A long season calls for some exercise. So, let’s take a walk with Jesus this October. As you might suspect, walking with Jesus is not only good for the body, but is also good for the mind as Jesus often asks us to stretch our thinking into new possibilities and new understandings. Our walk with Jesus is also good for our senses, as we are invited to see what we had overlooked before, to hear the cries from those often kept silent, and to feel a connection with those in our community whether they are already a part of our church or not. We’re exercising our faith as we walk, faith that allows us to see the Spirit at work in us and around us all the time. So, join us this fall. Walking with Jesus, let’s just admit, is good exercise all around.
Such as These (October 6)
The journey through Ordinary Time can sometimes feel like driving through the cotton fields of West Texas—fields that stretch for miles and miles toward the horizon with nothing to break things up for the eye. I remember, as a young child, I would look out the window while we drove up into the Texas panhandle to visit family; the monotony was almost dizzying. Beautiful, certainly, yet monotonous. Until suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, we would find ourselves winding our way through the Caprock Escarpment, a canyon that cuts through the flat plains as if inviting you to take a look at the beauty of the earth resting under those never-ending farmlands above. And, if you don’t know it’s coming, the Caprock can be quite surprising!
Needles and Camels (October 13)
For those of us who are focused on stewardship this month, today’s Gospel reading offers a lot of potential…potential for engagement, potential for exploring the meaning of generosity, and the potential for tying ourselves up in interpretive and linguistic knots! I mean, Jesus doesn’t tell the rich man to give his money to the church, does he? Nevertheless, this second encounter in our walk with Jesus presents us with an opportunity to wrestle with the complicated relationship we have with wealth in meaningful and life-giving ways.
Not to Be Served (October 20)
Have you tried the practice where you read a story in the Bible and notice which character resonates with you? I must confess, I would not want to do that practice with today’s text (Mark 10:35-45). I do not want to entertain the idea that I might share some similarities with James and John. None of us wants to admit that we, too, might be seeking notoriety and power, especially with such bald ambition. Yet, there is something entirely understandable about this episode in our walk with Jesus that, despite my resistance, I can’t help but feel for them. And it seems that Jesus does too.
Let Me See (October 27)
Have you ever walked through your neighborhood with someone who has never been there before? If not, try it sometime. It’s amazing what a new person will notice about your street that you just don’t pay attention to anymore. Perhaps that’s a bit like how the crowd felt when Jesus stopped and responded to Bartimaeus in today’s text (Mark 10:46-52). Had the crowds gotten so used to Bartimaeus’s shouting that they’d neglected to actually pay attention to what he was saying? How many times had he called out for mercy, only to have his neighbors treat him as one more ignorable fixture in their lives? Now, maybe that’s not fair. Or, not entirely fair. Sometimes we choose not to pay attention because we feel helpless to do anything. Noticing would require us to do something. But whether your congregants are more like the crowd or more like Bartimaeus—or perhaps a mixture of the two—there’s a good chance they’re coming to worship this Sunday struggling to see and feel seen, hear and be heard, know and feel known.
Dr. Lisa Hancock, Director of Worship Arts Ministries, served as an organist and music minister in United Methodist congregations in the Northwest Texas and North Texas Annual Conferences, as well as the New Day Amani/Upendo house churches in Dallas. After receiving her Master of Sacred Music and Master of Theological Studies from Perkins School of Theology, Lisa earned her PhD in Religious Studies from Southern Methodist University wherein she researched and wrote on the doctrine of Christ, disability, and atonement. Originally published by Discipleship Ministries. Republished with permission by ResourceUMC.org.