by Lynne Baab
Editor’s Note: As Christine mentioned in her Meditation Monday, we are reposting some old favorites on the subject of hospitality. This post is adapted and excerpted from a two-part series by Lynne Baab on the subject. You can find Lynne’s original posts here, and here. Additionally, we are including a recipe from our archives as well! The Basil Pesto at the bottom of the post is wonderful to make with summer basil and have on hand for breaking-bread occasions. You can find more basil recipes from the post It’s Basil Time. More recipes and hospitality posts can be found on our Hospitality Resource Page.
Hospitality, The Bible and Jesus
Both the Old and New Testaments encourage hospitality, but one story has shaped my understanding more than any other. On the day of Jesus’ resurrection, a disciple named Cleopas and another person—perhaps a friend, a sibling, or Cleopas’s wife—left Jerusalem before news of the resurrection reached them. Both of them had been eager followers of Jesus, and they walked home to Emmaus disconsolate and discouraged because Jesus had died. A stranger on the road joined their discussion, asking them why they were sad. They told him about Jesus, their hopes about his kingdom, and the dashing of those hopes at his crucifixion. The stranger, extremely well-versed in Jewish history and the Hebrew scriptures, told them his perspective about the life and work of the Messiah.
When Cleopas and his companion reached their home in Emmaus, they invited the stranger in for a meal. When the visitor broke bread at the table and blessed it, they knew instantly that this was Jesus, now resurrected and still alive. After their moment of recognition, he vanished. They thought back to the conversation on the road, and realized the thrill of hearing him explain his own mission in his own words. “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32)
These disciples invited a stranger into their home for a meal. They were the hosts, the ones who asked him in, but at the table this guest turned things upside down. The stranger broke the bread and blessed it, becoming the host. Like Cleopas and his companion, Christian individuals and congregations today are increasingly exploring ways to provide hospitality. As they do, they are experiencing the presence of Jesus, who is present in friend and stranger. God invites us to extend the rich welcome that we ourselves have been offered.
Hospitality plays a role in the Bible from beginning to end. The Jewish sacrificial system involved contributions of food that were consumed in festivals in the Temple. Some of Jesus’ most memorable encounters with individuals occur in the context of hospitality in people’s homes. Two examples are his discussion with Mary and Martha about the “one needful thing” while Martha was preparing a meal (Luke 10:38-42) and Jesus’ extension of loving grace to an outcast woman who washed his feet with her tears in the middle of a dinner (Luke 7:36-50). Several of Jesus’ parables present vivid pictures of feasts; one example is the parable of the great wedding feast in Matthew 22:1-14. In his last meal with his disciples, Jesus invited them to adopt a celebration of remembrance and presence that involves bread and wine.
New Testament believers viewed hospitality as an essential component of ministry. In 1 Timothy, the good works attributed to bishops and widows above reproach include hospitality (1 Timothy 3:2 and 5:10), and being hospitable occurs throughout the epistles in lists of recommended behavior (Romans 12:13, Hebrews 13:2, 1 Peter 4:9).
It is no accident that two of the post-resurrection stories involve Jesus acting as host. In the Emmaus story, Jesus begins as a stranger and guest, but then is revealed to be the host of the meal. In the incident on the beach in Galilee, Jesus helps the disciples catch fish and then cooks it for them (John 21:1-14). Both of these stories are a culmination of the generous and hospitable earthly life of the Son of God. Jesus was hospitable in spirit before his death, speaking with honor and respect to outcasts, and he demonstrated hospitality in concrete forms—involving bread and fish—after his resurrection. We are invited to go into the world with the same spirit and goals that Jesus had (John 17:18). Sometimes we are stranger and guest, and sometimes we are host. Sometimes our hospitality involves food and sometimes we act hospitably in our words or other deeds. In all roles, we are called to be open to the people we encounter in a spirit of hospitality and welcome that reflects the generosity of the God who has welcomed us.
Hospitality As A Call For All Of Life
A handful of books have changed my life, and Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition by Christine D. Pohl is one of them. I read it soon after it was released in 1999, and immediately I began to see hospitality as a metaphor for ministry, a metaphor that opened my heart and changed my daily encounters with others.
