Moment of Clarity With Rev. Lorrie Daly-Price
210 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 2 years ago -A podcast all about growth, connection and meaningful worship while discovering what it means to find life in Jesus.
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Episodes
Bearing Fruit
March 24, 2022 01:16 - 20 minutes - 28.5 MBThis week we hear one of Jesus’ parables found in the gospel of Luke. In Jesus’ parable the owner of the garden observes a barren fig tree. Reasonably, he orders it yanked out. But the gardener suggests that the owner give the fig tree another year. In the meantime he’ll break up the hard earth, aerating the ground around it so the roots can breathe and drink and take in nourishment. He’ll put manure around it, that golden substance which is the very ground of life and fertility – changing t...
Like a Mother Hen
March 16, 2022 00:30 - 18 minutes - 25 MBIn this week’s passage from Luke’s gospel, Jesus uses the imagery of a fox and a hen in a surprising way. But the archetypes remain the same, so we know that in the end the fox won’t succeed and the hen will save the day. When Jesus speaks of Jerusalem, we get a rare glimpse of God as mother. He likens himself to a hen who longs to gather her disobedient chicks. This is God as loving and longing to protect even when it isn’t wanted or appreciated. The hen who sacrificially covers her chi...
The Gift of Temptation
March 10, 2022 03:09 - 16 minutes - 22.9 MBThe reading we hear this week from the gospel of Luke describes Jesus’ retreat in the wilderness. Following his baptism, Jesus retreats to an isolated place to ground his vocation as God’s beloved child and messenger of salvation. No doubt Jesus understands that with great power comes the possibility for great temptation. In solitude, the many inner voices of life often emerge. In this time of retreat, Jesus is visited by temptation. The temptations Jesus experiences involve good things th...
Forgiveness and Love
February 23, 2022 03:56 - 18 minutes - 25.2 MBThe overarching themes in the readings for this week are relationships and forgiveness. In Genesis we see the relationship breakdown in families. You might think there's nothing new there, over 2,000 years on. On the one hand you have the brothers a bit disheartened that Joseph is alive, as they will have to ‘fess up' to what they actually did, and on the other hand we see Joseph offering forgiveness and acceptance of the wrong done and the hurt caused to him. In the gospel reading from ...
Roses And Thorns
February 14, 2022 04:31 - 16 minutes - 22.5 MBIn the verses just before today’s passage, Jesus has been up on a mountain praying all night. When the sun comes up he calls together twelve of his followers and makes them disciples. Then he comes down to a level place and starts to teach. He hasn’t even had breakfast yet and people are gathering from all over the place to come hear him. They are coming from as far away as Jerusalem in the south and Tyre and Sidon on the Mediterranean coast – several days worth of walking have brought J...
A Downpour of Love
February 01, 2022 02:27 - 16 minutes - 23.3 MBOne of our readings this week comes from the gospel of Luke. We hear how Joseph’s son has grown up. The wee boy that had sat at his father's feet in the carpentry shop hearing the worries of farmers as they waited for their ploughs to be fixed or the stories of husbands getting chairs mended, or the secrets shared as people worried over prices and priorities. That wee boy, whose craftsmanship as a carpenter but also as a listener had helped to sustain life in the village, was now a man in his...
We Belong to One Another
January 25, 2022 00:32 - 21 minutes - 29.5 MBYou’ve got to love a new box of crayons. I am much more tempted to sit down and colour when there is a new box to break in. What is it though, about a new box that creates such excitement? Well, first every crayon is nice and sharp, perfect for staying in the lines. Second, all the colours are there. It is a complete and total set. So no matter what you decide to create, from a beautiful butterfly to a rainbow or sunset, every colour is there for the choosing. Missing colours can wreck ...
You’ve Got What it Takes
January 20, 2022 15:57 - 19 minutes - 26.2 MBThe season of Epiphany began with celebrating the gifts of the magi, it continued with God’s gift of grace, affirmed through Jesus’ baptism, and focuses this Sunday on God’s vocational gifts bestowed on each person for the sake of the community and their own personal fulfillment.This week we hear the story of Jesus’ transformation of water into wine from John’s gospel, a continuation of the theme of divine giftedness. We have callings for our lifetime and we also have calls for every s...
