A new year & a new way of seeing

“Earth's crammed with heaven,And every common bush afire with God,But only he who sees takes off his shoes;The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.”― Elizabeth Barrett BrowningWe live in an age of continuous distraction, of only paying partial attention & of invitation overload. We live in a time when multi-tasking, busyness & accumulation are not only temptations, but badges of worthiness we wear.It's no wonder we struggle to see what's most important, urgent & necessary.  It's no wonder we struggle to connect with what is real & true & lasting.The gospel of John begins with a word that cuts to the heart of our struggle:

The Life-Light was the real thing:He was in the world,the world was there through him,and yet the world didn’t even notice.- John 1:9a, 10

Apparently, we are not the first to struggle to see.Into our struggle though, came Jesus - the "Life-Light." According to John, Jesus was God-revealed. In Jesus, we see both how God lives in the world & how God intends for us to live. We see something else, too. Jesus was not only God-revealed; he also revealed so much about us, about the world, about what it means to be human. When people encountered Jesus, they were invited to have their eyes opened to new possibilities for life (new directions but also new ways of loving & forgiving & healing & relating!). At the start of this new year, what better time for us to learn the art of seeing. As we move through the gospel of John together from now till Easter, we too are invited to see Jesus, ourselves, our neighbors & the world around us more clearly. We are invited to begin paying closer attention to how God is with us in ways we are hungering for, yet ways we too often miss. We will be challenged to experiment with new practices in becoming mindful, in tune & awake to the ways the "Life-Light" is present in everyday life.As always, you are invited to journey with us.Whether you are a Jesus follower, a skeptic or someone simply seeking community, you are welcome. Whether you are young or not as young, black or white, gay or straight, rich or poor, you are welcome. Join us beginning this Sunday at the Karpeles Manuscript Museum (101 W. 1st Street) at 10:30 a.m. or come as early as 10 a.m. for coffee & conversation.