Meditations 4 Misfits

This week’s podcast offers a reflection on a question Jesus asked in the 6th Chapter of St. John’s Gospel, “How shall we feed these people?” “O my soul, be prepared to meet him who knows how to ask questions.” — T.S. Eliot 

This podcast offers a reflection on a question Jesus asked in the 5th Chapter of the Gospel of John, “Do you want to be made whole?” In this reflection, we consider one of the root causes of dis-ease in the modern world – isolation. “We must love one another or die.” – W.H. Auden 

As we continue our series on “The Questions Jesus Asked“, this podcast offers a reflection on the question recorded in Luke 7:44, “Do you see this woman?” This question is an opportunity to explore how we look at the people in our world.

This podcast offers a reflection on one of the most profound questions ever asked by a spiritual teacher. In the Gospel of John, chapter 1, Jesus asked some new would-be followers, “What do you want?” The poet / philosopher David Whyte calls this a “beautiful question.” He says a beautiful question shapes a beautiful mind, and that: “…a beautiful question starts to shape your identity as much by asking it, as it does by having it answered.” 

This podcast offers a reflection on the question Jesus asked in the 5th Chapter of St. Mark’s Gospel, “Who touched me?” In the sharing, we consider the possibility of healing for our existential fear of being alone. “The capacity to pay attention to an afflicted person is something very rare, very difficult; it is nearly a miracle. It is a miracle.”  – Simone Weil  

This podcast offers a reflection on the question Jesus asked in the 4th chapter of the Gospel of Mark, “Why are you so afraid?”  We consider what is the basis of our human existential fear and how might we cope with it? 

This podcast offers an introduction to the series that will follow exploring the questions Jesus asked in the Gospels. This episode considers what Jesus had in mind when he said, “Who are my mother, and my sisters, and my brothers?”  As Eugene Ionesco once wrote, “It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question.” 

In this podcast, Fred simply offers a prayer for you as we begin 2024. “I asked for courage and the Beloved gave me dangers to overcome.” – Hazrat Inayat Khan 

We learn from a famous African proverb, “We are not made of flesh and blood and bone – we are made of stories.” In this reflection, we consider how the God of the Bible has a history of interrupting our stories. 

This week we offer some random thoughts on the two readings for the Third Week of Advent 2023 (Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 and Luke 1:46-55). Both readings speak to the modus operandi of the God of the Bible – who like to use ordinary things and people to accomplish the extra-ordinary. “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” – Paul of Tarsus