Cup o' Joe

Gospel of John, Chapter 8, verses 21-30 Jesus continues to teach and challenge the Pharisees.  Today, He tells them that where He is going, they cannot follow.  Why would that be?  Is where Jesus is going an exclusive place?  Is this a punitive action on the part of Jesus?  Or is it something deeper? Original Score written and performed by Bridget Zenk

Gospel of John, Chapter 8, verses 12-20 Jesus remains in the Temple area teaching the people after freeing the woman caught in adultery.  And Jesus reminds us that God is life...and that those who carry this life within us - Real Life! - will never walk in darkness, but rather are filled with the light of God.  It's a classic choice put before us: which do we choose?  Light or darkn...

Gospel of John, Chapter 7, verses 1-2, 10, 25-30 As the Feast of Tabernacles draws close and much of the Jewish population descends upon Jerusalem, Jesus is faced with a conundrum.  Does He stay up in Galilee where He is safe?  Or does He go to Jerusalem where they are trying to kill Him, but it is also where those to whom He was invited to minister are gathered? Of course, it is our con...

Gospel of John, Chapter 5, verses 31-47 Jesus continues speaking with the leaders of the Jewish Community in Jerusalem and, effectively, predates the quote centuries later that will be placed in the mouth of St. Francis: "Preach the Gospel at all times.  When necessary, use words."  Jesus underscores for the people of His time and the people of our time the importance of our witness.&nbs...

Gospel of John, Chapter 5, verses 17-30 Today's Gospel follows immediately after yesterday's, where Jesus healed the elderly crippled man and invited him to stand, pick up his mat, and go home.  So in today's Gospel, Jesus confronts the leadership of the Temple and attempts to pull them out of their small thinking.  It's a long soliloquy from Jesus, but it has some foundational questions...

Gospel of John, Chapter 5, verses 1-16 Jesus heads south to Jerusalem for another feast, and mingles among the blind, the lame and the crippled.  And where Jesus is, healing takes place.  However, trouble isn't far behind.  The leaders of the Jewish people get caught up in the small stuff and can't see the bigger picture.  This Gospel holds similar questions for us.

Gospel of John, Chapter 4, verses 43-54 Jesus, after journeying through the middle region of Samaria, enters Galilee.  And while the people are happy to see Him, Jesus realizes that it is only because they heard of the things He did in Jerusalem during Passover.  But there was one person who came with a request - a royal official who trusted, at least partially, that Jesus could heal his...

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 1, verses 26-38 We take time out of this regularly scheduled Lenten Season to step into a different time and space - a Solemnity that transcends liturgical seasons.  Today celebrates not only my father-in-law's birthday, but also the Feast of the Annunciation.  God presents the plan to humanity, specifically a young woman in a small backwater town.  And all o...

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 11, verses 14-23 Jesus, after driving out a demon that was mute, is accused of driving out demons in the name of Beelzebul.  Jesus chastises those accusing him, however, saying that a kingdom divided against itself will not stand and that whoever is not with Him is against Him.  So just whom do we stand with? Original Score written and performed by Bridget Zenk

Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 5, verses 17-19 Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, invites us not just to look at the letter of the Law, but at the heart.  And so to fulfill where it points, we must understand it at its essence.  And so it is true with us as well. Original Score written and performed by Bridget Zenk

Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 18, verses 21-35 Peter approaches Jesus with a magnanimous offer - should I offer forgiveness to someone who wrongs me up to seven times?  Jesus uses a parable to teach him - and us - that there is no end to forgiveness.  We are either in the flow of God, or we are apart from it.  Forgiveness is not something God does.  It's who God is. Original Score...

