Teachings 2025:

August 17th - Kate Lasso

Being a Good and Courageous Neighbor

Luke 12:49-56. 49

“I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” He said to the crowd: "When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?"

Last week, we remembered what Jesus called God’s two greatest commandments, found in Mark 12: “The first is this: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Today’s passage from Luke adds another dimension to the common idea that loving your neighbor always means keeping the peace. Sometimes love lights a fire, and sometimes it divides.

In Matthew 10:34, Jesus expresses this same thought: “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”

A few weeks ago, Bill led us in reflecting on the story of the Good Samaritan, who shows compassion and offers help to a stranger in need. From this story, we see an example of a good neighbor living out Jesus’ teachings of love, compassion, humility, and actively care for others. We understand that being a good neighbor is about forming relationships, taking responsibility, and practicing empathy toward all people, especially the vulnerable and marginalized. Being a good neighbor shows a willingness to act with mercy and kindness toward others -- even if they are our perceived enemies, thinking about the relationship between Samaritans and Jews in biblical times. That sounds like it could be pretty challenging!

When read in the context of the two greatest commandments, today’s scripture reveals another dimension of neighborliness—especially in communities that have lost their way – an adulterous nation – as Gail said last week. In this context, Jesus is calling us to a deeper, more intimate and costly love—not sentimental harmony, but courageous faithfulness.

This is what Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote about in 1937 in The Cost of Discipleship where he contrasts true discipleship which requires rejecting “cheap grace”—forgiveness and faith without repentance, obedience, or transformation, with “costly grace”, the essence of the two great commandments. Bonhoeffer’s costly grace is the same love Jesus calls us to—a love that tells the truth, stands against injustice, and risks comfort for the sake of another’s dignity.

Archbishop Oscar Romero expounds on this same theme in November 1977 in El Salvador, which was under an authoritarian regime at that time, as it is today. "How to Know if I Am a Christian" :

"Sisters and Brothers, do you want to know if your Christianity is authentic? Here is the touchstone.
With whom are you at peace?
Who criticizes you?
Who does not accept you?
Who flatters you?

Remember what Christ once said: I have not come to bring peace, but division. And there will be division even within the same family, because some want to live more comfortably, according to the principles of the world, of power, and of money, while others, on the contrary, have understood Christ’s calling and must reject everything that cannot be just in the world."

Both Bonhoeffer and Romero help us see that through today’s passage Jesus is inviting us farther along a path of spiritual transformation—by lighting a fire, by provoking division, when this is what love requires. In scripture, fire carries several different meanings – fire judges, purifies, and ignites. It exposes injustice, burns away what is false, and fills God’s people with boldness, like on Pentecost.

This all sounds very uncomfortable, even harsh. Lighting a fire and creating division? But the division Jesus speaks of is not the goal—it’s what can happen when painful truths are revealed. It happens when sin and injustice are exposed, when light enters the darkness, and when corrupt systems are challenged. Jesus’ message divides not because it is combative, but because it confronts violence, oppression, and injustice. This, too, shapes what it means to be a good neighbor. Let me expound on this with a few thoughts:

Being a Good Neighbor Means Telling the Truth in Love

Authentic love is not always agreeable. Standing for justice, compassion, and truth can strain relationships.
A good neighbor does not enable harm or injustice for the sake of peace, but speaks up, even when it’s uncomfortable and feels risky.

Being a Good Neighbor Requires Discernment

Jesus rebukes people for not recognizing the “signs of the times.” A good neighbor seeks to understand what God is doing, responding with wisdom and urgency.
Gail spoke about this last week - we live in extraordinary times—times of danger, possibility, and also of hope. But to claim that hope requires seeing the signs and acting on them – even when the only sign given is the call to repentance, to turn around and change our ways.

Being a Good Neighbor Is Risky but Transformative

Jesus’ fire purifies. Neighborly love, shaped by Christ, will disrupt the status quo, but it ultimately heals and refines.
The “division” Jesus describes is a call for change, a result of confronting love in a resistant world.

Jesus concludes with an admonishment: “You know how to interpret the sky, but not the present time.” This also echoes what we heard from Gail last week: the Gospel’s urgency calls us not to panic or retreat, but to respond with clarity, compassion, and courage. As courageous neighbors, we must read the times:

What are the needs in our community?
What injustices have become so normalized in our city that we just accept them as the way things are?
How can we be Christ today, confronting the culture of greed and violence that permeates our society, leading it astray.

Last week, Gail invited us to imagine a “New, New Land,” like the transformative experience of our community in 1976. As a community, how are we to respond to the signs of our times? As we seek answers to this question, we must remain open to whatever emerges—whether a new structure, new call, new identity, or something else entirely. We need to listen for God’s voice calling us into deeper relationship with God and as courageous neighbors to those around us.

We are living in extraordinary times, and, yes, we need to be courageous neighbors. So here is an invitation to you – this week, find a way to be a courageous neighbor: name an injustice you’ve gotten used to, stand with someone who is vulnerable, or refuse to let fear keep you from speaking truth in love. Be a visible expression of God’s love. That is the fire Christ came to kindle.

