✨ Day 20: Abolition, Advent & Apocalypse Patience recognizes that fruitful outcomes like growth, creation, and change take time and active energy. And, that's how we wait for the change that we seek. - Rev. Dr. Cheryl A. Lindsay Minister for Worship and Theology 👇🏾 Full Reflection

"As a prophet, Jeremiah reflected the intersection of God's disappointment and the people's despair. His appropriate response was expressed in lament as he carried generations of tears, despondency, and grief in his person. How does one make that shift from weeping to rejoicing?"

"There is reason for hope and rejoicing as well as despair….God has been with them, but it has never been easy. Still, their remembrance leads them to praise…." #SermonSeeds for December 28, 2025, First Sunday of Christmas Year A are published: www.ucc.org/sermon-seeds... @unitedchurch.bsky.social

"Yet, the Holy One refused to allow Ahaz to ignore and reject the generous offer of a sign. God gives signs whether the recipient embraces them or not. The sign matters because it serves as another consideration to determine potential outcomes.

"That path, Isaiah informs the audience, is called the Holy Way. For those who accept the opportunity to travel it, the rewards exceed the promise of liberation. Freedom is the minimum. God's liberation is a standard opening the gateway to flourishing life."

"Peace is localized and particularized in this passage and in God's realm. That does not exclude a broader and more expansive vision of peace for the world, but the peace articulated in this passage is not, in truth, fantastical. It is attainable and achievable."

"Repentance, like discipleship more broadly, may come with a cost. More importantly, it comes with a reward—the overwhelmingly positive consequences of surrender to the Holy One."

"The thief's request is to be remembered when Jesus enters his kingdom. Jesus' response affirms that the kindom has already come and Jesus is already in it. Even on the cross, the reign of God was in effect. E

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"Dread can be an all-encompassing emotion. Impending doom can dispel any possibility of hope, anticipation of positive outcomes, or expectation of a future that will deviate from the problems of the past and present. As the Lukan audience reflected back on these words of Jesus,

I continue to wonder when Americans will decide enough is enough. As Frederick Douglass reminds us: “The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.”

it's time for journos to start asking Johnson meta questions "Speaker, on 5 occasions last week you said 'I haven't seen it' when asked about news events w/big implications for public policy. Do you ever read the news, and do you agree it's problematic for the Speaker to be so woefully uninformed?"

"The reign of God, affirmed by Jesus, is not an after death experience. As was his practice, Jesus uses the questioning encounter as an opportunity to teach. For Jesus, who anticipates his own resurrection, life follows life."

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"Nothing in the narrative suggests that Zacchaeus has any expectation that he will interact with Jesus. Being able to observe him directly seems to be his goal. Yet, that distant encounter does not satisfy Jesus who stops in order to address him directly with an unexpected invitation–

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"Generally, both tax collectors and Pharisees relied upon and contributed to the honor-shame codes that dominated the society at the time. While one operated for the state and the other within the faith community, they both relied upon shame to achieve their desired ends.

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"In times like these, the adversary's most power tools are apathy and defeatism. Both involve those with power not wielding it because they do not care about the circumstances or they cease to believe they can change them….

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I understand this. Please tell me you do, too.

"Whatever the case, there is one who does not forget, keeps their composure, and recognizes that gratitude is enough. That one was the least likely to be seen, heard, acknowledged, or welcomed. A ritualistically unclean foreigner breaks all barriers to give God glory for wellness, for wholeness,

Please join me in congratulating Woman on her appointment

Hertling: His comments about putting hands back on recruits… We moved away from that 30 years ago because it’s ineffective… You know where it didn’t go away? The Russian army.

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"While the lectionary omits the context of the request, it is worth noting that the disciples believe their faith is insufficient to the responsibility they have to one another. They want more faith to help them be accountable for each other. The plea is rooted in communal care and relationship."

"The manner in which we live bears consequences that death does not erase….Justice is meant for this life. The time to repent for the rich man was any one of the occasions he noticed Lazarus at the gate in misery. He could have housed him, fed him, ensured he had care and the resources necessary

"This lesson offers more questions than answers, and perhaps that is the lesson Jesus imparts. Discipleship is complex and contextual, and we need to account for our decisions, actions, relationships, and outcomes."

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"The problem is not that the religious leaders have lost their divinely inspired aspirational perspective. The issue is that they have lost a core part of their humanity. Who is really lost in the story that frames the stories when the religious leaders, rather than delighting that J

"Notably, this message is to the crowd that presumably assembled around him based on the tangible and demonstrated rewards they have already witnessed or heard. Jesus has healed the sick, released the bound, upended the oppressive teachings of the day, and fed the masses.

🚨BREAKING: Third Circuit STRIKES DOWN Pennsylvania requirement that mail-in ballots that arrive in undated or misdated return envelopes be discarded. Court holds that Constitution requires they be counted. A big victory for our clients DSCC and DCCC and PA voters!

May this portion of the dissent by Ketanji Brown Jackson haunt John Roberts forever and be the final word on his tenure as Chief Justice.

"Many of us do not host banquets, but we do have spaces where privilege can either be maintained or subverted. What opportunities do we have to demonstrate the reversal Jesus invites us to adopt? What places of honor do we inhabit to the exclusion, in whole or part, of our neighbor?

A piece I wrote this week: Naming Distractions I’d love to hear your thoughts www.ucc.org/naming-distr...

"The religious leader objects using words that echo the commandment given to Moses. As a legalistic objection, the case would seem to be clear. The letter of the law would agree that the healing could have waited for the Sabbath. The spirit of the law questioned if the Sabbath could wait for the

"Jesus did not come for such peace. Real peace requires confrontation, resolution, and restoration. Divisions must be brought into the open; sides must be declared; stances must be taken. This is not the time to shrink from public discourse and bold proclamation of the gospel.

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"The reign of God is not only countercultural; it is revolutionary and an indictment on human systems that subvert and distort God’s will for creation. Those systems may be formed by government, households, or religious traditions. The text not only echoes the sentiment of the Beatitudes and the

Know your rights when interacting with ICE.

"Jesus presents a clear message about the selfish pursuit of wealth and hoarding of resources. The parable features a rich man as the main character, but like all parables, the message extends beyond the details. Great wealth is not a prerequisite for hoarding. One does not have to be rich to have

"Jesus prays before his disciples and provides them with a way of praying that responds to the call to a way of living. The prayer embodies the relationship that makes it both possible and necessary.

Join LWV Greater Cleveland Thursday, July 17 @ 6 PM Mac's Backs Books 1820 Coventry Road in Cleveland Heights Good Trouble Lives On is a National Day of Action to respond to the attacks posed on our civil and human rights by the current administration and to remind them that in America,

I can't help but think that the passing of David Gergen is the end of an age where US political debates were civil and more intelligent, when shows like the MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour valued reason, good humour, and facts over lies and baseless attacks.

"In the pairing of Mary and Martha, Jesus affirms positive action and abiding presence while also clearly conveying that busyness is not a spiritual discipline. Rather than rejecting her efforts, he encourages her to temper them so that her needs are met rather than sacrificed.