"Naked Faith: Revealing Resurrection"
"The disciples said, 'When will you become revealed to us and when shall we see you?"Jesus said, 'When you become naked without being ashamed and take up your garments and place them under your feet like little children.., then will you see the child of the living one, and you will not be afraid.'"
Gospel of Thomas Saying 37
"A lot of people refuse to do things because they don't want to go naked, don't want to go without guarantee. But that's what's got to happen. You go naked until you die...
...Embrace the change, no matter what it is; once you do, you can learn about the new world you're in and take advantage of it."
Nikki Giovanni
In the season of Lent, as we prepare ourselves for Easter, we push further into the mysteries of life and death and new life, and our faith requires more and more -
More daring... More risk... More vulnerability...
And, as we move past our fear to give more,
we gain more, and death becomes life.
It is a naked faith, experiencing God with all of who we are,
that reveals resurrection to us.
It is a process we intentionally practice in Lent of
transforming death into new life.
This process includes the following, with links to resources:
Are we ready to journey? Can we do it by ourselves? As ourselves?
What is real? What's happening in our world?
Where are the world's values coming into conflict with God's?
What does it mean for me and for the world to be a person of faith?
What are the truths we have accepted? Can we question those to find our own?
What is the story we are telling ourselves? What story is God telling?
How can we learn more about our story by listening to others' stories?
Can we b
e surprised by how God shows up?
How can we re-frame old ways with new perspective?
How are we called to come out of our tombs and try something new?
How are we called as a community to unbind those who are bound?
After our preparation, are we now ready and willing to risk it all?
Even when death seems more likely than new life?
Now that we are naked, how do we see and experience new life in God?
Some Additional Worship Resources:
Enormous thanks to the incredible team who worked so hard to develop these resources:
Rev. Kharma Amos, Rev. Craig Bartlett, Rev. Catherine Dearlove, and Rev. Mel Martinez.