And, as a community, how can we be catalysts of hope today? How can we carry the transformative spirit so urgently needed in our city and world? What is God calling us to do, as the embodiment of Christ in these times? As Gail said last week, we need to begin with prayer, to open our hearts and minds to God’s voice calling us. It’s up to us to listen to that call and to bravely say yes. That is how we kindle Christ’s fire in our time.

August 10th - Gail Arnall

Reading the Signs: A Reflection on the Coming Crisis and the Call to Neighborliness

Susie Jones recently gave me a copy of a teaching by David Hilfiker that was delivered in February 2005. While current events have changed, the underlying insights from David’s teaching remain as true today as they were twenty years ago. I have used David’s teaching as a basis for this teaching.

Let me add to the scripture in Hebrews 11 that you just heard by reading Matthew 16:1-4:

"“The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven. He replied, ‘When evening comes, you say, “It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,” and in the morning, “Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.” You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.’ Then Jesus left them and went away.” — Mt 16:1–4

We live in a time of extraordinary danger and extraordinary possibility—a time, even, of hope. But to claim those possibilities and that hope requires reading the signs of the times. And that is difficult when the only sign that's given is the sign of Jonah: the demand for repentance—for turning around and changing our ways.

When Jesus speaks of a "wicked and adulterous generation," he's not talking about sexual immorality. In Scripture, “adultery” is often a metaphor for spiritual unfaithfulness—for turning away from God’s covenant, ignoring the poor, embracing greed, destroying creation, and trusting in violence rather than mercy.

Ours is a wicked and adulterous generation.

We've talked in this community for years about the perils of Empire. We've named how its values—consumerism, domination, militarism—have become so alien to the Gospel that we find ourselves in exile. And we've named the judgment that is already at hand:

●ecological devastation

●proliferation of weapons and surveillance

●inequality and competition over scarce resources

●political collapse and widespread suffering

And we see that this judgment is not just in the future—it is already unfolding. The economic system is unraveling. The middle class is hollowing out. The social safety net is fraying. Political division has deepened. And the global standing of the United States has diminished. Why is this important for us as Christians?Because this is precisely when the Gospel becomes most urgent. As followers of Jesus, we are called not to panic or retreat, but to respond with clarity, compassion, and courage.One of the clearest teachings Jesus gives us in how to live in such times is found in the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37)\. When the lawyer asks Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”, Jesus doesn’t offer a theological abstraction. He tells a story.One take away from this and other stories (parables) that Jesus told is that to be a neighbor is to interrupt the logic of Empire with the logic of mercy. Let me read that again: to be a neighbor is to interrupt the logic of Empire with the logic of mercy. To be a neighbor is to reject self-protection and instead build relationships of mutual care.To be a neighbor is to bind the wounds created by the systems we inhabit.In our context, as the systems of Empire unravel, we will increasingly find people—perhaps ourselves—beaten down by economic collapse, ecological instability, and political betrayal. In such a world, the question is not who is my neighbor? But will I be a neighbor? Let me repeat that: the question is not who is my neighbor? But will I be a neighbor?Being a good neighbor is not just a moral good—it is a survival strategy. When the institutions fail, it will be the strength of our relationships that sustains us. We have example after example of how those before us in Church of the Saviour, have responded to the question Will I be a neighbor? Think about it in the context of our Hebrew scripture for today: BY FAITH, THEY CREATED

●Joseph’s House, where care for those with AIDS became a challenge to a culture of abandonment.

●Jubilee Jobs, where job placement is joined to political advocacy for a living wage.

●Family Place, which welcomes immigrant adults and children into our community as family.

●New Community, which was so committed to affordable housing that it started building affordable housing through Manna.

●Jubilee Housing which not only provides affordable housing for hundreds of families in Adams Morgan, it is now creating housing with support services for returning citizens

●Festival Center which now provides a welcoming, safe and affordable place for people and organizations advancing social justice issues to meet, have office space, receive fiscal sponsorship and otherwise be supported.

But what if we went further today? What if we intentionally began thinking of how to create and come alongside of existing organizations offering parallel structures of neighborliness—small, resilient communities of compassion and justice in a collapsing world?

Could we imagine:

●A Community that reaches out to those who are lonely and disconnected?

●A Community that might be led by a prophet among us? (We have a great example of how Bill Mefford, truly a prophet, brought a vision for the Festival Center that the Board and others have embraced.)

●A community committed not only to the economically poor but to the spiritually poor as well?Let me repeat what I said at the beginning:

I have been thinking a lot about how 8th Day could claim the possibility of hope. This week I began to think in terms of a New, New Land. For those not familiar with what has been referred to in Church of the Saviour circles as “the New Land,” in 1976 Gordon Cosby became convinced that the Church of the Saviour, with about 100 or so members, needed to split into several worshiping communities. There was considerable resistance, but finally the church divided into seven communities. Eighth Day was one of those new church communities. We entered into a New Land. I am beginning to think that Eighth Day is ready for a New, New Land. I don’t exactly know what that means, but I wonder if the first step is to be open to something new. Some new structure, new call, new identity? I don’t know. But I wonder if you would join me in becoming open to something new for our community?

