Vox Veniae Podcast

Mercy in Discernment

Jane Patterson reflects on Jesus’ parable that invites us to discernment in the spaces of judgment in our lives [Matthew 13:24-30].

 

Reflection

• What is the difference between being discerning about someone's actions and judging them?
• In what ways have you been corrected in a way that was creative for you?

 

Resources

• Article: After a Trail of Tears, Justice for Indian Country
• Poetry: Joy Harjo

MWG Discussion Questions

• How do we hold the tension of embodying Jesus’ righteousness and mercy at the same time?  What do we have a tendency to emphasize?  How is that shaped by our own experience of faith?
• In what ways do we rationalize our judgment of others?  What are the challenges of living in a way where our project is not one of sorting out, but of growing together so that all will flourish?
• When our communities are disturbed or disrupted, what does God’s invitation for us to stop look like because of what we do not know?  What does it mean for us to practice discernment and not knowing at the same time (e.g. in light of divisions and conflicting values and perspectives of politics, racial justice, pandemic, etc)?

Nourishing Love

Jason Minnix reflects on what is really nourishing and giving us life right now.  Dave Schwab also shares his reflections on this text [Isaiah 55:1-13].

 

Reflection

• How am I being invited to attend to my deeper desires?
• Where do I sense invitation into God’s expansive presence today?
• What is the nourishing love I’m being invited to sow now?

 

Spiritual Practice

• Practice noticing what’s inside this week. Take some time to be with the interior thoughts and feelings this week. Write out a stream of consciousness with as little judgment as possible.
• Take a moment to experience mercy today.
• What is the nourishing love I’m being invited to sow now?

MWG Discussion Questions

• What, if anything, is nourishing my soul right now?
• Why do we settle for something that does not satisfy?
• What within ourselves holds us back from experiencing the joy of being? 
• In what ways can we experience God’s nourishment in mercy? Why is this practice so hard for many of us to remember?
  

True Lightness

Jason Minnix reflects on how Jesus invites us to experience levity in the midst of the current weights in our lives [Matthew 11:25-30].

 

Reflection

• Where am I being invited to release my assumptions and receive new eyes?
• What truth, if any, offers me rest and ease now?

 

Spiritual Practice

• Don’t ask Google everything and embrace the joy of being wrong.
• Take some time this week to have a direct spiritual experience (take a walk, pay attention to your body more closely, begin to experience the saturation of your life with God’s presence)
• Pay attention to the impact of any teaching/content on your body this week.

 

Resources

 

• Podcast: On Being (Jason Reynolds)

 

 

 

 

Welcome

Weylin Lee reflects on what a meaningful posture and practice of welcome might look like for us in our current season. Autumn Barker also shares her reflections on this text [Matthew 10:40-42].

 

Reflection

• How might we be able to create brave space in our practice of welcoming others?
• How is welcoming others inviting us into vulnerability?

 

Resources

• Practice: The People’s Supper
• Film: Just Mercy

 

 

 

Sacred Heart

James Allison reflects on the Feast of the Sacred Heart and the love that we’re invited to receive and give [1 John 4:7-16].

 

Reflection

• How can we move from a cognitive to a relational understanding and practice of love?
• How are we invited to meekness in our attempt to love well and to receive love?

Resources

• Video: Vox Online Liturgy Replay

MWG Discussion Questions

• In what ways has love been more of a cognitive experience versus a relational practice?  What are the barriers that make it difficult to practice love?
• What associations have you made between the heart of Jesus and the love of God?  How have they been disconnected in your experience of faith?  In what ways have they been aligned with each other?
• How has our own experience of God's love (how we receive or don't receive it) impacted our ability to love others?

A Hope That Does Not Disappoint

Scott Erickson reflects on hope in the midst of our current circumstances [Romans 5:1-8].

 

Reflection

• What particular conversations are happening in your life because of these current circumstances?
• In what ways are you fighting being a student by trying to be a teacher?

 

Resources

• Video: Vox Online Liturgy Replay

MWG Discussion Questions

• How do we tend to respond to disappointment in our lives?  What is that disappointment based in?
• What has been our experience of perseverance?  Is it more about will power?  How might a framework of perseverance as an invitation impact our experience (i.e. exploring what we might be invited to consider versus just getting through it)?
• How do we experience the tension of the reality we experience in today's world (e.g. pandemic, racial injustice) and the hope that Jesus offers and promises?  What are things that keep us from hope?  What are some practices that might help us move towards hope?

Original Beauty

Jason Minnix reflects on how we’re invited to notice the intention of beauty amidst devastation. Nic Acosta also shares his reflections on this text [Genesis 1-2:4].

 

Reflection

• Where am I being invited to practice antifragility and fragility?
• How am I being invited into beauty this week?

