Remixing the Empire

21 03 2008

by Brian Walsh

A reflection on John 18:28-19:30
Wine Before Breakfast
Originally Delivered March 18, 2008

Prophet, Priest … and now King. Our Lenten journey at Wine Before Breakfast stayed in one place and at one time this year. We spent our Lent meditating on John 13 to 17, the “Upper Room” discourse on Thursday night of Holy Week.

And in the upper room with the disciples we have met Jesus the priestly prophet who demonstrates what kind of a community his disciples are called to be through the washing of their feet.

We have then sat at the feet of the one who teaches us not to fear because he knows where this story is going; who gives a new commandment that fulfills all the commandments; who retells Israel’s story of wine and vines so that it applies to the community he leaves behind. And then we listened in as Jesus exercised his priestly ministry in a prayer, a high priestly prayer, for his disciples … for us. Read the rest of this entry »


Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: , , , , ,
Categories : Brian Walsh, Lent, Sermon, Wine Before Breakfast

Lament with a Purpose

20 03 2008

by Andrew Stephens-Rennie

And laments have a purpose, and laments have a cost
A requiem playing that gathers the lost
It sometimes tastes sour, this sweetness of hope
When the blizzards are raging on this lovers slope
Yet I don’t want to freeze, inside or out
For it’s you that dissolves the cold walls of doubt

- Martyn Joseph, “Turn Me Tender” from the album Deep Blue

Tonight is a night for laments. As I sit here in my home, after a dogged afternoon of writing prayers for an ecumenical Stations of the Cross experience tomorrow in St. James Town, I feel tired, worn. Read the rest of this entry »


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , ,
Categories : Andrew Stephens-Rennie, Lent, Wine Before Breakfast

Memory and Rebuilding in the Ruins of America

19 03 2008

by Brian Walsh

Five Years in Iraq and Holy Week. These two come together today. We are in the middle of Holy Week, walking that path of the cross with Jesus. And today marks five years of war in Iraq.

So I thought that I would share with you some words that I wrote for a chapel talk at Messiah College in Pennsylvania a couple weeks ago. I had been speaking about Isaiah 58 and how the prophet not only dismisses any pious fasting that is devoid of justice in the attempt to rebuild life in the midst of the ruins of post-exile Jerusalem, but also how he offers the community deeper and more liberating memories for their reconstruction efforts.

You see, the fasting that was instituted after the exile was a fasting in mournful memory of the loss of the Temple and the Monarchy. Isaiah doesn’t think that these are memories worth keeping.

Look closely at Isaiah 58 and you will see that the prophet offers better and deeper memories to this community … memories of exodus, jubilee, creation and sabbath. In that context, I then said the following to the students of Messiah College:
Read the rest of this entry »


Comments : 4 Comments »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : Brian Walsh, Lent

The Testimony of the Stones

12 03 2008

by Brian Walsh

We had heard that voice before. Somewhere we had heard that voice. We had felt that presence. And we have very long memories.

You see, we have been around for a very, very long time. Longer, in fact, then anyone else.

But where was it? Where had we heard this voice before? And why did this voice, this presence, awaken in us such joy?

Why did this voice, this man riding by on a donkey arouse in us such hope? Read the rest of this entry »


Comments : 4 Comments »
Tags: , , , , ,
Categories : Brian Walsh, Lent

Will You Take My Cup?

7 03 2008

by Andrew Stephens-Rennie

A reflection on Romans 15:1-13
Wine Before Breakfast
Originally Delivered March 13, 2007

Jesus cries out,
battered and bruised
in the garden of torment, sweat, and blood he prays:

Take this cup from me.
Will you take the cup? Read the rest of this entry »


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , ,
Categories : Andrew Stephens-Rennie, Lent, Romans, Sermon, Wine Before Breakfast

Blogging Lent

1 03 2008

by Andrew Stephens-Rennie

I know that we’re well into our lenten journey, and trying our best to avoid the A—— word. We’ve already shared a couple of reflections on lent on the blog – one from Ericka here and one from Liz here.

As we’ve done so, I’ve kept in the back of my mind the fact there are others out there blogging Lent much more regularly than we. Jonny Baker has pointed me in the direction of the Grace Lent Blog. Read the rest of this entry »


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , ,
Categories : Andrew Stephens-Rennie, Lent

Discerning Lent

28 02 2008

by Liz Ivkovich

“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.” (1 John 5:20 NIV)

“We are in Him who is true…” The Jesus that we are in exists in this very moment, shining down on us like a spotlight. The hopes, dreams, and plans of five minutes ago are in the shadows. The future and how the pieces of the journey fit together are in the shadow. All the clarity we have is for this exact moment.

Discernment is a lifelong process for us as Christians, and so you seem to hear people talking about it all the time. Maybe it’s the community I’m in, where people live by three year contract cycles, or the friends I have who are just now graduating various schools en masse, but ‘Discernment’ seems to be the catch phrase of our generation of Christians. Read the rest of this entry »


Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: , , ,
Categories : Lent, Liz Ivkovich

Lent for Me v. Lent for God

15 02 2008

by Ericka Stephens-Rennie

I recently read this article on Lent and its connection to justice. As someone who grew up in a non-denominational church, I, like author Julie Clawson, didn’t know what Lent really was until university. She writes:

I was serving as a Children’s Director at a small Baptist church and was attempting to find a way to introduce the kids to Lent in tangible ways. As I pulled together resources, I discovered that many of the common practices of the Lenten season sprung from the desire for justice. Prayer represented justice toward God, fasting justice towards self, and charity justice towards neighbors. Through this threefold pursuit of justice I saw that the Lenten season encompassed more than just personal piety, but called for a period of restoration of relationships with God, with self, and with others. In essence, a specific time to focus on the ways Jesus had taught us to actually live.

Read the rest of this entry »


Comments : 6 Comments »
Tags: , , ,
Categories : Ericka Stephens-Rennie, Lent