I shared some of these thoughts with Mike Little recently. He is a spiritual leader in Church of the Saviour circles. He said what we must do first is decide what we want. And he said we must begin with the inner journey, with prayer. Preferably collective prayer. In other words, this is not the time for a strategic planning session. It is a time for deepening our prayer life.

What would that look like?

August 3rd - Kathy Doan

Nothing New Under the Sun

Like many of you, I haven’t spent much time roaming around in the book of Ecclesiastes and its cynical, seemingly hopeless take on the world is a bit off putting to say the least. But if there was ever an author who summed up how many of us are feeling these days it’s author of Ecclesiastes. He’s tried to do his best, but in the end all is for naught. He despairs at the thought that when he dies all he has worked so hard to build will be handed over to someone else who has done nothing to earn it and as a result may not prove to be a good steward. Sound familiar?For the last six months we have seen funding stripped from countless programs that were painstakingly built over years, sometime decades, to address a myriad of challenges that keep people in the U.S. and abroad from fully thriving and being able to share their God given skills and talents in ways that benefit us all.

The sheer scale of the destructions is almost beyond one’s ability to comprehend and have left many of reeling and in deep despair. Like the author of Ecclesiastes, we are tempted to give up, wondering what was the point of all of our hard work and dedication.

And yet, paradoxically, as I dug a bit deeper, I found the book of Ecclesiastes to ultimately be a hopeful book, in that the author, despite his gloomy pessimism has not in fact abandoned his faith in God. Ultimately, I see the book as a cautionary tale of what happens if you don’t keep your priorities straight and end up elevating a love of power and wealth over a love for and faithfulness to God and God’s ways.

King Solomon is credited with authoring the book of Ecclesiastes, along with Proverbs and the Song of Solomon. These three books, together with the book of Job make up the wisdom literature of the Bible, a genre which can sometimes seem a little out of step with the other books in the Bible and perhaps for that reason we don’t tend to see them appearing very often in our weekly lectionary readings. But they also reflect the fact that the books of the Bible run the gamut of the lived human experience in all its glorious complexity, beauty and messiness.

So, speaking of complexity and messiness, let’s turn our attention to King Solomon. According to the chronology in Kings 11:42, Solomon was about 20 years old when he was crowned King of Israel. His father, King David, had united the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah into the Kingdom of Israel, establishing the city of Jerusalem as its capital. His son, Solomon, inherited a stable, prosperous country which he then proceeded to expand greatly in terms of both territory and material wealth. His signature accomplishment was the construction of the temple in Jerusalem which required a work force of over 180,000 men. This massive undertaking also employed numerous architects and artisans who festooned the temple with gold, silver and other precious metals.

Other major building projects would follow, including a palace complex that took 13 years to complete, along with many fortresses to protect the kingdom. But while the kingdom of Israel had a large army, King Solomon relied on a system of trade agreements to help keep the peace. Biblical scholars have argued that it would be those trade agreements that helped pave the way for Solomon’s ultimately estrangement from God and it is that estrangement which gives rise the gloom that pervades Ecclesiastes.

At the start of his reign, Solomon had forged a strong relationship with God.

As described in 1 Kings 3:4-13:

4 The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for that was the most important high place, and Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”

6 Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day.

7 “Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. 8 Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”

10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. 11 So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, 12 I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. 13 Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings.

The Lord appeared to Solomon once again after the dedication of the new temple in Jerusalem. Solomon had planned an elaborate ceremony which included representatives from all 12 tribes of Israel and involved bringing the Ark of the Covenant into the most sacred part of the temple, enveloped in a cloud to shield God’ presence. Afterward, King Solomon blessed the crowed and lead them in many prayers of dedication.

In total, the ceremony lasted seven days. Subsequently, God appeared to King Solomon and assured him that his prayers had been heard and the temple was indeed blessed. However, this time God also issued Solomon a warning: stay away from the worship of idols. You have only one God, that’s me, please do not forget or there will be problems. Well, you can probably see where this story is going, since, to quote from Ecclesiastes, there is nothing new under the sun, including the tendency of humans to chase after idols and to quickly forget what happens when they do. You would think that we might have learned by now that “Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness”, and all the rest will fall in place, including a right relationship with power and wealth, one which is life giving not death dealing. But no, even Solomon in all his wisdom, forgot that basic lesson; forgot for example, what had happened to the Israelites who, in their impatience, had chosen to worship a golden calf instead of remaining faithful to God who had just liberated them from slavery in Egypt.

Which takes us back to the aforementioned trade agreements. As a result of those agreements, King Solomon had acquired hundreds of wives from foreign countries as it was the tradition of those times to send women from their home countries to Israel as a way to “seal the deal.” While that objectification of women is clearly problematic, it appears that they did have a great deal of freedom to continue to follow their traditional customs and religious practices in Israel. To accommodate them, King Solomon permitted the construction of temples to many different foreign gods. That in and of itself might have been okay, but what wasn’t okay is that King Solomon began to permit the worship of idols in the holy Temple in Jerusalem.

So, God appears to Solomon a third time. But this time God is not happy: As is written in 1 Kings 11: 9-13.

