19th Sunday After Pentecost

A Way of Hearing

By Hultner Estrada | October 6, 2023 |

Christianity is, above all, a way of seeing. I wonder, however, if it’s also a way of hearing. Listening holds profound significance in our lives. The ear is the first organ to function within our mother’s womb and the last to stop working at our death.

This Widow

By Lina Thompson | October 17, 2022 |

As I’ve read today’s passage, I’ve been wracking my brain with this question: Have I ever had to persist in my prayers to God? Has there ever been anything I have desired so much that I have continually petitioned God like the widow in today’s text?

One Humanity

By Rev. Sarah Wiles | October 1, 2021 |

I don’t believe this is a text just to people who are divorced or considering divorce. That’s not who Jesus addressed it to, and we shouldn’t relegate it to a limited audience either. Jesus is speaking to all of us as he calls forth a way of being that is one flesh, one humanity. This, I believe, is a word of compassion for us all. Yes, compassion.

Should We Have a Dream?

By Ojii BaBa Madi | October 2, 2020 |

I’m told there is no utility in my delusions yet I choose to imagine, envisioning a world of fellowship and joy. In this, my alternate global reality, wooden ships are ushered…

The Joy of All Desiring

By Kris Rocke | October 17, 2019 |

We don’t know the specifics of her case, though I like to imagine her as the Rosa Parks of her community. What we know for sure is that she ultimately wears out the unjust judge with her demands. He grants her request, if only to get some rest. Unfortunately, this describes the experience of prayer for most of us. We feel like we have to work as hard the widow to get through to God.

Should we have a Dream?

By Ojii BaBa Madi | October 6, 2017 |

I’m told there is no utility in my delusions but yet I choose to imagine, envisioning a world of fellowship and joy. In this, my alternate global reality, wooden ships are ushered through placid seaways as steady breezes push against their ample sails, all adorned with the sacred symbol of the cross.

Faith from Below

By Lina Thompson | October 14, 2016 |

This is a familiar parable Jesus uses to teach us about the nature of prayer. The widow shows us what it looks like to persist in prayer: to keep praying,…

Not Even Abraham

By Kris Rocke | September 23, 2016 |

This week’s text is the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man lives a life of plenty, while Lazarus lay at the threshold of his gate “covered…

The Gift of Losing Control

By Scott Dewey | October 2, 2015 |

Manning the gates against children.