Spiritual Practice

• Pick a practice that may be either supporting your fragility or your antifragility.  Journal, therapy, melancholy music, exercise, All or Nothing documentaries, act rather than just feel and think about things, take a break from action to think and feel, move out of empathy into strength, move out of strength into empathy, show up for your friends who are more vulnerable now, recommit to the paths you’ve discerned.

Resources

• Resources for Co-Laboring
• Book: Antifragile (Nassim Nicholas Taleb)

MWG Discussion Questions

• What strikes you as the difference between “good” and “beautiful”?
• Does changing the connotation of “good” change my views about how God views His creation?
• In what ways do I take on more than the world needs me to do? In so doing am I ignoring anything that is my unique task?
• What in my personal history has yielded anti-fragility in me? How does that show up now?

Pentecost: Uniquely Embodied Gifts

On Pentecost Sunday, Gena Minnix reflects on how the Spirit transforms our embodied selves and wounds into unique gifts that enliven the body of Christ.  Molly Clack also shares her reflections on this text [1 Corinthians 12:4-12].

 

Reflection

1. When you’re feeling most alive in your embodied self, what are you usually doing?
2. How might your unique gift to the community of Christ come from your own place of woundedness?

 

Spiritual Practice

• This week, notice what you’re doing when you feel most alive and at home in your embodied self -- how might that point to a gift of the Spirit unique to who you are?
• Spend time this week reflecting on a part of yourself you think of as wounded, weak, or imperfect -- how might that wound be transformed into an embodied gift needed by the community of Christ?

 

Resources

• Video: Vox Online Liturgy Replay
• Book: New Seeds of Contemplation (Thomas Merton)
• Song: Serenade by Franz Schubert (Itzhak Perlman on violin)
• Movie: All or Nothing: New Zealand All Blacks

 

 

 

Waiting

Weylin Lee reflects on what God is inviting us into during our season or experience of waiting.  Kelli Knight and Kristy Robinson also share their reflections on this text [Acts 1:6-14].

 

Reflection

• How can we participate in unexpected ways during our season of waiting?
• What might be some things we’re invited to let go of as we wait in loss?
• What could be some meaningful practices of prayer as we wait?

 

Spiritual Practice

• Welcome Prayer.  Welcome, welcome, welcome. I welcome everything that comes to me today because I know it's for my healing. I welcome all thoughts, feelings, emotions, persons, situations, and conditions. I let go of my desire for power and control. I let go of my desire for affection, esteem, approval and pleasure. I let go of my desire for survival and security. I let go of my desire to change any situation, condition, person or myself. I open to the love and presence of God and God's action within.  Amen.

 

Resources

• Video: Vox Online Liturgy Replay

 

 

 

 

Doorway to Presence

Gideon Tsang reflects on how we’re invited to dwell in our present moment.  Danielle Dalsey Kimball also shares her reflections on this text [John 14:15-17].

 

Reflection

• Are you present to what's alive in you?
• What practices can bring you back to the present moment this coming week?

 

Spiritual Practice

• Contemplative Prayer. Breathing in, I calm my body.  Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment, I know this is a wonderful moment.

 

Resources

• Video: Vox Online Liturgy Replay
• Podcast: On Being (Ocean Vuong)

 

 

 

On Earth as It Is in Heaven

Gideon Tsang reflects on how we can slowly practice getting out of the hell of our minds and into the experience of heaven that’s at hand.  Christina Cotham and Judy Peterson also share their reflections on this text [Acts 7:54-60].

 

Reflection

• What does heaven on earth feel like for you?
• How can you cherish the moments when you're at home without shame in this world?

Spiritual Practice

• Contemplative Prayer. Breathing in, I calm my body.  Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment, I know this is a wonderful moment.

Resources

• Video: Vox Online Liturgy Replay

Wanting

Jason Minnix reflects on our needs and how God is present in our deepest desires.  Caroline Cody also shares her reflections on this text [Psalm 23].

Reflection

• What does it look like to invite God to be with me in my longing?
• How am I being held amidst the unsettling meal before me?
• Where have I been followed by goodness and mercy in my journey?

Spiritual Practice

• Bring the tension of wanting and not-yet-getting into God’s guiding presence.  Speak or read Psalm 23 slowly with your breath. Name the tension you’re in as best you can. Close with another slow reading of Psalm 23.
• Make an object out of a difficult emotion for you this week and see how you relate to it.
• Name the threads of goodness and mercy that are returning you to a deeper life.

Resources

• Video: Vox Online Liturgy Replay

Listening

Virginia Cumberbatch reflects on what it means to listen during this season of isolation and separation.  Candice Boehm and Jennifer Cumberbatch also share their reflections on this text [Psalm 113].

 

Reflection

• How have you listened to yourself and God during the quarantine?
• What does it look like this week to create intentional space to listen?

