Liturgy

God of the universe, this morning
we bring our defensive and protective strategies.
We bring our received messages about our unworthiness.

We bring the seemingly broken parts of ourselves before you.
We bring the injustices of misused power in our society.
We bring our whole selves, joy, and pain.

May we dare to practice trusting your goodness
with one more ounce of faith than we did yesterday.

That the pain we are blindly clinging to
may be healed through the unexpected ways
and in the unlikely places you inhabit.

We gather this morning
in the name of our triune God,
Three in One,
Amen.

(Sean Williams)

Scripture Reading

We invite you to hear from the reading of John 9: 5-7.

Jesus shared with his students, 5 As long as I am in the world,
I am the light of the world.” 6 When he had said this, he spat
on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread
the mud on the man’s eyes,

7 saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent).
Then he went and washed and came back able to see.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God!
The Good News of Christ. Praise be to you, O Christ!

The grass withers and the flower fades,
but the Word of the Lord endures forever. Amen.

Sermon and Reflection

Sermon Podcast 9.15.19 – Contemplation: Seeing the Space Between Us

What am I holding tightly to that is filtering my enjoyment of life?

Where do I sense an invitation to practice resting my mind?

Benediction

Vox family, practitioners and recipients of healing
through unexpected means and unlikely places,
you are invited in this moment to receive a blessing.

May your week’s practice of residing in the
present, releasing that which binds you, and
resting the mind be blessed with compassionate
curiosity and gentle observation.

May you practice softer, not harder.
May your practice unburden you,
rather than burden you.

May you experience a felt sense of beginner’s mind
and childlike wonder at the nuances of where
healing and growth truly come from.

Let us go in the name
of the triune God,
Holy Three in One,
Amen.

(Sean Williams)

Go in peace and live the church.
See you throughout the week.

[Photo by Robert Ogilvie @ Flickr]