I was raised by a mother with a distinct and significant gift of hospitality. My childhood memories are full of parties and dinners that my mom hosted. She is an excellent cook, and her extraverted and warm relational style helps people feel welcome in her home. As soon as I moved into my first apartment, I started having people over for meals. When I got married, my husband and I continued that tradition. I deeply enjoy hosting people for meals, and I know I learned that skill and attitude as a child from my very hospitable mother.
Before I read Making Room, the word “hospitality” meant hosting people for meals and having houseguests from time to time. Christine Pohl helped me see hospitality as something bigger, an opportunity to meet the risen Christ in the lives of others, which might involve hosting people for meals or lodging but also means meeting Jesus in conversations and encounters with others in many settings where I am not necessarily the host or a guest. I now believe that every encounter is an opportunity to show hospitality and welcome, and this has shaped my understanding of Christian ministry in all forms.
The Bible is full of commands to be hospitable and models of hospitality. However, the biblical invitation to engage in hospitality goes far beyond specific verses that command it or stories that illustrate it. The deepest invitation to engage in acts of hospitality and welcome comes from the sweep of biblical history that shows the actions of a generous and hospitable God. This history began with God’s invitation to Adam and Eve to dwell in the Garden, and to abstain from eating one particular food. Adam and Eve violated this act of hospitality on God’s part, and the rest of biblical history is the account of God’s continual invitation and welcome to the people God created in love. In the incarnation we see Jesus, who came as a stranger to earth, but showed a profound welcome to the people he encountered.
We are sent into the world in the same way Jesus was sent (John 17:18), and this means trying to be receptive to the gift inside each person we meet. To be truly hospitable is to welcome with tenderness and kindness each person we encounter as a precious reflection of the image of God, even in those moments when we need to be forthright about something important to us. Being hospitable means to learn from everyone, growing as a listener and watching for the ways God is transforming us through the lives of the people we meet. Sometimes we meet people over a meal and sometimes in another setting, but wherever it happens, God calls us to extend a warm welcome in the spirit of Jesus Christ.
Basil Pesto
We love this on bread, pizza dough or mixed through pasta with dried tomatoes
- 1 cup basil leaves
- 1 cup spinach (or other greens)
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup pine nuts
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Combine all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Keeps fresh in the fridge for several weeks if you cover with olive oil or can be frozen by ladling into ice cube containers and placing in freezer until solid. then transfer to a plastic bag.
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Looking for hospitality inspiration? We have an entire resource page dedicated to hospitality. Find recipes and reflections on numerous hospitality topics, including Celtic hospitality, prayers, and liturgies. Click on Hospitality for more!
Summer officially started on the calendar this week, June21st…some people are just starting their summer break but many folks in the south have been out of school since the end of May, and some college students have been on summer break since early May. So depending upon where you live, the cup you are drinking from today may be overflowing, or feeling somewhat empty. You may have poured too much into it with an abundance of activities, or you may feel your summer cup is empty and needs new wine!
As you drink your coffee or tea today talk to Jesus about where you are. What’s in your cup?
Are you feeling empty today? Or is your cup filled?
What cup would you like to drink from in the coming days?
the cup of peace…the kind that passes all understanding
the cup of joy…the kind that overflows
the cup of grace… for myself and for other people
the cup of compassion…for myself and others
the cup of rest…overflowing refreshment
the cup of living water, a cup that doesn’t run dry
the cup of new wine…more Holy Spirit…new vision, more power
the cup of forgiveness
the cup of understanding
the cup of love …filled up by Jesus
What have you been holding in your cup that you might need to pour out, or wash out in order to receive these new things? Pour out Bitterness, Anger, Resentment, Fear, Comparison, Condemnation of yourself or someone else? What else?
As you physically wash your cup, ask Jesus to remove and wash away the stuff that is getting in your way.
As you pour yourself a cup of your favorite beverage, ASK JESUS FOR WHAT YOU NEED! ASK JESUS to fill your cup!
Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;
you make my lot secure. Psalm 16:5
You revive my drooping head;
my cup brims with blessing.Your beauty and love chase after me
every day of my life.
I’m back home in the house of God
for the rest of my life. Psalm 23: 5b-6
HOLD YOUR CUP filled with your favorite tea, coffee, etc and pray
Loving God!
We breathe in your fragrance
We taste and are reminded that you are good.
We breathe in your fragrance and
We confess that we cannot keep pouring out from an empty cup.
