Mark 14:16-26, Isaiah 25:6-8

Susan spoke this Sunday about something Christians universally practice and everyone maintains is important in some way: the Lord's Supper. Also called Communion, the Eucharist or the Mass.

She painted three word pictures for us that could provide a greater appreciation for what we're doing at the table: a Passover meal, a covenant ratification meal, and a wedding celebration. The thing these three meals and communion all have in common is that they are celebratory. They knit people together and they all have a host. In communion, the Lord's table, Jesus serves as the host.

Lamentations 3:17-26

This Sunday Melissa Rogati shared from her personal story of lament and dealing with a dark period in her life. It's very uncomfortable to be in that place. As humans, we don't like being there. But as she came to eventually realize, God is in the dark too! It's us who feel discomfort when we're in the dark. But if we can't sit in the dark and know that we are safe, where is our faith?

We can force ourselves to be upbeat, even when we don't see the good coming, but that is not authentic. We don't need to force an upbeat spirit to prove anything to anyone, including ourselves. Even when we can't engage with that upbeat, we don't have to force it when we don't want to. But we continue to seek the goodness of those around us while we wait in the dark. Because we still believe, even in the dark, that there's goodness to be had. Because the Lord is good to those who wait for Him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the Lord.

I Corinthians 12:4-13

Following the summer time of gifts discernment, each September Raleigh Mennonite recognizes the many volunteers who help make the church function. This Sunday Susan provided a brief overview of church history and how Mennonites incorporated the concept of the "priesthood of all believers" as a fundamental tenet of our faith and community life together. The idea is that not only can we communicate with and have direct access to God, but that there are indeed no roles that are the exclusive domain of the clergy.

And as we read in I Corinthians 12, all roles are important, and we all have to use our God-given gifts together for the church to thrive. When we use our gifts, or graces, it energizes us. At the same time, we need to check our perceptions of our gifts with others and listen for the affirmation of others in helping us see the gifts that we might have and be called to use. That's where discernment comes in.

Luke 10: 25-28

This week volunteers from the RMC congregation shared dramatic readings, acting out some of the experiences of the founding figures in Anabaptist/Mennonite history that suffered persecution and even martyrdom. This continues our series celebrating 500 years of Anabaptism. The sincere faith and devotion of these individuals to Anabaptist principles are a source of inspiration and encouragement, despite woes and troubles, to follow the path of love set before us by the example of Christ.

Ephesians 2: 14-22

RMC's Leah Weaver preached this week on her own faith story and her history with the Mennonite Church (and RMC specifically). Throughout her time as a youth at RMC, she experienced the love of a "second" family and received inspiration from many members whose lives and ministries demonstrated the love of Christ to strangers. Leah invited us to look at what RMC means to us and where we have found second families in our lives.

1 Peter 2: 11-17

RMC's Hans Linnartz shared from the pulpit last week about the inspiring story of the formation of the Mennonite Church in Indonesia. The ideal of nonviolence is difficult to achieve in the best of circumstances, but the slowly growing Mennonite Church in Indonesia had to overcome challenges from the Dutch colonial government, Japanese military occupation, a war for independence, and tensions with their majority Muslim neighbors. From this story we can learn that what initially seems like setbacks and persecution can be the source of growth, peace, and reconciliation.

Luke 1: 26-38

Susan Scott preached today for the first time as RMC's interim pastor. Susan shared stories from her life's journey and the bible stories that meant the most to her at these most critical and formative parts of her life. With this act of sharing Susan also invites us as well to examine and share with our fellow believers bible stories that has perplexed, inspired, taught, comforted, and sustained us throughout our lives. This introspection on biblical storytelling can connect us to each other and to a deeper understanding of God's steadfast love for us throughout our lives.

John 15:9-17

On this last Sunday of Melissa's pastoral ministry with us at RMC, she spoke from this scripture passage that Jesus shares with his disciples toward the end of his ministry.

Unlike clubs and societies, the foundation of our friendship as the church isn't a shared interest, but a shared good. Friends pursue the good together. And with Christ at our center, the church creates space for those who are vastly different to find out what the good is, and to go after it.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said it this way: "Love doesn't consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward in the same direction." In the friendship of the church we don't look at each other, but we… stand side by side, so that we're all looking where we're going next. Church is the kind of friendship that says, "I actually think we all need to look at this thing happening here, in this direction and figure out where the path is to get there."

We can discern together when God is calling us towards needs that have been overlooked. When there is something that we need to work out in order to find out where we're going together. We learn to pay attention to people who have been ignored or overlooked.

We gather on streets to protest wars and to speak against genocide, to raise our voices for our church members, because our first loyalty is to Jesus, in whom there is no violence and no vengeance, and no hatred. We care for one another because when we do we see the face of God.