Ordinary Time 2023: Falling Sparrows, Numbered Hairs, and the Dread of Gehenna

Word of Life Church St Joseph

Ordinary Time 2023: Falling Sparrows, Numbered Hairs, and the Dread of Gehenna

June 25, 2023 • Brian Zahnd

Jesus says that we should not fear those who revile us or even those who can only kill the body. Jesus says that the Father's care for us is so deep that we need not fear. But Jesus also says we should fear the one who can destroy both body and soul in Gehenna. What does this mean and who is Jesus talking about?

Joy Comes in the Mourning

October 29, 2023 • Jacob Taylor

We live in between that first morning of new creation when Mary encountered the risen Christ and the realization of our hope when one day all things will be made new. We await that day when all tears will be wiped away and all sorrow turned to joy. May we be reminded that with every new morning we awake to the presence of the one who is able to turn to our sorrow to joy. When we ask, “Where is Jesus?” We can be confident, whether we recognize him or not, he is with us.

The Jesus Prayer

October 22, 2023 • Derek Vreeland

Prayer is to our soul what breathing is to our body. But we don’t need to learn how to breathe; our bodies do that automatically. We do need to learn how to pray. One prayer we can quickly learn is the Jesus Prayer—Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me. It has the potential to open us up more fully to the mercy of God. Prayer is about carving out time and space to attend to the presence of God which is often found in stillness and silence. The Jesus Prayer helps us get there.

A Feast For All

October 15, 2023 • Jacob Taylor

"On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food..." With these words Isaiah begins to paint a vivid picture of a salvation feast prepared for all. The early church would come to embrace and enact this vision of the kingdom of God. Their weekly feasts marked by radical hospitality and informed by the table practice and teachings of Jesus. In a world suffering from grief and division, it is this weekly meal, a feast of salvation that we need most.