Fill our cups with peace, hope, joy and love!
Living Water! Quench our thirst!
We are parched and need you to overflow in us!
Holy Spirit!
Fill us again til we are overflowing!
We drink in your love & receive your wisdom!
We are grateful that you are a God of abundance.
Thank you for making all things new!
In your Name!
Amen
God loves you where you are…with an empty or dirty cup, or if your cup is cracked or chipped.
Jesus longs to fill your cup with love and blessing! Drink in the BLESSING of God today.
©lillylewin and freerangeworship.com
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On June 24, Christian churches around the world will mark the holy day of The Nativity of St. John the Baptist. Additionally, St. John’s Day will be celebrated in many countries as a public holiday.
The church celebrates his birth on this day as it falls six months before Christmas Day. According to the Gospel of Luke, his mother Elizabeth became pregnant six months before the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary announcing her miraculous conception. If you have never read the account of John the Baptist’s conception and birth, today would be a wonderful day to do that. (Luke 1:5-25)
Today is also a marvelous day to reflect on John’s ministry as an adult. My own reflections are guided by the pictured statue of John the Baptist. In 1996, a congregational member gifted me with this statue of the Baptist. She hired an artist to carve his likeness using walnut and oak. The artist used her thirty-four-year-old son’s face as a likeness for John’s face. I have spent hours contemplating on the ministry of John the Baptist through the lens of this work of art.
John was known as a provocative preacher calling others to repentance. As I look at the stature, I notice that John points a finger not at the crowds to rebuke them. Rather, he points toward heaven, proclaiming God and the coming of God’s kingdom. John’s mission was to herald the coming of the Messiah and this he did at the baptism of Jesus. The scriptures tell us that John was executed before the death of Jesus. And yet, I appreciate how the creator of the statue depicts John holding the cross of Christ, proclaiming what is to come historically.
John the Baptist is celebrated as a prophet and preacher. I also think of him as a pastor. He does this by offering us concrete ways to live out our roles as Christians. In my favorite sermon given by John recorded in the Gospel of Luke, John does just that.
“John the Baptist said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, ‘Bear fruits worthy of repentance.’ And the crowds asked him, ‘What then should we do?’ In reply he said to them, ‘Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.’ (Luke 3:7, 8, 10-11)
Share your resources, be honest, resist violence. He calls for concrete neighbor-like love to be put into action. He sends the crowd home with the commandment to live their lives fully by practicing loving-kindness.
Interestingly, this day is also referred to as St. John’s Day, a major public holiday in the Western world. Celebrations are held on June 24 and also on the evening before. There will be celebrations in Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Ireland, Scotland, England and Northern Europe. There will be fireworks, parades and revelry and most notably bonfires. For many cultures, St. John’s Day has become a blend of Christian reverence, the celebration of the summer solstice and the midsummer festival.
More simply, St. John’s Day were also quiet celebrations in the Southwest evidenced by this photo of a painting called, “Eve of St. John” by artist Peter Hurd (1904-1984) at his Sentinel Ranch, San Patricio, New Mexico.
St. John’s Day is near the time of the summer solstice. It is likely that the Roman church fixed the Baptist’s day to distract the faithful from the summer solstice festivals. I have been delighted to do just the opposite. I have crafted a Christian church service which celebrates the ministry of John the Baptist together with a celebration of the summer solstice on the 23 or 24 of June.
I see no conflict in celebrating the fire of John’s preaching and legacy alongside celebrating the fire of the sun. And of course, my statue of John is placed on a pedestal for everyone’s contemplation followed by a bonfire outside to give thanks for the sun and longer days of light. It is good to celebrate the warmth of summer and the generosity of the Earth at this time of year in the Northern hemisphere.
Both John the Baptist and summer solstice celebrations celebrate the element of fire. Fire, for both Christians and creation-based spiritualities, represent repentance and cleansing; purification and protection. John the Baptist’s fiery sermons also equated fire with love.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955) was an interesting French scientist, Jesuit priest, and mystic. He has won the distinction of being claimed as a contributor to the history of Celtic spirituality by John Philip Newell in his most recent book Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul. I think that the following poem by de Chardin does a brilliant job of holding together the two traditions of the Nativity of John the Baptist and St. John’s Day:
That first burst of Fire
from which we came
Love was its name and that
sacred Fire still burns
to create its magic in our hearts.
