Be Still And Go

"The Lenten journey is a journey of opportunity to regain the clarity in the differences between foolishness and wisdom, strength and humble courage, to recognize we are God’s children many times in need of lessons from children."What have you learned so far on your Lenten journey?//1 Corinthians 1:25For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.//This episode was written and recorded by Michael Thomas, a member of The Riverside Church. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Button Mushrooms by Podington Bear, Leahi Lullaby by DKH, and Get Lost In The Rain by Brent Wood.Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all five seasons of Be Still and Go.Visit www.trcnyc.org/Donate to support this podcast and other digital resources from The Riverside Church that integrate spirituality and social justice.

"Like a grain of wheat falls into a compost pile, Jesus falls into the earth. The damp and still and timeless earth. The quiet earth, except for the faint percussion of the blind critters who tiptoe over the beads of transforming matter."When was the last time you really noticed the natural world around you?//John 12:20-33Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will ho

"This Lenten season I am, with God's help, fasting despair and helplessness. And I have work to do, loving up God's fair garden through prayer and advocacy. Loving God, make me your instrument in this work. Amen."What would it look like for you to fast from despair and helplessness?//Psalm 19:1-6The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge.There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard;yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun,which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy, and like a strong man runs its course with joy.Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them; and nothing is hid from its heat.//This episode was written and recorded by Irene King, a member of The Riverside Church Choir. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Backgro

"These commandments are about relationships and the value, the precious gift, of life. They guide our relationship to God: have no other God before me, do not make idols of God, respect God's name. They guide our relationships within the community of the faithful. Those relationships ought to be characterized by honor and respect of person and property. We are to speak the truth and not worry about what others have, content with who we are and what we have."How would you describe the ten commandments?//Exodus 20:1-17Then God spoke all these words:I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth

"The precious gift of Lent is that we have 40 days to re-orient ourselves from the navel-gazing self-centered, private chambers of our minds to the multi-dimensional, infinite diversity around us. We take our focus off of ourselves and we look around to the people around us we have missed. And when we reorient ourselves to see and love our neighbor, we find ourselves with Jesus."In your own words, how would you describe the season of Lent?//Philippians 2: 3-8Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. 5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,who, though he was in the form of God,did not regard equality with Godas something to be exploited,but emptied himself,taking the form of a slave,being born in human likeness.And being found in human form,he humbled himselfand became obedient to the point of death—ven death on a cross.//This episode was written and recorde

"I bring you my pain, I give you my sorrow. I offer my shame, the threat of tomorrow."What are you bringing with you as you journey through the season of Lent?//If we don’t learn how to weep over the broken parts of our lives and the brokenness of the world, we will further break our lives and the world. But another way is possible. Healing is possible. Wholeness is possible. Our wounds don’t disappear, but they can truly become a channel for the river of new life to flow. This holy river usually begins with tears.//Producer and songwriter: Aaron NiequistMixed by Phil Schawel Mastered by Ivan Talamantes Lament content and spoken word: Jenna Perrine Co-producer, vocalist, and guitars: David Gungor Co-producer, guitars, and sonic goodness: Israel Hermosillo Vocals on "Lament": Fatai Cello: Dave Cambell Violin: Kate Gungor Piano: Aaron Niequist 'LAMENT' by NINE BEATS COLLECTIVE ft. FATAI (words & music: Aaron Niequist © Aaronieq Music) Taken from the album NINE BEATS TO THE BAR This recording © 2017 Lifeword

"Jesus chose to give in a world that takes, to love in a world that hates, to heal in a world that injures, to give in a world that kills. And with each choice Jesus denied himself shows the world that God is present."How have you found God to be present in your life and in our world over this past year?//Mark 8:31-38Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the

"God will always be there with us in the humiliation, in the pain, in the degradation. And violence and empire and even death will not get the last word."How have you seen God present in the midst of humiliation, pain, and degradation?//Mark 8:31-38Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain

"It's time for a radical hope, a belief, a faith, even, that it doesn't have to be this way.  Hope for something more. Hope that all will eat and be satisfied. For this good God is working mightily, laboring, birthing, working that we, a people yet unborn may truly know abundant life."In your own words, how would you define radical hope?//Psalm 22:23-31You who fear the Lord, praise God!    All you offspring of Jacob, glorify God;    stand in awe of God, all you offspring of Israel!For God did not despise or abhor    the affliction of the afflicted;God did not hide God's face from me,    but heard when I cried to God.From you comes my praise in the great congregation;    my vows I will pay before those who fear God.The poor shall eat and be satisfied;    those who seek God shall praise the Lord.    May your hearts live forever!All the ends of the earth shall remember    and turn to the Lord;and all the families of the nations    shall worship before God.For dominion belongs to the Lord,    and God rules over t

"Lament is not always quiet. Lament is also a complaint that things are not the way God intended them to be. The Psalm writers shout at God, 'Listen! Remember! Vindicate! Save!' Our laments need to be fully voiced in protest and not denied or swept under the rug. "When was the last time you gave yourself permission to lament?//Lament Psalm Twenty Seven by Ann WeemsO God of my heart,it is your name I callwhen the stars do not come out.O God of my soul, it is to you I turn when the torrents of terrordrown me.O God of mercy,it is for your hand I reachwhen I stumbleon the stones of sorrow.O God of justice,it is to you I crywhen the landslide of grief buries me.  I stand beneath the nightwhere the stars used to shineand remembergazing mesmerizedat the luminaries of the skyuntil I could walkthe ink-blue beachbetween their shining.Then their shining stopped,for they left the sky,and you, O God,left with them. And I am left alonebeneath a starless skywith a starless heartthat barely beats. Will your stars never shine