 

Resources

• Video: Vox Online Liturgy Replay
• Video: Quarantine Goals
• Song: I’m Listening (Chris McClarney)

 

 

Peace Be With You

Weylin Lee reflects on the spaces in our lives right now where we’re invited to experience peace.  Kelly Cutbirth, John & Catie Brewster and Liz Schepel also share their reflections on this text [John 20:19-29].

 

Reflection

• How might we engage our senses in order to experience peace and extend peace to others?
• What are our spaces of disbelief that might offer ways to experience peace in an unexpected way?
• How might wounds serve as a reminder that our story isn’t finished?

 

Spiritual Practice

• Embodied Peace. What do you need to touch, see, hear, smell or taste to feel peace?  How can you share embodied peace with someone else?

 

Resources

• Video: Vox Online Liturgy Replay
• Podcast: Brene Brown and David Kessler on Grief

 

 

 

 

The Paradox of Rebirth

Gideon Tsang reflects on the paradox of rebirth on this Easter Sunday.  Matt Inman, Gena Minnix and Virginia Cumberbatch also share their reflections on this text [Matthew 28:1-10].

 

Reflection

• What have you experienced during this gestation period before an eventual rebirth?
• How can you hold the paradox of fear and joy this week?

 

Spiritual Practice

• Create a tomb in your home to place the sources and feelings associated with loss that you have experienced.
• Leave yourself a reminder to “embrace the suck” during this challenging season.

 

Resources

• Video: Vox Online Liturgy Replay

 

 

 

Places of Thirst

As we observe Palm Sunday and experience our first online liturgy, Jason Minnix reflects on our places of thirst during this global pandemic and season of physical separation.  Claudia Harding and Brittany Acosta also share their reflections on this text [Exodus 17:1-7].

 

Reflection

• What are my places of thirst today?
• If I had permission to complain, what would I say during this time?
• Could God be a place of standing for me when the world’s on fire?
• What is my honest prayer this morning?

Spiritual Practice

• Name the places of thirst.
• Prayer of Complaint: Make a place to post your prayers and complaints to God this week
• Have an honest conversation with God this week about how you’re doing, about what’s happening.

Resources

• Video: Vox Online Liturgy Replay
• Podcast: On Being (Padraig O Tuama)

A New Conversation

As we continue in the season of Lent, Matt Inman reflects on how our faith intersects with our belonging [Romans 4:13-17].

 

Reflection

• What parts of your story might need to be honored more for you to feel a greater sense of belonging?
• What kinds of new conversations do you long for?  Who in your life do you trust enough to allow them to interrupt you?

 

Spiritual Practice

• Journal through these three questions.  Where have you felt loving connection with your parents/guardians?  Where might your parents have struggled to know how to love you? Imagine what acceptance and belonging might have looked like in those spaces.
• Conversation.  Have a conversation with a friend or a colleague about where fear of punishment finds its way into your faith, thoughts, relationships and dreams.

 

Resources

• Film: Billy Elliot

Remember Mercy

As we enter the season of Lent, Gideon Tsang reflects on what we need to remember about God’s goodness [Psalm 103:1-6].

 

Reflection

• What does it look like to bring your shame into the magnitude of mercy this week?
• How does it make you feel knowing God wants to satisfy your needs with goodness as long as you live?

 

Spiritual Practice

• Marinate in the vastness of mercy.  Where’s the furthest place you’ve been on earth?  Drop off your shame on a trip across the world.

 

Resources

• Film: Portrait of a Lady on Fire
• Music: Only One (Kanye West)

 

Facing Our Fear

Gena Minnix reflects on the Transfiguration and what it means to allow Jesus to come alongside us in our fear and to trust enough to take a small leap towards authentic love [Matthew 17:1-8].

 

Reflection

• How is fear shrinking my perspective on God, myself, others, or what’s possible?
• What would happen if I allowed Jesus to come alongside me and give me a new perspective?
• What "leap" am I afraid of taking in my relationship with God?

 

Spiritual Practice

• Breath Prayer. “God, even though I’m afraid… help me choose love.”
• Breath Prayer. “Jesus I can’t, you can… I’ll let go.”

 

Resources

• Video: Yes Theory Bungee Jumping with Will Smith

Growing in Maturity

Weylin Lee reflects on our spiritual growth and how we can tell if our faith is maturing or not [1 Corinthians 3:1-9].

 

Reflection

• What life-giving rhythms are we feeding ourselves to experience growth?
• Who do we view through a lens of rivalry and how can we look for the movement of God that’s stirring in us and them?

 

Spiritual Practice

• Craft a Rhythm of Life.  Select intentional rhythms and practices that are appropriate for your emotional development. Personal rhythms (scripture, prayer, generosity). Communal rhythms (liturgy, sharing resources). Missional rhythms (hospitality, neighbor, partnerships).

 

Resources

• Book: Emotionally Healthy Spirituality (Peter Scazerro)
• Rhythm of Life
• Podcast: Fresh Air (Bryan Stevenson)
• Film: Parasite