Someday, after we have
mastered the winds, the waves,
the tides and gravity,
we shall harness for God
the energy of love.
Then for the second time in the history of the world,
Humanity will have discovered
Fire. – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Toward the Future
As we celebrate this mystical time of year, let us pray that the Holy Spirit will fill our hearts with the fire of love and the justice of John the Baptist.
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all words and photos by June Friesen Editor’s Note: Make Music Day is a worldwide celebration on June 21st
Why Worldwide Music Day? What is Worldwide Music Day? How may it be celebrated? Or how is it celebrated? As I did some study on this day there was a lot of material that came up. One of the things that I noted was that invitations kept popping up inviting one to take part in different aspects in celebration of music on this day. The noted theme that I found was for there to be ‘Music in the Intersections.’ While it did not seem to give me any real directives, I could not help but think of how there are places and times when music is offered along the street, in the parks, on the street corners where there are intersections. While many of those offering these gifts of music are hoping for someone to drop some money into their collection everyone that is around them or who passes by benefits from the blessing of their music.
When I think of music in the Scriptures I immediately think of the Psalms as well as David. Many times, as a child growing up I wished to be able to play a harp like David did. The Scriptures talk about how his harp playing was soothing and even today harpists are known to go to hospice centers to play for the people there. However, as there was no availability of a harp teacher and/or a harp I had to settle for piano lessons instead which I also learned were/are very soothing for a breaking spirit. In fact, I took piano lessons on the piano my grandmother received for her 16th birthday and I still have that piano today (see photo below).
Here are three short passages from the Psalms that are favorites of mine.
5 That’s the only quiet, secure place in a noisy world,
The perfect getaway, far from the buzz of traffic.6 God holds me head and shoulders above all who try to pull me down.
I’m headed for his place to offer anthems that will raise the roof!
Already I’m singing God-songs; I’m making music to God.92 1-3 What a beautiful thing, God, to give thanks, to sing an anthem to you, the High God!
To announce your love each daybreak, sing your faithful presence all through the night,
Accompanied by dulcimer and harp, the full-bodied music of strings.Hallelujah! Thank God! Pray to him by name! Tell everyone you meet what he has done! Sing him songs, belt out hymns, translate his wonders into music! Honor his holy name with Hallelujahs, you who seek God. Live a happy life! Keep your eyes open for God, watch for his works; be alert for signs of his presence. Remember the world of wonders he has made, his miracles, and the verdicts he’s rendered.
Oh, to give thanks to God in praises and music all night long – all day long. Well, this may not be reality but maybe it is something to consider as one needs to find rest/respite for the inner soul, especially in today’s world of angst. Yes, we can do that in so many different ways as well in today’s world. There are offerings of concerts in so many and varied venues worldwide. There are offerings of recordings by thousands of music artists of all kinds of music – music that expresses praise to God, music that expresses angst of spirit, music that comes out of pain one is experiencing, music that is full of joy and exuberance, and I am sure that you can add many more ideas to this list.
The beginning photo of this article as well as the one just below are both taken at our Phoenix Zoo. During the month of December every year they have what is called Zoo Lights and my most favorite feature is this one on the water. Every year they use different music and several times an hour they play a song and the lights interact with the beat of the music. This is absolutely refreshing to view as well as to listen to. As I write this today I find myself wanting to go and bathe my spirit in this music.
MUSIC REFLECTIONS IN THE DARKNESS
Oh, how music brings a soothing to my soul,
Oh, how it causes my heart to slow,
Oh, how it turns my spirit heavenward,
Oh how it helps me embrace the Spirit of wonder, joy and peace.
When the world around me is filled with darkness,
I need to take a bit of time and pause,
Pause – and consider where God will arise
And bring a soothing to my soul once again.
And then I hear that faint sound –
The sound of a note – alone – but giving a cue,
For all other notes to take up
And blend in a beautiful harmony.
Oh, how quiet it begins –
Oh, how gentle it sounds –
Oh, it is now beginning to swell –
Oh, how my spirit is uniting to it as well.
The music rolls onward in a crescendo –
And dances and waltzes deep into my being –
And I find myself an embodiment of it all –
And soon I am dancing and waltzing as well.
