City Of Light Anglican Churchaurora, Illinois

Jesus Feeds the Crowds (Mark 6:30-44)— Deacon Alex Wilgus by

"When Jesus says "just believe", he is not asking us to make believe with some abstract, imaginary, disembodied hope. This is not wishful thinking. Jesus invited us to believe in him, the fact of his bodily resurrection, and the beginning of the Kingdom of God." -- Casey Solgos

What is the riskiest thing you have ever done? The woman in this story takes a huge risk and Jesus rewards her risk-taking faith. The woman is in a desperate situation; she's been sick for 12 years, out of money, an outsider in society, no advocate, no hope. Do we believe that Jesus can meet our desperate need? She has the faith to reach out and touch Jesus. May we have faith like her, and may have the faith to risk to be like the garment of Jesus carrying the healing power of the Lord to others who need him.

In this passage, we see Jesus waging war on evil in order to deliver us from evil. The spiritual world has an impact on the physical world. We can recognize the deliverance of Jesus in our lives and the lives of others, and we can recognize the evil works of our enemy. We don't forget that there are evil spirits, we don't feed them by rejecting God, and we don't fear them because of the power of Jesus. "The enemy wants to bring darkness and destruction. Jesus comes so that we can experience not the presence of evil in us and around us, but the presence of a good and loving God in and around us. Jesus comes not to steal, kill, and destroy, but to give, to resurrect, and to restore." —Fr. Trevor

When we are kids, we put our hands over someone's eyes from behind and say, "Guess who!" The Gospel of Mark is kind of like that, Mark tells a story of Jesus healing and says, "Guess who Jesus is, the healer." He tells a story about Jesus forgiving sins and says, "Guess who Jesus is, the forgiver." Jesus wants us to know him and recoginize who he is! ​In the story of Jesus calming the storm, the wind and the waves recognize Jesus's voice. He says to the wind and waves, “Guess who!” and they say, “That’s our maker! When the disciples are afraid of the storm they don't recognize Jesus. They say, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" They don't recognize that Jesus is the one who created them and cares for them. Often in our lives, we do not recognize who Jesus is, but he is always there, saying, "Guess who," so that we can know that he creates us and cares for us.

Jesus goes up the mountain as a new Moses to appoint the apostles as a new Israel. In these short two sentences in the Gospel of Mark, we see the beginning of the church. Jesus gives the apostles three instructions, be with me, preach the gospel, and have authority. Jesus' plan for disciples is to be with him. How can we be with Jesus? Who can we imitate that is imitating Jesus? Who can we invite to imitate us? Find out more about the new Cornerstone Chicago West Loop campus launching this fall! www.cornerstonechicago.com/launchwestloop

Jesus is not the Messiah that we expect, but he is the Messiah we need. The paralyzed man cannot get up to come close to the Messiah. He was willing to be carried by his friends, hauled up to the roof, lowered down to the feet of Jesus with everyone watching to be at the feet of the healer. He says, "I don't care what people say. I don't care what they think. I don't care how I get there, I just need to get there." Jesus heals because he is the Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus doesn't heal the leper or the man with the unclean spirit because he had anything to prove. His ministry was not about proving he was the Messiah, it was just being the Messiah. Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God who comes to heal our bodies and souls. Will we recognize our need of the Messiah and do whatever it takes to come close so that he can heal us? Will we let our friends carry us to the roof and lower us down even if that means letting everyone else see how limited we are. Will we accept the gifts Jesus has to offer, even i

"Each episode in the Gospel of Mark asks the question, "Who is Jesus?" Each episode ends with a cliffhanger that asks us to respond. As you read each reading, ask your yourself 'what does Jesus do? Who does he do it for? How will I respond to Jesus?'" —Casey Solgos

The Lord longs to gather us into the refuge of his wings of provision, redemption, and healing. He provides for Boaz, Ruth, and Naomi but he also provides for the entire nation of Israel and for us! God calls his church to be his wings of refuge for the vulnerable. As we receive his wings of refuge, he provides refuge for others through us. "If we don’t need him to provide for us, how will we learn to trust his provision? If we don't expect him to provide for us, we won't expect him to provide for others. We'll try to fix things on our own, but we can't redeem and restore. To be the wings of God's provision for others, we practice our need for God's provision for us." — Fr. Trevor