9 The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. 10 Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command. 11 So the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. 12 Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13

In addition to turning away from God at the end of his life, and setting a poor example for his people, Solomon had also imposed over the years, a heavy tax burden on his subjects. – those cities and palaces and fortresses he built as a way to consolidate Isreal’s power in the region did not come cheap. In addition, Israel’s empire building had not gone over well with everyone.

Solomon’s enemies were ready to pounce once the king had died, and his son, Rehoboam ascended the throne. As a result, the kingdom was divided once again into two kingdoms, the norther kingdom of Isreal and the southern kingdom of Judah. Thus, the reign of a United Israel was glorious, but brief.

Re-reading today’s scripture passages from Ecclesiastes in light of what I learned about its author, King Solomon, in the course of preparing for this teaching, makes me think about them a little differently. Rather than being in the grip of an existential crisis, as it might first appear to the reader, it now seems like that author’s despair is at least partially rooted in the realization that he has brought this on himself as a result of his choosing to worship foreign idols. He laments that “who knows whether that person (who takes over the kingdom) will be wise or foolish?” God had richly blessed him, yet at the end he had chosen to turn his back on God and as a result he was left wondering what, if anything would survive of his life’s work. One might also think based on today’s lectionary passages alone, that the author had completely lost his faith in God. One would be wrong. For at the end of Ecclesiastes, we read at Chapter 11: 13: “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God, and keep God’s commandments, for this is the whole duty of humankind. For God will bring every deed into judgement with every secret thing, whether good or evil.” While the relationship between God and King Solomon has been deeply strained, it has not entirely broken.

Unlike today’s passages from Ecclesiastes, where some background information about the author and his times can be helpful in opening up new levels of meaning, today’s scripture reading from Luke can be easily understood with the four corners of the passage. “Watch out! Be on your guard against all types of greed; life doesn’t consist of an abundance of possessions.” While Jesus’ message is clear, it’s not particularly new or revelatory. The Hebrew prophets were constantly denouncing the sins of the wealthy and powerful, and you will recall, God praises Solomon precisely because he doesn’t ask for either. But the fact that Jesus’ message is not new, reinforces the idea that when you come right down to it, there are only two basic rules the Bible teaches which ostensibly are not that complicated to understand. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul and love your neighbor as yourself. Any power or wealth we may have are in service to those two commandments.

The man who shouts from the crowd addresses Jesus as “Teacher” so presumably he’s spent some time listening to Jesus and respects what he has to say, yet he seems to have totally missed the point of Jesus’ teachings. He wants to use Jesus for his own ends in an effort to secure more wealth for himself. Jesus is clearly annoyed with him and instead of consenting to do his bidding uses the request as an opportunity to remind his listeners that he is calling them to a very different way of life, one that calls us to share our wealth not horde it.

Like King Solomon and the man who shouted at Jesus, I too need frequent reminders of the importance of putting God first, of seeking to be in right relationship with the creator of the universe, of letting God lead the dance as it were. I want to be in control, to make sure everything goes right. That can be a pretty heavy burden at times. In my experience, it’s when I walk into a situation where I really have no idea what to do, that there is space for God to be there too.

One of my favorite songs is Lord of the Dance. This is how the first part of it goes:

I danced in the morning when the world was begun,
And I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun,
And I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth:
At Bethlehem I had my birth.

Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the dance, said he,
And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I'll lead you all in the dance, said he.

May it be so. Amen and Alleluia

July 27th - Dixcy Bosley-Smith

The Better Way

Luke 10:38-42. "As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Jesus’ feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” Jesus answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

This familiar story of Mary and Martha, highlights two different approaches to faith and discipleship. One focused on practical service and worldly concerns, while the other prioritizes spending time with Jesus and learning from him. I have always understood that Jesus commends Mary's choice, emphasizing that a relationship with him is most essential, even amidst the busyness of our day .

Feels like the monastic life was built on this message while those on the front lines of human suffering, like, lets say those at the food distribution sites in Gaza are like….ya ya ya Despite all the pressure placed on women of that day to look after the affairs of the home and especially to serve male guests, the Gospel story portrays Martha as distracted, disturbed and agitated, while her sister, Mary sits at Jesus’ feet to devoted to him. Martha needs to learn that very important 'one thing- The Better Way… that Jesus wants for all of us. Jesus teaches Martha that the most important thing in life is to seek His presence. We need to have a close and intimate relationship, that ’one thing' then everything else will fall into place.

I have always felt threatened by Mary or those spiritual Mary’s of the world who pray so well…. Doing is more my style than Being. The merits of the contemplative life vs the merits of the activist life. As an person of action, not prayer, CoS appealed to me as a community that values mission centered faith. And within this one expression of the Church, you have folks who nurture silent retreat centers and folks who nurture patients at Josephs House. The first seeming much harder to me , thus more valued…If that makes sense. Being a nurse is my gift, it’s easy, effortless… Being contemplative much harder…We all likely know whether we lean toward the Mary way or the Martha way. Somehow, both equally valued in God’s eyes. Honestly, this story always irritated me. I think Martha is awesome. She’s always made out to be a whiner, less devoted than her younger sister, What a brat….getting away with just sitting, listening and not getting a hot meal on the table . I am feeling annoyed with Mary just imagining it. A group of hungry men show up to your home and some one has to take care of them for God’s sake. Jesus likely traveled with an entourage so to welcome him is to welcome many with him. This was before carry out pizza and door dashing options.