Oh, the healing power of music –
How refreshing and healing it is to my soul –
I pray that today you will as well –
Take some time to welcome dose of healing music as well.
May the Spirit of God sing over you,
May The Spirit of God bathe you in healing,
May the Spirit of God awaken within you
A new spirit of music to share with the world today.
Amen.
Just TWO MORE DAYS to enter! That’s right, Christine Sine is giving away two copies of her latest book, Digging Deeper: The Art of Contemplative Gardening!
June 24th is the last day for your entries to be counted! Click here for more information or visit tinyurl.com/DiggingDeeperGiveaway!
by Elaine Breckenridge, Pictured Above: 2021 Summer Solstice Sunset, Camano Island, Washington
On June 21, we mark the official beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, coinciding this year with the summer solstice. On this day we will experience the longest day of the year, that is the day with the longest period of sunlight. It has been a cold and dark spring where I live in Northern Washington. I am hoping to see Brother Sun make an appearance!
Many cultures, both ancient and modern celebrate not the sun as much as we celebrate the movement of the sun. The sun had reached its most northernmost point and will soon begin its journey back south ending at the winter solstice in mid-December.
My education about the importance of the solstices began when I first visited Ireland in 2007. It was there I learned that solstice means “standstill” and refers to the way that the sun appears to rise and set in the same place for the days around June 20 and 21 (and at the winter solstice in December). I learned from our guide in Ireland that summer solstice celebrations were and still are common in Europe, particularly in the Celtic landscapes of Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The guide, Dara Molloy explained that the eve of June 21, or midsummer’s eve, was a night of magic and feasting. Bonfires dotted the countryside, especially where we were staying on the island of Inish Mor. Mara Freeman in her book, Kindling the Celtic Spirit, writes,
“The power of fire was especially important at midsummer. People lit bonfires to celebrate the sun at its height of power and implore it not to withdraw into winter’s darkness. Fires ritually strengthened the sun to swell fruits and ripen grain, and it protected both humans and livestock from insect-borne disease.”
It was also believed that midsummer’s eve was a “thin place,” when the walls separating the worlds of the spirits and humans became as thin as tissue paper. The spirits of field and forest, of river and stream—all the inhabitants of that inner world—were free to pass back and forth between those walls and play among humans.
We might prefer to think of thin places as where the veil between this life and eternity momentarily lifts, and we experience the nearer presence of the Trinity, God, Christ, Spirit. I think of a thin place as any moment when our hearts are opened to receive the love and peace of the divine.
For me, I have discovered that marking and celebrating the solstices can be occasions for me to experience the presence of God in a more potent way. Perhaps this happens because I come to special holy days with an intention to allow myself to be opened either by being in nature, or by participating in an intentional ritual.
Summer Solstice Fire
Since my awakening to the importance of the solstices, I have created and participated in both personal and communal ritual celebrations of the solstices since 2007 (Pictured is one such occasion). Each time, I am changed, even if only for a short time. I experience the lifting of the veil that often separates me from my True Self and the Divine.
At such times, I am reminded that as a human being I am only just a small piece of a greater whole. I find that celebrating the solstices is a way to affirm that I am a part of the cycle of moving from light into darkness and back again into light and into darkness again and again. It helps me to live into what “is.” As a part of creation, I know that my coming into this life was in the wind as the breath of God, and leaving this life will be in the wind as dust of the Earth. I find it comforting to know that I am part of the greater cycle and rhythm of life, just like the solstices.
Many of you probably have your own practice for observing the summer solstice. But if not, you might light a candle or small fire to give thanks for the fireball that keeps us alive. I like to burn last year’s lavender sticks in the fire symbolizing that my prayers are like incense rising and are being offered in gratitude for both the Creator and Creation.
A favorite prayer of praise of mine is this.
Holy is this fire of midsummer’s eve, and holy are you, O God, who from your burning heart drew forth a fiery ball and flung it into space.
Your laughter shook the empty cosmos and echoed again and again until the darkness of space resounded with your love and with fire.
You reached in again and drew forth fire and seeded it like yeast in each atom, plant and animal, each bird, fish, man and woman.
And you gave us a special star, our sun, aflame with a life-evoking energy to make our planet green and fertile, sun-soaked in your love.