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 4, verses 24-30 Jesus, fresh out of the desert after His baptism, goes to His native place...and the hometown people begin to doubt what they see.  Not because what they have seen is worth doubting - but because they won't allow themselves to believe.  And so Jesus is forced to go elsewhere.   Original Score written and performed by Bridget Zenk

Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 21, verses 33-43, 45-46 Jesus shares with us another parable, specifically directed toward the Chief Priests and the Elders, about a vineyard owner, tenants and the produce expected.  And what was a story directed at a particular people 2,000 years ago can still find root within us today - inviting us to see God's trust, patience and expectation.  And beyond th...

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 16, verses 19-31 Jesus tells a parable about a rich man who dines sumptuously (named by the church Dives) and a poor man at his doorstep named Lazarus.  The story follows them not only in this life but into the next - and as we see Dives tormented in the fires of the afterlife and feeling the effects of the chasm, we are invited to ask ourselves: just what is the sin o...

Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 20, verses 17-28 Jesus is walking on the road to Jerusalem with his best friends...and he has two lessons for them:  1) Suffering is a reality in this world, but it is not the end and 2) The way of the world looks like domination and authority while the way of God looks like servitude.  None of this is sexy, which is why the road is narrow that leads to the Kin...

Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 23, verses 1-12 Jesus makes an example of who else?  The Pharisees and Scribes to invite us to look at how not to act.  Don't seek out lofty titles or places of honor.  Want to get ahead in the Kingdom of God?  Step down.   Original Score written and performed by Bridget Zenk

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 6, verses 36-38 Jesus is preaching His Sermon on the Plain and culminates it with the message - Be Merciful as God is Merciful.  Today, we take time on the podcast to look deeper at what that invites us to.  What do mercy and holiness look like?  And how does it differ from perfection and purity?  In a word?  It invites us into the Flow of God.&nbsp...

Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 5, verses 20-26 Speaking from the Mount once again, Jesus reminds us of the power of the words we carry.  They have the power to build up and the power to destroy.  And they reveal the life that we carry within us...or not.  Are our feet firmly established in the Kingdom or elsewhere?   Original Score written and performed by Bridget Zenk

Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 7, verses 7-12 Jesus speaks to us of God's magnanimity...but also of our need to be involved in working for the Kingdom.  It's not magic.  God doesn't do all the work.  We have to choose our level of involvement. Original score written and performed by Bridget Zenk

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 11, verses 29-32 Jesus is confronted by the crowds, who are asking for another sign in order that they may believe Him.  But Jesus says that no other sign will be given, except the Sign of Jonah.  But what, exactly, is the Sign of Jonah?  And why does that matter to us today? Original score written and performed by Bridget Zenk

Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 6, verses 7-15 If the Sermon on the Mount is the heart of Matthew's Gospel, then we are at the center of the heart.  And what do we find there?  The essentials of God and Prayer.  It's really all about those two things.  One is the very center.  And the other brings us to the heart of the center Original score written and performed by Bridget Zen...

Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 25, 31-46 My friends, we are not called to be plaster saints, hands folded, eyes looking upward, hearts distant, walking through the world unscathed.  That would be awful.  Real holiness doesn't look anything like that.  Real holiness is in the trenches and in the unseen places with the unseen masses.  Real holiness calls us out of ourselves and takes...

Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 9, verses 14-15 The writer of the Book of Ecclesiastes reminds us that there is a time for every purpose under heaven, including both fasting and feasting.  What time is it today for you?   Original score written and performed by Bridget Zenk

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 9, verses 22-25 Jesus preaches the paradox of the Gospel to not only His disciples, but to all of us.  The choice is simple, but not easy - do you save your life and thus lose it?  Or do you lose it and, paradoxically, gain it?  Your true self lies in the balance. Original score written and performed by Bridget Zenk

Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 6, verses 1-6, 16-18 As we move into a new season on this Ash Wednesday, Jesus lays out the three-fold aspects of Lent: Prayer, Fasting & Almsgiving.  But while doing so, Jesus reminds us of the traps that lay before us...namely ourselves and our intentions.  We begin our 40-day retreat today.  How you do it is to be a dialogue between you and God.&nbs...