Vox Veniae Podcast

On the seventh Sunday of Easter, we continue in the series, Teach Em How To Say Goodbye: Jesus’ Parting Words to a Community in Transition, which looks at the final discourse of Jesus with his disciples before the whirlwind of his death, resurrection, and ascension. Today, we ponder how to be complete in unity by highlighting the unique ways we have been created and called to illuminate God’s Love...

We pick up in our series, Teach Em How To Say Goodbye: Jesus’ Parting Words to a Community in Transition, which looks at the final discourse of Jesus with his disciples before the whirlwind of his death, resurrection, and ascension. On this sixth Sunday of Easter, we confront transition as an inevitable part of life and consider what it is to wake up to Jesus making a home in our everyday lives. ...

On the fifth Sunday of Easter, we begin a new series, Teach Em How To Say Goodbye: Jesus’ Parting Words to a Community in Transition, which looks at the final discourse of Jesus with his disciples before the whirlwind of his death, resurrection, and ascension. On this graduation Sunday, we hear reflections from Olaya Hinojosa and Sam Malare about how they are navigating this transition.  [John 13:...

What is Divine goodness inviting us into? On the fourth Sunday of Easter, giving his last homily as a pastor at Vox, Weylin Lee recalls moments of Divine goodness through the restoration of contemplation, comfort through solidarity, and mercy through nonviolence.  [Psalm 23]   Reflection Where can I make space to reflect in stillness and truly rest? How might I practice presence with those experie...

What is that thing you just can’t help but do? On the third Sunday of Easter, Vanessa Maleare sifts through our lives in search of our precious and peculiar calling as she juxtaposes our journey with Peter’s call to be God’s Presence in the world.  [John 21:15-19]   Reflection What is written on your rock? What are you being called to in this season? What are you being called out of this season?

How might we be tempted to over-identify with our politics in unsettling times? On the second Sunday of Easter, Nic Acosta fasts from being “that guy” in regards to seeing everything solely through a political identity and challenges us to question how a purity psychology of politics might subtly supplant our love for Christ and neighbor.  [John 12:1-8]   Reflection Has purity thinking affected ho...

How does Easter invite us to live into the unexpected experiences of rebirth? On Easter Sunday, Weylin Lee beckons us to the Risen Christ through unexpected loss, listening to unexpected voices, and reimagining unexpected hope.  [Luke 24:1-12]   Reflection How might the places of loss in our lives be generating rebirth? What unexpected voices are inviting us to disrupt our lens of normalcy? How mi...

How might we put our nonviolent resistance into words? On Palm Sunday, Gena St. David draws inspiration from both the nonviolent example of Jesus and the nonviolent practice during the civil rights era on how we might resist dehumanizing evil and injustice.  [Luke 22:47-54]   Reflection How might we draw courage from Jesus’ response to violence? How might you practice nonviolence toward yourself t...

How might some of our unquestioned core beliefs keep us from growing in the Life of Christ? On the fifth Sunday of Lent, Christopher Mack wonders how we might jump off the treadmill of unfulfilled dreams and imagine what arrival at purpose and belonging in the Life of Christ looks like. [Philippians 3:7-14]   Reflection Are there some dreams for your life that seem ill-fitting in light of the life...

How does being made new connect with peacemaking? On the fifth Sunday of Lent, Christopher Mack considers what is required for healthy new growth in our lives and community. [Philippians 3]   Reflection Are there some dreams for your life that seem ill-fitting in light of the life of Christ? Does understanding the love of God we experience and extend to others as cruciform invite you to reexamine...

What does it look like for us to care for one another’s pain? On the third Sunday of Lent, Gena St. David and Weylin Lee bear witness to pain & injustice, collaborative peacemaking, and hope. [Isaiah 55]   Reflection Where do you notice scapegoating inside us and between us today? Who is “an opponent” you might wish to get to know better as a person? How are you becoming a source of “unexpecte...

Are you longing to fit into empire or for belonging in the Kingdom of God? On the second Sunday of Lent, Kimberly Culbertson contrasts the allure of empire to the way we show up to protect one another in the Kingdom of God. [Luke 13:31-35]   Reflection Where might God be inviting you to challenge the status quo of empire and lean more into a kingdom mindset? In this season of Lent, how are you cre...

