Toward Sunday

We begin a new worship series this week called On Ramp.  On Ramp will be a five-week worship series imaginatively exploring central topics in Christian faith. We are drawing upon and adapting some of the framework of a series called Animate (Faith) by SparkHouse Publications as we prepare this worship series for our particular context.

▪July 12: Religion (Mark 6.14-29)

▪July 19: Bible (Acts 17.10-12)

▪July 26: God (1 Timothy 6.16, John 1.18, Matthew 6.9, Revelation 4.1-11,  Luke 13.34)

▪August 2: Jesus (John 6.24-35)

▪August 9: Salvation (James 2.14-26)

Lillian Daniel is a pastor in the United Church of Christ who has written extensively in recent years on reclaiming religion, saying spirituality is not enough. She longs for us to root our lives in the depths of our Christian tradition. This week we’ll reflect on the significance of religion and the possibilities for being spiritual AND religious.

Lillian Daniel writes, “The beauty of a long tradition is that it is bigger than anything we could do by ourselves. These days it is somewhat countercultural to suggest that one might possibly benefit from the company of others in the life of faith. Particularly those who have gone before us in faith…I wanted more than just an intellectual epiphany…something with a longer shelf life than my own latest opinion” (Animate Facilitator’s Guide, 32).

Read Mark 6.14-29.  This is not an easy text. The story might remind you of the popular television show Game of Thrones!   Mark 6.14-29 reminds us just how violent and destructive our world can be. Consider the parts of the passage that you find troubling.

David Lose writes, “This is the way of the world, but it is not the whole story. Because Jesus comes, you see, precisely to show us that there is something more, something beyond the heartache and intrigue and tragedy…Which brings us, I think, to the very heart of the gospel promise. We believe, teach, and confess that Jesus came to make possible for us more than mere survival, more than mere persistence, more even than mere success. Jesus came to help us to imagine that there is more to this life than we can perceive. Jesus came to offer us not just more life, but abundant life. Jesus came so that there could be a better ending to our stories and the story of the world than we can imagine or construct on our own.”