After Carol invited me to share and I was forced to turn off Epstein drama ….I realized the story is so much larger than our gifts….Really both women are being blessed here. Mary gets to sit at the feet of Jesus and Martha gets a correction… a loving redirection, another form of blessing God often takes w us. Who does not get furious when you are working hard and others are not? Isn’t that the stoking of political anger made by Republicans toward Medicaid and SNAP recipients… Get to work…no free lunch. That is the national discontent that too many poor and immigrants are getting more than their share while the mega wealthy. “ Have- yachts” have somehow slid by as deserving. So easy to assume others are lazy from the deck of your ship. Jesus is not actually correcting her actions/ her service… He demonstrates that he cares deeply about Martha’s well-being as his response to her was filled with compassion and comfort. He acknowledged her worries and troubles, but gently redirected her focus to find peace and joy in being still. Jesus' words do not dismiss Martha's valid concerns. After all, she is hardworking, generous, sacrificial and hospitable. She opened her home to him and all who came along with him and it’s a lot of work to offer hospitality. Two women and a bunch of men. It can be a thankless task to be the hostess, the one who welcomes everyone else and cleans up behind them….

At first glance, it does seem as though Jesus rebukes Martha in favor of Mary. She just wants Jesus to tell Mary to help her rather than just passively sitting at his feet. Instead, he replies: “Martha, Martha…you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed – or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”Jesus really wants to know where is your heart…. He is speaking to her from a place of deep love… You can not be at home in a place of anxiety, fear, judgement, anger… Only one thing is needed. He wants her to focus on him. … Jesus is also calling us from a place of distraction to a place of whole heartedness. Not about sitting around… but about keeping attention on what matters most which is ….God’s whole hearted love for us.

But to put Jesus’ ‘rebuke’ in context, it’s important to remember that they were close family friends. We know this from John’s Gospel, where it says: “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus” as he stayed with them in Bethany. ( It was likely Martha doing everything with that visit as well. It was just who she was) Luke tells us it was Martha, the eldest , most likely who opened her home to Jesus – When Lazarus dies, it’s Martha who goes out to meet Jesus first, showing a particular type of strength of character. In this raw moment, Jesus and Martha have an transformational conversation. She begins by expressing her grief and frustration ( I like that Martha has a confrontative edge in both stories) : “If you had been here, my brother would not have died.” In many ways, Jesus had failed them at their hour of need. But Martha seems to be a pretty faithful soul as she follows up with: “ I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” There is both honesty and faith woven in her words of grief and despair. Jesus assures Martha that her brother Lazarus will “rise again”, but she’s not exactly sure what he means. Jesus then makes one of the greatest declarations of his divinity to be found in the Gospels: “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die” ( As one who believes God is too large to fit in one religion, my interfaith interpretation of that text goes like this….“ I am the resurrection and the life. The one who lives in the WAY I LOVE will live, even though they die” … This promise encapsulates the most profound truths of the Christian faith Our task as followers is to enlarge the tent of Jesus’ love beyond religious boundary tribalism ( which Jesus came to remove) and to proclaim not just to early Christians but to all of them and to all of us… My LOVE is the gateway to life ever lasting… not like you are immortal..but like…your joy will be complete if and only if you LOVE like me. Jesus chose to say this to MARTHA first… not the disciples, nor the crowds, but to his close female friend in her hour of greatest grief.

Jesus then asks whether she believes this about him, and she replies with an equally powerful statement: “Yes, Lord…I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world”. Sorry Peter , you are not the only one who recognizes that Jesus is the Christ. Martha does too. Maybe the cornerstone of the Church was built on Martha’s faith too….Mary and Martha, the few female names we ever know in scriptures were Jesus’ dearest friends and his early disciples. On this occasion, Martha’s problem wasn’t that she was looking after the guests and her sister wasn’t, it was that she was pissed off, bitchy, irritated….There was an agitation underneath, which she took out on her sister. ( Trust me , that is the easiest thing to do…Our human condition of jealousy and vulnerability tends to find satisfaction in blaming those who threaten us… ) Who of us at this table know this feeling? Our nearest and dearest often bear the brunt of our anxiety, and resentment….maybe because we assume and expect they should know our feelings. It’s not a story about two sisters snarky exchange … Don’t we all want to be recognized when God shows us???…but about Christ empowering women, two of his closest companions, to be examples to the rest of us to follow him with a whole heart. What does that mean to me in 2025 as we find our country and communities so fractured? And faithfulness so impossible. Ultimately we are called to integrate both spiritual devotion and active service, a kind of holistic discipleship.

