John Milton – Jackson Community Church

Meditation on seeing and blindness: themes from Mark. To what are you called to bear witness? When and how have you been blind in your life, and what or who opened your eyes?

I think we all suffer from acute blindness at times. Life is a constant journey of trying to open your eyes. I’m just beginning my journey, and my eyes aren’t fully open yet. — Olivia Thirlby Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind … — William Shakespeare Helping, fixing, and serving represent three different […]

Lenten Reflection Day 18 (Mar 11): TIME (from Psalm 121).

SONG: Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper: https://youtu.be/VdQY7BusJNU POEM: John Milton: On Time (excerpt): Fly envious Time, till thou run out thy race, Call on the lazy leaden-stepping hours, Whose speed is but the heavy Plummets pace; And glut thy self with what thy womb devours, Which is no more then what is false and […]

Reflections on ravens: curiosity, creativity, and cultural messenger.

Songs about blackbirds and ravens (note: these are different species): Blackbird by The Beatles (rock)Blackbird Song by Lee DeWyze (ballad/blues)Raven Song by Elephant Revival (folk)Blackbird by Nina Simone (blues)The Raven by Alan Parsons Project (electronic rock pop based on Edgar Alan Poe’s work)Hear Me O God, Nor Hide Thy Face (Christian choral music)How Many Are Your Works (Christian hymn) — How sweetly did […]

Reflections on gratitude as a spiritual practice: final week of Taste & See series

Wear gratitude like a cloak and it will feed every corner of your life. ― Rumi Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a […]

Meditation on manna from heaven and the last shall be first

Meditation from this week’s texts: grace in unexpected times and places — manna in the desert and overturning the social order when ‘the last shall be first’ The Last Shall Be First Love someone who doesn’t deserve it. — Wendell Berry Maybe God (or Goodness or Good Orderly Direction or Gift of Desperation) is in […]