To Be One of Them
January 15, 2022 01:45 - 16 minutes - 22.9 MBThis week we hear the story of Jesus being baptized by his cousin, John the Baptist, from the gospel of Luke. At the beginning of the passage Luke tells us the people were filled with anticipation. They were seeking, searching, longing for the Messiah, their saviour. John in turn gives them hope in his witness of who is to come and what the Messiah will bring, for John understands his role and God's purpose for him. John intimates through his narrative that this coming Messiah will be j...
Boxing Day Service
December 30, 2021 00:38 - 4 minutes - 6.61 MB“Did you know Boxing Day was originally a day to give rather than receive? Before Boxing Day came to be associated with turkey sandwiches, football, and discounts, it was known as a day to serve people in need. Historically, the church visited those most vulnerable on Boxing Day and gave them money and gifts. The day wasn’t about giving―it was about giving our best.” (excerpt from united-church.ca) This will be a special service highlighting how we give including our time, talents and do...
Merry Christmas
December 30, 2021 00:34 - 13 minutes - 18.9 MBThere are many kinds of nights. Some nights embrace us with a holy light, coming from a place within yet beyond the stars. Christmas Eve is among them. We feel a silent night deeper than all nights and filled with tenderness and love. Amid these feeling we are touched by God's listening and empathy, by that side of God which shares in the joys and sufferings of all living beings, everywhere, with a tender care that nothing be lost. May your Christmas this year be filled to the brim with me...
Prepare the Way!
December 07, 2021 04:40 - 18 minutes - 24.8 MBThis week we have a number of key scripture readings. It is one of those weeks where it is hard to just concentrate on one of them. In Luke’s gospel we have the entrance of John the Baptist who is the hinge to the salvation story. We also hear an Old Testament reading from the book of Malachi which is the end of the old story. In effect we hear Luke saying: “God told you the Messiah would come. You've had enough indications that the news would be announced when it was time. So, why should yo...
Watching For The Signs
December 01, 2021 04:03 - 17 minutes - 23.7 MBOur text this week from the gospel of Luke comes with some troubling words from Jesus. It seems that they are prophetic words about predicting the future and warning of the end times. However, if we only look at this passage thinking that it gives us a means to read the tea leaves and predict the future, then we have missed the point entirely. It seems that this passage we will hear, has a lot more to do with how we live our lives right now. When we resolve to love our neighbour and see...
A Different Kind of King
November 24, 2021 01:39 - 23 minutes - 32.9 MBToday’s reading from John’s gospel is at its heart the story of two men: one, Pilate a son of Rome; the other, Jesus, the Son of God. The first seeks the truth; the second witnesses to it. Pilate uses the power and authority received from his emperor to impose the rule of an oppressive kingdom on the children of Abraham. Jesus uses the authority received from his heavenly Father to work for the salvation of these children from their earthly bonds. Jesus seeks to bring about a new, great...
Facing Challenges
November 16, 2021 17:53 - 18 minutes - 25.2 MBThis week’s readings describe answers to prayer as well as future hope and challenges. In many ways we will find them challenging because they are distant from our lived experiences. Yet, when we look more deeply, there is a message that emerges. This message is that despite life’s difficulties and threats, God seems to make a way where there seems to be no way. The reading we hear from Mark’s gospel certainly addresses this idea of facing challenges. We are told that the earth will be ...
Two Cents Worth
November 09, 2021 05:05 - 18 minutes - 25.8 MBOn this Remembrance Day Sunday what do we have to offer back for those who sacrificed so much? Where does prayer, or communion or singing fit into desperate conflicts where two sides are reaching for weapons? We have our stories to offer. Stories that reveal a different vision of how things could be, are meant to be. Our story today comes from Mark’s gospel about a woman observed by Jesus. This is the story about a widow and her two small copper coins. What is sacrifice really for her? ...
People With a Mission
November 04, 2021 15:48 - 19 minutes - 26.8 MBThe readings for this week are an important reminder that God brings people into our lives, inspiring our imaginations and luring us toward unexpected life changing encounters. Our dependence on God inspires us to be generous and open knowing that God will supply what we need. In the reading from Ruth we meet Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth. Two resident woman who cling together against life’s bad breaks. Two people much like us who point the way toward faith. The story is human and ...
Seeing in the World
October 26, 2021 23:36 - 22 minutes - 30.2 MBWhat would you do if you couldn’t fail? What mission would you attempt or what venture would you risk? All great questions, because they get us thinking, stretch our vision and stir our imagination. But as great as they are, maybe they are not the right questions to ask because we know there will be failure. There just will. In light of those questions we turn to our reading this morning from Mark’s gospel. The question here to ask is, what would you be willing to try if t...
