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Women's History Month Teaching

Alice Benson
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Text: Luke 13:1-9

You can watch the Zoom recording of Alice’s teaching here:

Sito asked me to do a teaching for Women’s History Month.  The first time I did a teaching at 8th Day, called “Welcoming the Stranger,” was April 6, 1986 — ten days before our first daughter, Nancy, was born.  Today is ten days before Nancy’s first daughter will be born — so this seems very appropriate.

I couldn’t figure out a lot of connection with the Luke 13 parable of the fig tree for this teaching on Women’s History – other than some things take time.  Fig trees usually produce fruit at about three years – and sometimes they need not just time, but also nurturing and fertilizer before they produce.   This can be true for empowering any oppressed people.  That’s my only connection between the Gospel and this teaching.

General Comments About Some Recent History of Women

During most of American history, women’s rights were limited by laws brought to North America by English colonists.  Because of marriage and property laws, a married woman did not have a separate legal existence apart from her husband.  A married woman was a dependent, like an underage child or a slave, and generally could not own property in her own name or control her own earnings.  She did not own her own body.  When a husband died, his wife could not be the guardian to even her own under-age children.  Slavery laws in the United States were initially based on laws governing women in England.

The Lord's Prayer - Personal and Revolutionary

Connie Ridgway
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Jan 23, 2022

Texts: Psalm 19:1-7
           Philippians 4:4-7

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice.  Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus

I recently listened to an Irish comedian named Dara O’Briain who said that, even though he doesn’t believe in God, he’s still a Catholic!  Our culture is infused with references to the Christian church, such that even if people leave and say they don’t believe, basic things just stay with you. 

One of these is the Lord’s Prayer.  O’Briain says,

The Lord’s prayer, was written by the Lord himself; its major themes are “Bread” and “Trespassing.”  Was there a lot of trespassing going on in Galilee at the time?  Were people constantly vaulting over fences, hopping over walls, and taking shortcuts through other peoples’ property?  Was Christ himself going, “If those kids don’t get out of my yard, that’s it, it’s going in the prayer! No more trespassing!  In fact, it’s going in the prayer twice!”

Prayer for a Way of Unity

Kent Beduhn
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January 9, 2022

The Zoom recording of Kent's teaching can be found here.

Texts:

Luke 3: 15-21

15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah.  16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with water.  But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” 18 And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.

19 But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done, 20 Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.

21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too.  And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove.  And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

Let Us See What Love Can Do

Marcia Harrington
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Dec 19, 2021
Text: Luke 1:39-55

The Zoom recording for this teaching is available here.

I want to begin by offering my gratitude, and I hope the community’s, to Bill Mefford, Crisely Melecio-Zambrano and Sito Sasieta for the depth of their teachings on the themes of Hope, Peace, and Joy.  Hope, peace, joy are persistent qualities of love.  They dwell as do other qualities in the orbit of Love. 

It is the 4th Sunday in Advent, and we end Advent with the theme of love, a foundational core of Judaic and Christian spirituality.  I want to begin with a song that I shared at the Camp Meeting in October.  It’s a song, written originally as an alternative birthday song, but it is also a song that raises four deep life questions. 

Oppositional Joy

Alfonso (Sito) Sasieta
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December 12, 2021
Texts:
     Luke 3:7-18
     Zephaniah 3:14-20

Listen to the Zoom recording of Sito’s teaching.

There is a tension of the Christian life that has baffled me for a long time.  To what extent does our gaze need to be fixed towards evil, and to what extent does our gaze need to be fixed towards goodness or joy?

When I signed up to preach on this Sunday, I did not anticipate such a confrontative gospel passage.  It is the third Sunday in Advent, the Sunday we typically dedicate to joy, and yet today, we hear a story in which John the Baptist is furious.  Luke takes us directly from the story of John’s birth and pushes the narrative straight into this clash between John the Baptist and the authorities.  The throngs of people come to John to be baptized and in response, John says, “You brood of vipers!   Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?  Produce fruit in keeping with repentance… The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Peace Sunday of Advent

Crisely Melechio-Zambrano
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December 5, 2021
Text:     Luke 1:68-79

Listen to the Zoom Recording

As I was discerning whether or not to share the teaching this Sunday, something about it being the Peace Sunday in Advent was pulling me, so I wanted to say yes. 

I suppose part of the draw is that while peace is something I feel intimately familiar with, it’s also felt more elusive lately.  Perhaps largely because I’m in my own season of advent within my body during this pregnancy.  Similar to the liturgical season, it's a time of preparation, of hope, peace, joy and love, right now and yet to come. 

I think like most times of in-between, of coming, of advent, I feel tension.  I feel the tension of the change to come, even when it’s incredibly welcome.

Hope

Bill Mefford
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November 28, 2021

Texts:
     Jeremiah 33:14-16
     Luke 21:25-36

Every year since I was a kid, I have kept my own personal Christmas tradition.  I am not sure when I started doing this, and I am sure others do this too, but several nights during Christmas time, at night after everyone in the house has gone to bed, I sit by the Christmas tree, all lit up, and I look at the lights, the shape of the tree, the branches and, of course, all of the ornaments, and I think about everything.  I reflect.  I think especially about the past year – since the last time I sat by the tree.  What am I thankful for?  What has changed in my life and in the world?  What still needs to change? 

The Spiritual Legacy of Denise

Maria Barker

November 14,2021

Texts:
     Psalm 130: 1-6
     Psalm 40:1-3  
     1 John 4: 7-19

Zoom recording of Maria's teaching.

When I was 16, my mother, sister, and two close family friends, Judy and Elizabeth, went on an epic road trip from Maryland to the Southwest.  We made a stop to visit the Grand Canyon, but our main destination was Glorieta, New Mexico, to a religious retreat center.  At a gas station in Texas on the way there, when the man pumping gas asked about our destination, he said, "Oh Glorieta, eh?  Are you cussing Baptists or drinking Baptists?"  My mother replied, "Neither!   We are cussing and drinking Catholics!"  We were on our way to a retreat of the Center for Action and Contemplation. 

That's the kind of thing we did for vacations.

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