So finally…. Here’s what I get from all this….When Jesus said to her Martha, you are distracted by many things Mary has chosen the better part AND it will not be taken away, I wonder if he meant NOT that we are distracted by work itself, but that we are distracted from the better part when we judge the actions or inactions of others through the lens of our own personality. Ponder on the few or many ways we may project our way of being or personality and maybe even our gifts on others expecting them to be like “us ” and ( more importantly not accepting “THEM” as another unique expression of God’s wonder) But that thing we do, where we judge the actions of others based on how we ourselves move through the world – that is a distraction from the BETTER WAY. The thing Jesus was pointing to. The Better Way is not who or what or why we do what we do….the main thing that Jesus says WILL NOT BE TAKEN AWAY is…. ….how we love with an open heart. We never do, really, we never seem to know what we are doing…. We think we’ve got it down and then we begin to judge the actions of others.

So maybe choosing the better part isn’t about choosing between action and contemplation, maybe it is not about feeding hungry visitors who drop by or sitting at Jesus feet… Maybe choosing the better way is simple and then again…NOT so simple. NOT judging the actions of others through the lens of ourselves is really hard. ( What a lesson that would be for much of America judging the OTHER thru the lens of what it means to be an American. ) Separating ourselves from the “ other “ is a distraction from the Better Way . We come each week to affirm within this community why loving with a whole heart is the Better Way. AND …it can never be taken away. It is always forming who we are, like rock in a river, oh so slowly. •

July 20th - Julia Hanessian

Rise

Colossians 24-28

“Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you and fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of [their] body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its faithfulness— the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ, in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.”

On July 4th a severe flood consumed Texas Hill Country claiming the lives of 135 people. There are 100 still missing. 37 of the 135 people who are known to have perished were children, most of whom were attending ‘Camp Mystic’ a very popular christian girls camp, so popular in fact that people were known to put their child on the waiting list right after birth to get them in. On June 30th before the floods in Texas had occurred I vividly and in great detail saw the flood and the fallout. I awoke from this vision in a cold sweat, terrified and shaking violently, almost like I was convulsing. In the last moments of the dream I had laid my body over one of 4 girls that I believed I had a chance to save, even though they were laying lifeless on a sandy shore. I cried as I wrote down and captured this vision upon waking, for it was maybe the most horrifying dream I had ever had. 4 days later on July 4th, which happens to be my birthday, around dawn, which happens to be the time of my birth, the flood waters in Texas began to rise. Campers and leaders began to panic. People living near the river thought about leaving but maybe waited too long to leave since they were looking forward to their 4th of July plans. Emergency response workers that had not adequately evacuated and prepared for what was coming began to scramble for help to locate resources for a rescue operation, that would come up woefully short.

These waters that rose at dawn on July 4th have haunted me daily since then. I think of the trees that dozens of little Ava aged girls at camp tried to climb to save themselves, but lacked the physical strength to get up high or hold on, and the heroic men and women who did their best to protect them, but perished themselves. Their spirits are speaking to me now. I hear their stories and voices. I think because of my vision they have found a home in me, a home the Lord has asked me to keep for them by virtue of the dream I received before the floods. The people who perished in the Texas flood are victims of a broken system. A system of alert and protection that should have had protocols and successfully led to a rapid evacuation response and rescue of the victims, but simply, did not. I can’t help but consider the powerful intersection of the personal stories of the victims and people celebrating “independence day,” perhaps the one day ‘free day’ of celebration and relief from the intense and painstaking duties of safety & peace keeping, and also how the most essential centralized system of protection we have in our nation, FEMA, which was created and fine tuned over decades to keep people safe and help them recover in times of natural disasters like this one, was so recently stripped of funding and fundamentally disempowered. But, most of all, I can’t help but see how God so RAPIDLY CALLED OUT THE DARKNESS of the inhumane action of stripping such an essential protections from the people, & so powerfully demonstrated the need for organized, systematic response.

— Why did I dream this flood would occur and those people, and specifically those girls, would die? Why am I experiencing similarly intense warnings about an impending devastation that lies ahead for our people? What is the point of this moment of great social upheaval and change? I wonder. Is God beginning to pour prophecy into its people, to speak a HEAVEN LEVELING TRUTH into our ears so that we might steer ourselves into salvation from the dark forces of both apathy and tyranny? Is new ground breaking, where people are being anointed with God vision? Will these people be the vanguard of a re-imagined social structure that can work for every single person in the United States? Are we being called back to reclaim our unity and love for not just one another but for God, the great God that promises us only light, love and deliverance? _

_ Through the bible we know that it is at times of great social injustice and unrest that the Lord has aggregates those who see through the lens of the Holy Spirit; raises up visionaries and prophets to remind people of the truth- to remind them the hope of salvation is found only in our commitment to God and our love for one another, and nowhere else. It is at times like these that the Lord sends a cacophony of heaven’s power down, Holy floods, fires, and brimstone, so that we might look to and see the Holy Spirit’s gifts before us; to remind us of our shared fate if we do not find a way towards harmony, peace and justice for all. While we may feel the weight of times like these, in which we question the world around us with such passion, where we feel the heaviness of significant civil and social rupture, the whiplash of extreme change, the truth is that put in historical context, this is nothing that new.