As we celebrate this magic feast, open our eyes to the countless wonders and to the sparks of fire-life that you have planted in each of us.
May this holy and magical night be aglow with star-fire and God-light as we once again begin the sacred season of summer.
Prayers of a Planetary Pilgrim by Edward Hays
Blessed Summer Solstice to you all!
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Available as an online course, sign up here to gain 180 days of access while you work through this retreat at your own pace. Join Lilly Lewin and Christine Sine in the awe of the broad array of summer symbols that can gain spiritual significance for us when we stop and think about them. Everything from beachcombing to putting on suntan lotion can be the inspiration for practices that draw us closer to God.
Ground yourself in the earth and its summer season where you live and find the ways that God is speaking through it – all the details can be found here!
Summer for me is always a season of radical hospitality. It is also one of the cornerstones of the life of Christ and his legacy to us his followers. So after the isolation of the last couple of years, it seems like a tidal wave of events, shared meals and afternoon teas are in front of us. What fun!
In preparation for the season, I have been reading back through some of the posts contributed by many of our authors over the last few years. I started with our quite impressive hospitality reading list but soon found myself immersed in the rich array of information shared, including some wonderful recipes. As I do so I find myself saying – Oh I forgot that, and Wow that is inspiring, or I want to share that again. And guess what? That is exactly what I plan to do. Over the next few weeks we will be reposting a number of posts, some of which have not seen the light of day for seven or eight years, and that I think is a feat in itself. To get us started, I have adapted one of my favourite hospitality posts from 2014. I hope you enjoy this reposted version as much as I did.
Several years ago, I spoke at a seminary class about spirituality and gardening. It was a fun class, but one question asked by a student kept intruding in my mind. Didn’t God curse the creation after the fall? he asked, implying that it no longer reflected the glory of God and that we no longer needed to respect and look after it.
As I read through Genesis 3 which is the basis for this belief, I am struck by God’s amazing care for the humans who disobeyed him. Yes the ground was cursed (Gen 3:17-19), but it was not God who cursed it, it was the consequence of Adam’s sin. The natural created world was somehow affected by the human fall into sin and is therefore no longer paradise. Brambles and weeds grew. Human toil to produce food and care for creation increased. Nowhere however is there any implication that we are absolved from our responsibility to care for creation.
That summer I contemplated the thorns, the thistles, and the weeds that we all think of as part of the consequences of the human fall. Some of them produce the most delicious and nutritious food we can eat, as we can see in this video
Take the humble dandelion for instance. Its leaves are often used in salads. Its root for medicinal tea and its flowers in jams and jelly. It helps break up the soil and draws nutrients up from deep within the soil. It is an amazing and valuable plant. Read more about dandelions and links to recipes here
Then there is the blackberry which grows wild prolifically throughout the Pacific NW. It may be a pest, and I know it chokes out many smaller native plants, including the native blackberry, but its fruit blesses us with delicious pies and jams, and the birds butterflies and bees love them too. Every year in August Tom and I used to travel to Mayne Island, Canada with our Canadian friends Tom and Kim Balke, for a few days holiday. One of the delights of our trip was picking blackberries and wild apples to make blackberry apple crumble.
Snails are another pest that can be a delicacy for many. Ironically some people love escargot and spend big bucks to buy them and then complain about the snails that destroy their gardens.
And in many Asian countries, tarantulas, crickets and ants are all considered delicacies.
Native peoples are all very well aware of the wild hospitality of God and many other foragers have joined them in enjoying the rich harvest that the earth provides. Here in the Pacific NW salmonberries, native blackberries, huckleberries and elderberries are but a few of these delights. Then there are the mushrooms – chanterelles are our favorites but I love it when friends bring us morels, lion’s mane and other delectable edible fungi straight from the forest.
It seems to me that part of the curse we suffer from is our inability to recognize the abundance and hospitality of God in the garden that is our earth. God is a generous God who invites us to a banquet feast, not just in the eternal world to come but here in this world too. Often all we need to do is reach out and recognize the gift and accept God’s amazing hospitality.
So take a walk around your garden or the closest nature reserve to your home. What “pests” do you see that really are part of the abundance of God?
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A contemplative service with music in the spirit of Taize. Carrie Grace Littauer, prayer leader, with music by Kester Limner and Andy Myers.
Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-710-756.
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