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In the month of November, we will be doing a series called The Heart of a Psalmist. The goal of this series is to dive into the Psalms and develop an authentic heart for God like we read throughout this part of scripture. This book was put together in the Second Temple Period (around 5^th century B.C.E). The collection of this book is divided into 5 sections (1-41, 42-72, 73 – 89, 90 – 106, 107 – 150) which is indicated by a prose doxology of praise to God (except the 5^th book).

          Psalms is a book of poetry but not in a rhythm sense rather in its drawing of parallelism.  It is often hard to translate due to Biblical Hebrew being a synthetic language opposed to analytic languages like English. A synthetic language combines multiple concepts into each word, while an analytic language breaks up concepts into separate words. The poetry of this sacred book finds away to still speak to us regardless of the translating difficulties.

Psalms seems to speak to our hearts and is often a book we search in times of trouble, sadness, anger, and exhilaration. May we learn to speak to God in an authentic way and develop The Heart of a Psalmist. Knowing that, “If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.” – Psalms 139:8 NRSV

Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditations from the Center for Action and Contemplation – May 11th, 2022

In his poem “Glosa á lo Divino,” John of the Cross reveals his deep trust in the mystery of “not knowing,” confident that it will lead him into greater intimacy with God. We share with you Mirabai Starr’s translation.

I would not sacrifice my soul 
for all the beauty of this world. 

There is only one thing
for which I would risk everything: 
an I-don’t-know-what
that lies hidden
in the heart of the Mystery. 

The taste of finite pleasure
leads nowhere.
All it does is exhaust the appetite 
and ravage the palate.
And so, I would not sacrifice my soul 
for all the sweetness of this world. 

But I would risk everything 
for an I-don’t-know-what 
that lies hidden
in the heart of the Mystery. 

The generous heart
does not collapse into the easy things, 
but rises up in adversity.
It settles for nothing.
Faith lifts it higher and higher. 

Such a heart savors
an I-don’t-know-what
found only in the heart of the Mystery. 

The soul that God has touched 
burns with love-longing.
Her tastes have been transfigured. 
Ordinary pleasures sicken her. 
She is like a person with a fever; 
nothing tastes good anymore. 

All she wants
is an I-don’t-know-what 
locked in the heart of 
the Mystery. . . .

I will never lose myself
for anything the senses can taste, 
nor for anything the mind can grasp, 
no matter how sublime, 
    how delicious.
I will not pause for beauty,
I will not linger over grace.
I am bound for
an I-don’t-know-what
deep within the heart of the Mystery.

—John of the Cross, Glosa á lo Divino, trans. Mirabai Starr

In our final message we looked at the Domestication of the Cross and how the cross should launch us to action for those being persecuted and treated as outcasts today. Below you will find the Podcast of this message due to our Video Camera having issues.

In our upcoming series called Shining Star we are diving into the book of Esther. This is an incredible book where God is never mentioned but is constantly working. In this series we are going to explore four things from Esther.

First, we are going to look at Moral Ambiguity & God because this book is full of drinking, sex, and broken Torah commands. Which doesn’t allow us to stay and black & white thinking, with a God that is working throughout all these moments.

Next, we will look at how this story can help us find the Courage to Pivot the Narratives forced upon us by society. Esther finds the courage to pivot a narrative that was going to lead to the mass genocide of her people.

After covering these two things we will have a special Sunday where the Kids & Youth take over our Church service. In this service they will help us discover more about looking out for God in action.

To conclude this series, we will explore how The Movement of God is Seen if we are willing to go on the journey of discovery. The author of Esther invites us on this journey by working tirelessly to avoid mentioning God by name or using religious language.

Have you ever wondered about what it means to build true community? The Early Church was known for building true community that found favor among all people regardless of religious difference. We read this in Acts 2:42-47

⁴² And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. ⁴³ And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. ⁴⁴ And all who believed were together and had all things in common. ⁴⁵ And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. ⁴⁶ And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

As Christians we should be known by the true communities we build. Communities that are inclusive, gracious, and supportive. Where people could disagree with our religious standpoint but be unable to fault our ability to build communities that holistically looks after individuals. Sadly, this is not what the Church and Christians are known for throughout our world.

We are doing a series diving into how we can build these kinds of communities like the Early Church. This would enable the church to become contagious again and help others connect with the love, grace, mercy, and peace of Christ that surpass all understanding. Our hearts as Christians should always be to remove any obstacle stopping others from connecting with the heart of God.

Check out our recent Midweek Devotional where we hear the Communion Message from Mal Spooner (August 1st, 2021).

Check out our Midweek Devotional about our upcoming series for the month of August.

Check out our recent Podcast that takes a deep dive into the story about the Good Samaritan.

Check out our Midweek Devotional on Encouragement by watching the YouTube video included in this post.

Check out our recent Podcast that dives into the Rebuke of Mary.

The following is a spiritual imperative from Henri J. M. Nouwen book titled The Inner Voice of Love: A Journey Through Anguish to Freedom.

Do not tell everyone your story. You will only end up feeling more rejected. People cannot give you what you long for in your heart. The more you expect from people’s response to your experience of abandonment, the more you will feel exposed to ridicule.

You have to close yourself to the outside world so you can enter your own heart and the heart of God through your pain. God will send to you the people with whom you can share your anguish, who can lead you closer to the true source of love.

God is faithful to God’s promise. Before you die, you will find the acceptance and the love you crave. It will not come in the way you expect. It will not follow your needs and wishes. But it will fill your heart and satisfy your deepest desire. There is nothing to hold on to but this promise. Everything else has been taken away from you. Cling to that naked promise in faith. Your faith will heal you.

Galatians 5:1

For Freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

How often do we feel that we are bearing a yoke that is too heavy? Christ tells us his yoke is easy but far too often we feel this is not the case. I know so many Christians who get burden down by the pressure of becoming a perfect Christian. They spend so much of their lives running and trying to figure out how to live a perfect Christian life. Forgetting that we all fall short and falling is a natural cycle of life which gives us the opportunity to stand up.

              This scripture is screaming the fact that as Christians we do not have to submit to a yoke of slavery which is a list of dos and do nots. God’s love will change us and produce fruit within our lives, but we are not meant to simply turn this into a new law to follow. In this section of scripture Paul is speaking to a community of Jews and Gentiles following this Jesus movement imploring the Jews to not force circumcision on the Gentiles (along with other laws because they had around 615).

Circumcision was important to the Jewish community and a painful initiation for the Gentile men. Paul is imploring them not to put a yoke of slavery onto others because Christ calls us to freedom. This does not mean we can do whatever we like in life, but instead realise that Christ has called us to surrender ourselves by following God’s way of love.

 Are you willing to stand firm in this freedom by continually surrendering to Christ and asking what love requires of you?