What do we need to let go of in order to bear good fruit in our lives? On the first Sunday of Lent Christopher Mack looks to Jesus’ triumph over evil, injustice, and suffering as opening a way for us to ground pain in Divine Love . [Luke 4:1-13] Reflection As we begin Lent, is there a place where you feel acutely depleted or empty? Where do fears, resentments, and insecurities threaten to block yo...

What do you feel separate from in your life? On this Transfiguration Sunday, Lilly Ettinger reminds us that creative transformation often comes in times when we experience great challenge and turmoil. [2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2]   Reflection In what ways do we struggle with “veils” that obscure our understanding of God and ourselves? How might you open yourself to Jesus’ transformative work in an are...

When you encounter systems of oppression do you tend to shrink or fight? Kimberly Culbertson acknowledges the conflicts we encounter all around us and within us, inviting us to creatively resist the destructive violence, and imagine a world in harmony with God’s Reign. [Luke 6:27-30, 35b-36]   Reflection How might you lean into the creativity of a third way when you are caught in the either/or thi...

How does remembering our past shape who we are becoming together in the coming years? Christopher Mack facilitates a panel of Carol Lee, Hannah Friesen, and John Bagwell, longtime members of Vox, as they tell the story of what has made Vox such a special community. This is in conversation with our scripture which talks about the importance of roots both for resilience in times of adversity and for...

How can we pay attention to the conversation of Majesty and Mystery in our own humble lives? On the fifth Sunday after Epiphany, Christopher Mack connects our experience of Divine Majesty to our need to receive and give mercy in a way authentic to our calling. [Isaiah 6:1-8]   Reflection What is your soul longing for today? How can we validate the deeper questions of one another’s lives? Where do...

What might it mean to be exceptional? On the fourth Sunday after Epiphany, Vanessa Maleare invites us to see the Divine guiding us to harness our power through acts of mercy, resistance, and hope rooted in God’s Beloved Community. [Luke 2:22-38]   Reflection How do I see God’s movement around me? Do I hear an invitation? Does the invitation align with who God is?

As we reflect on how Christ is revealed during the season of epiphany, how are we invited to embody the good news Jesus lived and taught? On the third Sunday after Epiphany, Weylin Lee guides us to meet this moment of uncertainty with a robust embodiment of the good news of Jesus the Christ. [Luke 4:14-21]   Reflection How do we respond to unexpected invitations to embody good news? What opportuni...

On the second Sunday after Epiphany, Lilly Ettinger wonders what happens when we look at spiritual gifts less as markers of our individual superiority and more like gifts to further our common good. [1 Corinthians 12:4-11]   Reflection Where do you find communities of mutuality in your life? Where are you looking for them or hoping to find them? Where have I seen the beauty of community flourishin...

What might baptism have meant for Jesus and what might it mean for us today? On the Baptism of the Lord Sunday, Christopher Mack plunges into waters of chaos and upheaval to hear baptism  as an invitation to be transformed into the person, who by God’s grace, we are called into becoming…for God, ourselves, and one another. [Isaiah 43:1-2; Luke 3:21-22]   Reflection What wisdom have you gained from...

On the second Sunday after Christmas, Aurelia Dávila Pratt reminds us of our true identity as children of God, image bearers, and beloved. Repeating The Jesus Prayer and other intentional phrases and mantras, we are invited to ground ourselves in our deeper meaning and purpose.  [Luke 18:9-14]   Reflection What helps you remember who you truly are, especially when life feels overwhelming? When do...

How can we create a shared world where God’s love is experienced? On the fourth week of Advent, Vanessa Beltran highlights how moments of shared vulnerability–like Mary’s journey to Elizabeth–are essential to becoming who God created us to be, so we can truly understand God’s blessings. [Luke 1:39-45]   Reflection How can you open your heart and life to others in ways that allow both you and them...

Is there a part of your life that feels exiled or stuck in a rut? On this third week of Advent, Christopher Mack hears in the message of John the Baptizer, an invitation for our lives to be joyfully undone in the wilderness of waiting. [Luke 3:7-17]   Reflection When have you experienced a disruption that led to transformation? How can this season of waiting re-envision our way in the world? Where...

What comes up for you when you think about uncertainty? Weylin Lee begins our season of advent with three markers for wading into waiting and uncertainty: discerning with imagination; recalling God’s gifts; and embodying a path of love. [Psalm 25]   Reflection How might we practice discernment with imagination? What are some of God’s gifts that you can recall in this current season? What is the pa...