude of harms.
Prepare our minds for what we do not know

Lead us beside and into the still Darkness

As you have taught,
Amen Continue reading “Lead us beside and into the still Darkness” →

Advent: The Wilderness in a Very Small Place

On December 15, 2016December 1, 2016 By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Biography as Theology, Theological Animation, UncategorizedLeave a comment

seasons Excerpt and reflection from Bill Wylie-Kellermann’s Seasons of Faith and Conscience: Explorations in Liturgical Direct Action

A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way
of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be
made low; the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 40:3-5)

Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the One who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And Jesus answered them, “Go tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.” (Matthew 11:2-6)

By tradition and history of the church, John the Baptist is associated with Advent. At the turn of the church year, the end and the beginning, he stands, one foot in each, to announce the coming of the Lord. John is the image of Advent par excellence: pre-eminent personage, spokesperson, figure, and voice. He is the very personification of the season, as seen in these two passages. Continue reading “Advent: The Wilderness in a Very Small Place” →

Let it be Christmas, the real one

On December 11, 2016 By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Theological Animation, UncategorizedLeave a comment

By Pedro Casaldáliga (English translation by Rebel Girl), Reposted from Religión Digital

Que sea Navidad, la verdadera.
Las barbas crecidas y blancas,
y los supermercados del consumismo,
deben quedar al margen.

Y nosotros debemos plantarnos en medio del egoísmo
y negarnos a la profecía absurda,
para abrir espacio al llanto y al canto de la solidaridad
y al grito de los pequeños y excluidos.

Que sea verdad todo lo que decimos en la liturgia y el folclore.
Que sea una Navidad de las raíces de Belén,
el Misterio de la Encarnación llamándonos a hacer Reino cada día.

Que sea Navidad, que no nos perdamos la Navidad. Continue reading “Let it be Christmas, the real one” →

Christmas Beatitudes 2016

On December 10, 2016December 13, 2016 By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Theological Animation, Uncategorized2 Comments

By Carter Heyward

Blessed are those who are kind, especially when it’s hard

Blessed are those angry for justice in situations of unfairness and oppression,

Blessed are the compassionate in times of hatred,

Blessed are those who speak honestly when pummeled by lies — and who seek truth when confronted by fake news,

Blessed are those who keep their courage in the face of belligerent bullies, Continue reading “Christmas Beatitudes 2016” →

Reflection on an Advent Morning

On December 9, 2016December 6, 2016 By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Theological Animation, Uncategorized, Watershed Discipleship2 Comments

By Joyce Hollyday

I know the contours of this land as intimately as I know the arc of Advent: the slope of the pasture and height of the ridge, the thick canopy of the pine forest and black deep of the pond. I walk every morning on an unchanging trail, secure in the embrace of these steadfast mountains believed to be the oldest in the world. Continue reading “Reflection on an Advent Morning” →