The Shared Table


artwork by Jan Richardson
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Images of Jesus from Around the World

Image
  Here are artistic images of Jesus from places around the world. In the gospels, Jesus lives among the people, he meets them where they  dwell and work and share life together. He receives their hospitality and becomes the living Word of God among them.   The next-to-last image, which hangs in our church's upper lobby, is by American artist Warner Sallman (1940).  We are used to "seeing" Jesus this way. The stained-glass image after it is also American, but clearly very different.  The window is in the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, where in 1963 white supremacists  bombed the Sunday School of this African American congregation, killing four girls.  Imagine the meaning of a crucified Christ of color to this congregation. PScott has seen this one up close.   Rembrandt's Head of Christ,  which hangs in The Louvre, is included here.  There is a Byzantine image of Christ painted on a wall at St. Catherine'...
Read more

The Community of the Spirit

Image
  "All who believed were together and had all things in common . . ."--Acts 2:44 Acts 2:42-47 and Acts 4:32-35 describe a community of faith born of God's Spirit and living in the Spirit's power.  Let's read the texts carefully and note the qualities of a "spirited community:" --daily worship together --a devotion to prayer --a devotion to learning (careful listening and applied practice) --a devotion to fellowship and a shared table --the celebration of the Lord's Supper --glad and generous hearts --constant praise of God --distribute possessions as any have need (no "absolute" private property) --thankful --entire community is cared for --growing ---committed to spreading the good news of God's love everywhere As we read through the texts we marveled at the emphasis on how the people in the first church were wiling to sell their private property, even homes, in order to have enough resources to take care of everyone in the community (...
Read more

Confirmation Promises

Image
The word confirm means "to make firmer or stronger." Through baptism you were welcomed into the worldwide community of the Christian Church. God's covenantal claim of love, from the very beginning and extending throughout your life journey in gracious ways, was celebrated.  Parents, family, and community made promises to nurture you in the faith and accompany you in your journey of growth until you made your own decisions of faith. Our promises were to God and to one another. Confirmation is the process through which you confirm your relationship with God and your growth in it, celebrating your God-given life and claiming your identity as a disciple of Jesus. You   confirm the essence of the promises once made on your behalf. A Confirmand considers giving her/himself wholeheartedly to God, seeking to know God's will for your life.  You acknowledge Jesus as your Lord and Savior to follow all the days of your life.  You seek the Holy Spirit's guidance in all you do...
Read more