At the heart of the story of the book of Ruth we see Ruth and Boaz doing what it is right. The follow Jesus' teaching to seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and it is beautiful. What happens when a woman is in a vulnerable situation and a man is in a position of power? In the stories of Lot and Judah, they abdicate and take advantage. They refuse to use their strength to care for and provide for the vulnerable. We see that same story playing out in our lives and in the news. But here is Boaz, when no one is watching, when maybe no one else would know or care what he did to this vulnerable immigrant woman—Boaz responds with righteousness. He does not look the other way. He does not take advantage. He responds to Ruth’s righteousness with righteousness. He takes action to care for and provide for Ruth like she has for Naomi. Ruth and Boaz are not an unattainable picture of who we should be; they are who we will be in Jesus!

Hesed: Love and Loyalty (Ruth Chapter 2) – Will Chester by

In chapter one of the story of Ruth, we see the despair of Naomi after the tragedy of famine, death, and infertility in her family. But while she is still hopeless, God is already visiting her to provide in unbelievable ways. Download the study guide here: http://www.cityoflightanglican.org/events/ruth "Ruth and Naomi both suffered, but where Naomi is hopeless, Ruth hopes on her behalf. The more Naomi, in her bitterness, pushes Ruth away the more loyally and fiercely Ruth clings to her. The more that Naomi blames God, the more that Ruth risks everything on the provision of God. In her pain, Naomi cannot see or feel the hand of God, but as Ruth clings to her, she’s holding it, and God’s holding her." —Fr. Trevor

Ruth is an ancient story of a courageous woman who chooses to be faithful in the face of losing everything. Join us for this four-week study as we read about a widowed immigrant who bears the hope of the Lord in her generation and for generations to come. http://www.cityoflightanglican.org/events/ruth http://www.cityoflightanglican.org/connect/groups

Exodus 3:1-6, ​Psalm 93, John 3:1-16 "What does it mean that God is holy? It means that he is always coming to the unholy to invite them into his holiness. The holiness of God does not mean that he is unreachable. It means that he is always reaching. God is the great God of the universe so that he can be the God of you." "The Holy God in the burning bush is the Holy Spirit of the fire of Pentecost that consumes, but not to destroy, to create—to transform us into burning bushes, made holy by the presence of God to draw the unholy to him."

Acts 2:1-11 Psalm 33 John 20:19-23 The Holy Spirit gathers us into a body, revives us with his breath, and ignites us into his movement. As the Spirit gathered the waters of creation to bring forth new life, so he gathers us into the waters of baptism to bring us resurrection life. “We believe that the most significant thing that happens or can happen is that we are no longer dismembered but are remembered into the resurrection body of Christ.” Eugene Peterson, Working the Angles Allow yourself to be gathered by God. Receive the breath and fire of the spirit, let yourself be gathered into the body of Jesus, filled with the reviving breath, and ignited into a the movement of the love of Jesus.

Acts 1:1-11 NIV; Psalm 47 NIV; ​Ephesians 1:15-23; ​Luke 24:49-53 NIV “To what place are we to follow Christ if not where he has already gone? We know that he has risen and ascended into heaven: there, then, we must follow him.” —Caesarius of Arles

John 15:9-17

Into our lonely lives bursts the reality of the proximity of the trinity. God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit makes his home in and us and invites us into his home. We no longer have to live in a world of loneliness, but in the fellowship of the Trinity.

We believe we can lead ourselves, but everyone of us is being led. Who is leading us? In John 10, Jesus invites us to follow him because he knows his sheep when other leaders don't, he lays down his life for his sheep when other leaders run, and he leads his sheep to life when others leaders lead to destruction. We follow Jesus by experiencing the comfort of his staff and rod through his word and his body.

Luke 24:13-35 ​"Jesus draws near to all who have left to help them to return. He walks the streets looking for those ​who will invite him in so that he can reveal himself to them." — Deacon Margie Fawcett