And the Judge of All Flesh spoke to Moses, saying: Since the daughters of Zelophehad are correct in their word, you shall indeed give them a hereditary possession among their father’s brothers and pass the possession of their father to them.
~Numbers 27:6-7
 
But Martha was distracted by a great deal of serving; so she came to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving by myself? Speak to her so that she might help me.”
~Luke 10:40
 
We encounter a reading from Numbers that may be unfamiliar to many of us. Yet the story of Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah, the daughters of Zelophehad, is one of the most significant legal cases in the Torah, the so-called Law of Moses. With no men remaining in their family line, they are at risk of losing their inheritance until God, through Moses, renders judgment. Still, justice is delayed until Joshua restores them to their rightful land after Moses’ death. By one measure, this saga and these women are mentioned in the scriptures more times than the resurrection account of Jesus.
 
With Mary and Martha another “case” is being prosecuted, as Martha scurries about in her traditional female role as host while Mary situates herself as a learner “at the feet of Jesus,” a location traditionally reserved for men. Likewise in Acts we find Priscilla, a leading “pastor” of the early church doing the good work that all pastors are called to do—teaching, correcting, forming—perhaps surprisingly without without incident or signs of resistance.
 
What lessons and judgments do these stories offer to us in our own time? What do they teach us of the of the heart of the Gospel—the good news for today and our faithful worship and work within it?
 
Enter into worship.
 
Readings: Numbers 26:33; 27:1-11 † Psalm 56:1-13 † Acts 18:1-3, 18-20, 24-28 † Luke 10:38-42
 
About the Art: Mary and Martha House, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56211 [retrieved March 11, 2025]. Original source: https://tour.vht.com/1227490/100-e-shellpoint-rd-ruskin-fl-33570/photos. 

Yet Jesus said to the twelve, “You all give them something to eat.” But the twelve said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish lest we go buying food for all these people.”
~Luke 9:13
 
There is “food” of all sorts that we know we need. We need friendship and companionship. We need caregivers and care receivers—we need to care for others. We need each other. We need communities of mutual care and concern. We need deep connections that help us to thrive. We need hope that is built on something more durable than wealth or access to resources.
 
But there is also food “food.” We need enough to eat to help us grow and be healthy. Perhaps that’s why there is such a strong link between the “food” of companionship and belonging and the food at tables we gather around to find it.
 
Perhaps Jesus told his disciples to give the people something to eat—as minimal as they thought it was—rather than send the crowds away—because he understood the relationships between these things and the need for all of them. We will gather around tables ourselves this Sunday along with our friends from the Bridge Ministries community. We find that we are both sustained physically and emotionally, bodily and spiritually with these gatherings we have shared over the years. We look forward to being fed again this Sunday!
 
In order to accommodate our Bridge Ministry community siblings, this Sunday only, worship begins at 11:00am. Join us. There is a place for you here.
 
Enter into worship.
 
Readings: 1 Kings 2:10-12, 3:3-14 † Psalm 111 † Ephesians 5:15-20 † John 6:51-58
 
About the Art: Swanson, John August. Loaves and Fishes, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56553 [retrieved March 11, 2025]. Original source: Estate of John August Swanson, https://www.johnaugustswanson.com/.
 
Artist Note: For many years I sketched, and tried to work out in my imagination, how the scene of the LOAVES AND FISHES, with its multitude of people, could be painted. I wanted this image to honor native peoples in many parts of the world; those who work the land for their livelihood, and have lived for generations in small communities or villages...
 
The people in my painting are wearing garments with many colors and patterns, inspired by the creations of the makers of cloth, the weavers, and the dyers of Central America, Mexico, and parts of Africa and India...
 
My image of LOAVES AND FISHES emphasizes and reminds us of the basic needs of all humanity. We all share the need for food and for providing for our families and communities. If we take the cosmic view that there currently exists enough of what we need to sustain the world; we urgently need to consider sharing the resources that have been entrusted to us.

“Child of earth, can these bones live?” I answered, “Sovereign All-Knowing God, you are the one who knows.”.
~Ezekiel 37:3
 It all sounds so easy, doesn’t it—this process of creation—and re-creation? Can these bones live? The obvious answer is, of course, YES, when the All-Knowing God  who crafted creation from the humus is on the case.
But what does it mean to live exactly? What kind of life are we talking about? This is a question that is under dispute these days, and it accompanies us along our 40 days of wilderness and worship, wandering and wondering. Nicodemus wants this kind of life, but what is it, after all, to be born again? These are matters that we grab at about as effectively as we lasso the wind. 
Can this give us comfort?
How about this (John 3:8)? The spirit-that-is-wind blows where it wills and you hear the sound of it [the voice of the spirit], but you know not from whence it, she, comes or where it, she, goes. So it is with everyone who is birthed of the Spirit-that-is-like-wind.”
Enter into worship.
 
