Spark Cast

Why is following Jesus and living out the law seem so contradictory to Christians, then, and now?

Many of his disciples said this is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it? This week we will attempt to unpack some of the tensions of trying to live the way of Jesus. Really, eat flesh? Literally drink blood? Living the way of Jesus isn't as cut and dry as it sounds (and was probably never meant to be cut and dry).

“I am the bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.” Who talks like that? And how does that work? Jesus speaks a bold message, polarizing both his followers and foes. The ensuing questions that Jesus’ first hearers asked probably aren’t that far off from the questions we’d ask today.

John 5 tells the story of a man longing for healing in the pools of Bethesda. Jesus' encounter with this man brings about healing, questions and conflict.

Violet Wulf-Saena is the Founder and Executive Director of Climate Resilient Communities (CRC),an environmental justice organization working hand-in-hand with the Peninsula's frontline communities to implement tangible climate change solutions, from nature-based infrastructures like rain gardens to community air quality monitoring and home upgrades. The impacts of climate change will be felt first...

Signs, wonders, and miracles all refer to a category of events in the biblical accounts of Jesus' ministry. But what role do they really play in the story? Why are they there? And how shall we think of them in a rationalistic world? Perhaps the miracle is not the point. Rather, the miracle points.

Much ink has been spilled, and many sermons preached, on Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. Most often portrayed in our pulpits as a sinful woman of ill repute, the Samaritan woman becomes a one-dimensional lesson on morality. But what if there's more to the story than that? (Spoiler Alert ... there is!)

A prominent religious leader, Nicodemus, seeks out Jesus under the cover of night. Looking for answers, he instead gets more questions as Jesus takes him through a perplexing dialogue about water, spirit, flesh, rebirth, and the upside-down kingdom of God's love.

The fashioning of the whip and the driving out of the moneychangers is an act that happens at a temple. But the temple to which this event refers has a long, varied history and identity, all the way to modern expressions of Christianity. May we heed Jesus' words again, to not turn this house into an emporium.

Due to technical difficulties, the messages from May 1 and May 8 were not recorded. Here we provide an extremely brief summary of main points that we hope are helpful for our Spark community.

"In the beginning was the word." These words mark the opening of the Gospel According to John, a piece of writing that has incredible diversity and profundity in its depiction of Jesus and what the Christian story means as a result.

HE IS RISEN! [Unfortunately the first part of this message was not recorded.]

Palm Sunday commemorates the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, a declaration of peace with tears of sadness for so many expectations of war.

In summation and reflection, we consider the journey we've been on through Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs.

The Song of Songs has long been understood as a theological metaphor for God's love of God's people, and as such is included in our canon. But while the traditional interpretation is valuable, perhaps there is more to be discovered and celebrated in this beautiful poetic song.

How might we revisit Ecclesiastes in light of the gospel accounts, Jesus, and Israel's story? What is the relationship between wisdom literature and Jesus? What about Qohelet—the teacher of Ecclesiastes—and Jesus?

The author of Ecclesiastes provides an important last word. He says we are to "Fear God and keep the commandments." How are you interpreting the commandments and living them out in our particular place and time?

The Teacher in Ecclesiastes offers many hot takes and dark reflections on the way the world works, repeatedly chanting that "everything is meaningless"... right from the start! How do we make sense of the apparent senselessness? How do we think of the Teacher's tirades as wisdom? Despite the controversy, God's people have canonized Ecclesiastes and found enduring value in it over the centuries.

The final chapter of Proverbs uses language and imagery that is widely diverse and presents an incredible image and vision for women as central to biblical wisdom.

Proverbs promotes humility, a modesty that leads to justice.

The blind pursuit of given principles may itself be folly, the very kind of foolishness the Proverbial wisdom is attempting to remedy. Rather than mere revelation, these proverbs exhort us to reason together.

Psalm of Lament express the depths of human emotion, and invite us to embrace the cries and suffering of others.

While we think of praise as a feeling, or even a genre of music, the psalms of praise are a declaration of the affections, benefits, and characteristics of the god we worship. To sing, then, those psalms of praise is to invoke their presence and value upon ourselves, and this life.

Whether "ascent" means a geographical going up, or a musical elevation, these Psalms lift our eyes, our hearts, and our attentions to the place from where our help and life comes.

The Job story is…absurd. Recognizing and accepting this absurdity is itself a gift, that liberates us from the expectations and perceptions that frequently don't make sense in this chaotic world.