"May we recognize in one another that we share our humanity, that we share our history, that we share our planet, and let that spur us on to greater love in and for one another."In your own words, what is a "one another ethic"?//Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous.” Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offsprin

"Even in life’s most difficult circumstances, are we willing to trust God? Are we willing to keep singing our songs of victory before the battle is won, knowing God will guide us through our trouble? We must continue singing, even with weary throats. It is with that great hope that we, too, can join with the saints of old:"Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught usSing a song full of the hope that the present has brought usFacing the rising sun of our new day begunLet us march on till victory is won.When was the last time you trusted God through a difficult circumstance?//Psalm 118O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever!Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”Let the house of Aaron say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”Let those who fear the Lord say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me in a broad place.With the Lord on my side I do not fear.

"We will make it through this because we will make it through this together. If there is a bridge over these troubled waters, it will be the one that we build together. But more than anything else, more than any bridges that need to be built, we must remember that sometimes the only response is to weep."Who has been present with you during the difficulties of the past year?//John 11:35Jesus wept.//This episode was written, recorded, and produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Button Mushrooms by Podington Bear and In the Dark You're More Colorful by Corrina Repp.Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all five seasons of Be Still and Go.Visit www.trcnyc.org/Donate to support this podcast and other digital resources from The Riverside Church that integrate spirituality and social justice.Rev. Jim Keat is the Digital Minister at The Riverside Church. Visit www.JimKeat.com to see more of his online content.Visit https://youtu.be/2gdGAGcYBYM to watch the video of Schola Diff

"The wilderness is a dangerous place. You only go there if you have to. As we begin our journey into lent may we enter with courage into the deserts we can't choose or avoid. May our long stints in the wilderness teach us who we really are – the precious and beautiful children of God. And when the angels and all their sweet and secret guises whisper the name "beloved" into our ears may we listen and believe them."What "wilderness" have you experienced that has taught you who you really are? Where did you find God in that place?//Mark 1:9-15In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on hi

"God is present in this damp, drizzly season of your soul. God is present when it is all you can do to not methodically knock people's hats off. Breath deeply. Remember your baptism. God is with us, always."What reminds you that God is always with you?//1 Peter 3:18-22For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you—not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.//This episode was written and re

"God gently reminds me that as frustrating and scary as things may be now, worrying about it will come to nothing. Make no mistake, our collective anxiety is real and valid, and the world is still pretty terrifying and the repercussions of this pandemic are devastating and maddening. But one day, at least for one shining moment, we, too, will give up our worrying, and go out into that morning, singing."What do you do when you are worried?//Matthew 6:25-34“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomo

"Waiting doesn’t have to be a passive moment, hoping this one will pass and another will arrive. But it can be active, an opportunity to be present, and to find God no matter how long the wait."What do you do when you find yourself waiting?//Psalm 25:5Lead me in your truth, and teach me,    for you are the God of my salvation;    for you I wait all day long.//This episode was written, recorded, and produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Button Mushrooms and Entwinement by Podington Bear and Threnody by Goldmund. Samples include Wait For It from Hamilton.Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all five seasons of Be Still and Go.Visit www.trcnyc.org/Donate to support this podcast and other digital resources from The Riverside Church that integrate spirituality and social justice.Rev. Jim Keat is the Digital Minister at The Riverside Church. Visit www.trcnyc.org/online to find out more about Riverside's online content and visit www.JimKeat.com to find out more about Rev.

"The arc of God's promise is wide enough, expansive enough, inclusive enough to cover every living creature on earth. No exceptions. May we, by faith, today, live in the promise that God will keep us through any storm. And God will."Where have you found God in the midst of storms in your life and in our world?//Genesis 9:8-17Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. W

"We often talk about “killing” time or “wasting” time, as if time is an enemy rather than a friend, a curse rather than a blessing. Lent invites us to reclaim time as a gift—a gift to enjoy, to use wisely, and to share. Especially in this period of time’s disruption and distortions, Lent helps to ground us in our timeless faith. Thanks be to our good and gracious God, who never loses track of us."What is your relationship with time?//This episode was written and recorded by Rev. Lynn Casteel Harper, the Minister of Older Adults at The Riverside Church. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Button Mushrooms by Podington Bear and Angel by Goldmund.Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all five seasons of Be Still and Go.Visit www.trcnyc.org/Donate to support this podcast and other digital resources from The Riverside Church that integrate spirituality and social justice.Visit www.LynnCasteelHarper.com to find out more about Lynn and her book, On Vanishing.

"According to Jesus the way that we show that we belong to his movement is that we love one another and that we act out our love by being kind to one another."How has someone shown you kindness recently? How can you show kindness to someone today?//John 13:35By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.//This episode was written and recorded by Rev. Cameron Trimble. The cover of Bridge Over Troubled Water was performed by Victory Boyd. This episode was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Button Mushrooms by Podington Bear, Reflections by Wild Wonder, and The Darkness Cannot Harm You by Birds of Norway. Samples include audio from the 2001 film "Wit" featuring Christopher Lloyd and Emma Thompson.Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all five seasons of Be Still and Go.Visit www.trcnyc.org/Donate to support this podcast and other digital resources from The Riverside Church that integrate spirituality and social justice.Visit w