In fact, when looking back through a historical lens, one realizes the NECESSITY of times like these, for only great upheaval makes space for fundamental social change, for only shocking events that through grief and pain change minds leads to the re-imagining of society, leads to the new consideration of the challenges before us and how to meet them. And if you look particularly at biblical texts, one sees that it is times like these that the Lord passes judgement upon people and societies, creates space for change with sweeping natural “acts of God.” Historically, God has also sent prophets, and seers as intercessors to steward lost people, help them see so that they may turn back to the light.

As I reflect on historical biblical parallels to what is happening now, the life and story of the prophet Isaiah comes to mind. Isaiah was a prophet of God who lived in the kingdom of Judah from around 739-681 B.C. and prophesied over Judah during times of great political instability and unrest. As Judah was facing threats from powerful empires like Assyria & Babylon Isaiah warned the people about turning away from God; warned them of the consequences for their lack of faith and focus on the Lord’s voice and the Lord’s movement in their lives. He particularly spoke to them regarding their sins of rampant idolatry and a lack of social justice. Sound familiar? It should. I would say we are now facing these very same sins, just in different ‘clothing,’ so-tospeak. The more I study and read about Isaiah, the more I marvel at how he was asked by the Lord to hold a very difficult, tenuous space for the people of Judah. Isaiah was called to warn them of God’s fierce judgement that was upon them, but was also there to remind them of the salvation that was theirs to claim if they turned their eyes to the Lord. In the initial call to serve from the Lord, Isaiah is asked to craftily & diplomatically call people to health and enlightenment. In Isaiah 6: 9-11, God basically asks Isaiah to go to these people and listen, but not comprehend or learn from them; to look at them, but not understand or rationalize their behaviors. He is asked to make the minds of these people ‘dull.’ The Lord asks him to ‘plug their ears’ and ‘shut their eyes’, so they may not look with their eyes or listen with their ears, all this is to be done so that they may have a chance to comprehend with their OWN MINDS, turn inward to find the God voice that resides within them, and be healed. Some people interpret this confusing passage literally, but I believe that Isaiah’s calling from God was provided in the form of a riddle so that he would be challenged to cleverly convey this to the people of Judah, so that they would not just respond, but have to figure out the answer.