Readings: Ezekiel 37:1-14 † Psalm 49:1-2, 5-15 † Ephesians 1:15-21 † John 3:1-8
 
About the Art: Knight, Leonard, 1931-. Salvation Mountain, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=54150 [retrieved February 25, 2025]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Salvation_Mountain_001.jpg.
 
More About the Art: Leonard Knight has been building Salvation Mountain for over fifteen years. Using his unique method of “splooching” to paint manmade mounds of clay and straw, Mr. Knight simply wants to spread the good news that “God is Love.” As your eye travels from the base of the mountain to its peak, you discover a multitude of images and slogans that express the complexity and comprehensiveness of God’s presence. A slogan about Jesus begins your journey up the mountain, and it concludes with a single white cross at the top that represents the risen Christ. The image of Creator God is embodied in every painted flower and tree. From doves to fruit, representations of the Holy Spirit cover generous portions of this labor of love. Every inch of Salvation Mountain represents Mr. Knight’s experience of the living God, the Trinity. For more details on Leonard Knight’s creative project and Salvation Mountain, please visit: www.salvationmountain.us. 

It’s a season of unmasking, of veils lifted. We are seeing our collective soul with a clarity that is disorienting. Listen for the apathy, the cruelty, and neglect. Then listen closely for all who dare resist.
~Cole Arthur Riley
 
“Thus it is written, ‘The first human, Adam, became a living soul’; the last Adam became a spirit that gives life.”
~1 Corinthians 15:45
 
 
We speak of Lent as a time of testing, but what kind? Surely we can understand this wilderness not only as suffering and endurance, but testing of another kind—testing that seeks to clarify what is true and what is fake, what endures amidst hardship and unsettledness, and what does not endure. A refiner’s fire. The world as it is and the world as it could be.
 
Bulls batter china shops; the vulnerable are dispatched with glee; norms dissipate like mist. We watch, and wonder what we are to do. We may doubt that our small actions could make any difference at all against a rising tide of intolerance or a tsunami of climate change. We might even wonder if peace can break out closer to home—in our families, in our children, in me. What do we truly believe in? Lent means to lengthen. What hope might bud in us in these growing days?
 
Let Lent be a gift, then: 40 days, a season, to suspend belief and test, to be curious, to be courageous, to discover, to dream, to chance. A litmus test. What have we to lose save that which might save us? Surely we are dust, but we are more: The Spirit that gives Life—she lives on in us and with us as the Spirit of Truth.
 
Enter into worship. Enter into Lent.
 
Readings: Joel 2:1, 12-17, 21-22 † Psalm 90:1-10, 12 † 1 Corinthians 15:45-49 † Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
 
About the Art: Friedrich, Caspar David, 1774-1840. Woman before the Rising Sun (Woman before the Setting Sun), from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=55528 [retrieved February 24, 2025]. Original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caspar_David_Friedrich_019.jpg.

Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!”
—Luke 9:35
 
…where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
—2 Corinthians 3:17
 
We have all been to the mountaintop a time or two. We have had those experiences, those moments when we are unusually close to the knowing, the understanding, the awareness of things timeless and enduring and life-giving. Everything else fades away in these instances. There is the one thing, and the one thing only. Perhaps this sense is what the author of the second letter to the Corinthian church was evoking when penning the words: “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
 
The problem is that these pure moments are so fleeting. The shine wears off. The sharpness of the memory and its confidence fades like a dream. The story cannot be told in polite company because, well, who would believe it? You had to be there.
 
In times of testing it can be especially difficult to hold to the core of who we are and what we believe, the best that we want to be. We have been to the mountaintop. But we live in the valleys. This is where our faith is worked out with fear and trembling. And surprisingly, this is where the Spirit meets us.
 
Enter into worship.
 
Readings: Exodus 34:29-35 † Psalm 99 † 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2 † Luke 9:28-36

About the Art: Theophanes the Greek and workshop. Transfiguration, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=59721 [retrieved February 16, 2025]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Transfiguration_by_Feofan_Grek_from_Spaso-Preobrazhensky_Cathedral_in_Pereslavl-Zalessky_(15th_c,_Tretyakov_gallery).jpeg.
 
More About the Art: Jesus is represented floating not on the top of the mountain, as he’s described in the Gospels, but above and in front of them. He is superimposed, in a way, on a series of arrow-like vectors, a kind of six-pointed star. And that six-pointed star in turn is superimposed on a series of concentric circles, all of these executed in white and gold, as if he is hovering, almost three dimensionally, off this gold background. (From commentary on The Visual Commentary on Scripture: https://thevcs.org/campaign/transfiguration).