Imagine you are Isaiah trying to figure out this riddle God had given you on how to intercede in the lives of these people. I imagine him wondering- “If are not able to see or hear, then what steers our actions in life?” “If you listened to a people that God is displeased with, but not judge or learn from them, what would that be called?” Sounds to me like God calling him and the people he is being sent to to have a compassionate open mind. I imagine him further wondering, “If you were asked to watch people with whom God is displeased, but not judge, take on or rationalize their behaviors, what would that be named?” It sounds to me like being a nonjudgemental witness. If these are the behaviors God is call these people to, why doesn’t God just plainly say to Isaiah “call these people to be compassionate and non-judgmental witnesses to one another.”? God gives this mandate to Isaiah in the form of a riddle so that he may challenge them as God challenged him, because God knows that as humans we learn best when we figure things out on our own. When we figure things out on our own we can claim ownership for our success. In this call God is challenging Isaiah to figure out a way to give this God-lesson to these people in a form that requires them to think and respond, in a way that will peak their curiosity to understand God’s mystery, what God wants them to see. By providing a challenge to these people that speaks to the heart of the commands God gave Isaiah, commands which at first glance are at odds, the people must respond. It is IN THE PEOPLE’S RESPONSE the God lesson is seen, the God lesson is learned. And in this case, I think God was wondering if these people were capable of having compassionate open minds. If they could be non judgmental witnesses to one another. If they could detune from the idolatrous worlds they had constructed for themselves and TUNE-IN TO GOD? Could they disengage from their loudly idolatrous social spheres, hear other people’s points of view and seek justice for the inequities they saw before them? Could they see and trust Isaiah’s prophetic wisdom and lean into the lessons Isaiah brought them through his presence and example of his actions? Were they able to see that the existence of this human, Isaiah, in their lives was God’s way of speaking to them? As I imagine Isaiah taking on and following through with this task to reach these people so in need of salvation, this muddy and seemingly impossible task God gave him, I see him as poetry in motion, an artwork in human form, the sort of human who by the existence of their spirit and presence makes you wonder who you are; the sort of human whose presence both deeply comforts yet, challenges you to plumb the depths of yourself; the sort of person that is so egoless, so surrendered and so obedient to God that they are simply a compassionate, loving mirror to the person before them. In Isaiah 12:2, Isaiah states: “Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid.” I imagine that Isaiah as the living breathing embodiment of these words and the impact that being that person could have on the world. So how does this relate to the here and now? God is calling us to be like Isaiah. Calling us to admit and name that we are not in the ones in control. Calling us to name our surrender and know that whatever our worry is in that moment, the Lord already has it figured out; that the Lord knows, and designed the outcome already and that we have nothing to fear if our hearts and souls are looking through the lens of the miracle of God’s provision and grace. When we surrender this way, SO FULLY, WITH SUCH FAITHFULNESS AND FIDELITY to GOD, with SUCH BELIEF in the POWER of the HOLY SPIRIT’S movement in our lives, God shows us through the example of Isaiah that we will actual begin to self-heal, and then heal one another. Imagine if we were all healed? If we were all free from the burdens and pains we carry with us? Can we even imagine moving through life with such radical health granted only through the power of surrender? It is clear to me that through the ‘acts of God’ in Texas that took the most innocent of lives, God is commanding us away from pettiness and finger pointing; wasteful bickering about who did or didn’t do this, or that, to help save the flood victims; God is calling ALL involved to take stock of their personal responsibility, conduct an honest and humble appraisal of their shortcomings and what they could have done to do more. Then God is commanding us MAKE THE CHANGES THEY NEED TO MAKE TO BRING JUSTICE TO THE VICTIMS SO THAT THEIR LIVES WERE NOT SACRIFICED FOR NOTHING. This flood, and all other natural disasters are BIG GOD MOMENTS. BIG ONES. These are events that only God could command and use to challenge who we are as a people. By presenting us with this flood, God is asking us very important questions like, “Can you, in your modern society, predict and protect against a flood?” “Can you save your own people?” Yes, God is asking us this. and with a bowling ball of nausea in collective stomachs we of course know the answer is “YES! YES. we can protect and save people from floods. We have all the modern instrumentation and systems to save them but, BUT WE DID NOT EMPLOY THEM EFFECTIVELY AND THAT’S WHY THEY DIED.” This is our society’s confession to God. We could have saved them, but we didn’t. This is the kind of horrifying humble pie you never want to eat. But here it is, laid before us, laid before not just those who had foreknowledge (I include myself in this group), but laid before our society as a whole for choosing leadership and poor systems that would put innocent lives at such risk and disadvantage to respond safely to these “Acts of God.” Make no mistake, we are being called as witnesses to a profound wave of GOD ACTS that have only just begun, and that will continue to rattle the earth on which we stand if we don’t begin to see the lessons before us, and with humility answer the questions God is placing on our hearts. What are the “Acts of God” in your life right now? What are these challenges asking of you? What are the lessons the divine is trying to teach you through them? We the people have inherited the burden and suffering of the social fracture in our country. This burden and suffering bleeds into our conscious and unconscious minds, both individually and as a collective. But there is relief to be had. If we would just open our eyes to belief and faithfulness, we would see that God is actually finding us every moment of the day, bringing us awe in the most unlikely ways and places, raising and binding us together through holy mystery, so that our souls may have a chance to collectively sing to the glorious peace and love that's been promised to us by the kingdom of heaven. I know that kingdom of heaven wants to be here. And that momentum is aggregating to make it so. God is putting us through a tumbling vortex of sanity and soul defying experiences right now, all so that we may break free from the bondage of sleepy existence. We need to start talking about these holy experiences, plumbing the depths of our intuition and visionary potential… We need to start questioning everything around us, everything we are receiving. Why we hear what we hear. Why we see what we see. Why we know what we know. Why we do what we do. The answers to these questions are the pieces that we need to stitch together the personal, and collective, holy mystery God has designed for us to discover. The answers to these questions will unlock the reason we are here, in this moment, at this time, in this place. There is a reason for it all. God wants US, wants US to think and pray and figure it out. The Lord is starting a holy fire here and throughout this country to find that new path so that we can take care of one another, exist in peace together. I asked earlier why God gave me sight of the flood before it happened. I know why. I know that God is asking me to take the next big leap into a design that has been becoming clearer and clearer. As a result of this devastating flood and my intimate connection to it, I have started my search for visionaries, spiritual voices, and prophetic people that are also seeing and feeling the impact of this holy mystery, that are also seeing and feeling what God is doing right here and right now, people that want to work together to act on the truths that are being laid before them. I am searching for change makers to be to be partners in figuring out what to do with the Holy Spirit that the Lord is pouring out into our lives, the Holy Spirit that is eclipsing us from our comfort zones, flooding our earth, magnifying our suffering, so that we might respond to our fellow man with more compassion and less judgement. This holy clap from heaven is happening SO THAT WE MAY RISE, so we may CHALLENGE OUR HABITS OF APATHY and NEGLECT FOR ONE ANOTHER’S PLIGHT and DO SOMETHING about that little God voice that is speaking from the depths of each of our souls. And yes, to those of you who don’t know yet, that God voice is there. You may not recognize it, you may not have heard it in a while, it may be just as ember, but it’s there. It is your life force the center of your being, this is the GOD IN YOU. LET’S USE IT. In closing, I would like to end with some poignant patriotic quotes from our country’s founding fathers to honor the lives lost in the flood on July 4th. “Those people who are not governed by God will be ruled by tyrants.” William Pen “Study the constitution, let it be preached in pulpits, proclaimed in legislators and enforced in courts of justice.” Abraham Lincoln “You can protect your liberties in this world only by protecting the other mans freedom, you can be free only if I am free.” Clarence Darrow “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.” Thomas Jefferson “Courage and perseverance have a magical talisman, before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish into air.” John Quincy Adams “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Benjamin Franklin

May these words, and the words I have spoken here today inspire us into genuine community with God and the ever-present Holy Spirit so that we may grant each another and future generations the gift of genuine cohesion and community, which is truly the greatest gift of safety and peace anyone could give.

Written by and delivered by Julia Hanessian on 20 July 2025 at 8th Day Faith Community Washington, D.C.