What’s In It For Me
October 20, 2021 20:24 - 21 minutes - 29.5 MBIn a sermon delivered many years ago by Martin Luther King Jr. he quoted Jesus’ words from the gospel of Mark about servanthood. Then he said, “Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. . . . You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.” When Jesus’ disciples quarrelled about who would get ...
BEING THANKFUL
October 11, 2021 00:43 - 22 minutes - 31.2 MBThe reading this week comes from the gospel of Mathew. Here Jesus urges the disciples and all of us to look around. Jesus points to the vastness of God’s gifts and pushes us to remember that God will take care of it all, so don’t worry, be grateful. Nothing is worth worrying about, for it is all in God’s hands and God will give us what we need. So perhaps we need only step outside and gaze at the sky, the still green grass, the now emptying trees, to be reminded of the gift Jesus offers no...
Where is Your Heart?
October 11, 2021 00:38 - 21 minutes - 29.9 MBThe reading this week comes from the gospel of Mark. It begins with a dialogue on divorce but then the focus is on the children in Jesus’ time. The children were expendable in the first century. To some they were just nuisances and nobodies. In this encounter Jesus’ companions want to silence them. Instead though Jesus blesses them. It appears that Jesus was trying to point out that welcoming the children, that is the vulnerable, those at risk and those in need is what matters most in God’s ...
Pass the Salt Please
September 27, 2021 03:24 - 17 minutes - 23.7 MBToday’s reading from Mark’s gospel reminds us to expand our circle of healing and inspiration beyond our own communities. The disciples have been quite pleased with themselves for preserving the purity and practices of Jesus’ movement by silencing the healing done by an outsider from their group. They are surprised however when Jesus rebukes them for their narrow-mindedness and limited understanding of what his mission was truly about. Anyone who promotes life is on God’s side, regardless of...
True Greatness
September 27, 2021 03:08 - 20 minutes - 27.5 MBThe reading we hear this week from Mark’s gospel is said to be one of those great moments where the disciples struggle to understand who Jesus is and what following him means. Such a human moment and a reminder to each of us that even those who walked with him on a daily basis didn’t get it right all the time. Jesus begins by telling the disciples about his fate and how he will be betrayed, killed and rise again but, of course, the disciples have no idea what Jesus is going on about. ...
The God We Need
September 17, 2021 00:35 - 19 minutes - 27.2 MBIn the reading we hear today from Mark’s gospel, Jesus and the disciples are in the district around Caesarea Philippi, where Herod the Great had built a temple and renamed the town after the emperor. It is during this time that the disciples’ assumptions and hopes about what Jesus would accomplish begin to collapse around them. Jesus’ announcement about what would happen to him was the beginning of the end. Up to this point, Jesus seemed unstoppable as a healer, a teacher and a miracle work...
Bread
August 06, 2021 01:35 - 19 minutes - 26.7 MBOur reading this week from John’s gospel comes right after Jesus fed 5000 people and now they are hungry again. Since they were fed by him the day before why not again today? Having enough to eat in Jesus’ time was a challenge for many so it would be understandable that they wouldn’t want to lose sight of what they have just experienced. After the feeding Jesus and the disciples got in their boat and crossed the lake and many decided to follow them. When they meet up, the original quest...
Small Things Matter
July 25, 2021 14:56 - 21 minutes - 29.7 MBIn our reading this week from John’s Gospel Jesus is followed by a large crowd. As the day comes to an end and it is growing dark, Jesus asks Philip where they will find food to feed them, but Philip expresses that it would be far too costly to try and feed them all. Then Andrew points out one youth’s five loaves and two fish. Jesus blesses the food and has it distributed to the crowd, and everyone is fed. When the values of God’s role are brought into play, we can truly believe in a d...
“Rest, Relaxation and Renewal”
July 25, 2021 14:51 - 20 minutes - 28.4 MBIt’s summertime and we are in one of the warmest months of the year here in Canada. For many that means vacation time. Time to get away from our usual routines, schedules and to do lists for even just a short break. Our passage this week from Mark’s gospel shows us that even Jesus and his friends needed to get away from it all once in a while. It didn’t work so well for them though. There is very little rest for the weary in ministry, it seems. There is almost nowhere that Jesus and the guy...
Hospitality, Sometimes in Unexpected Places
July 13, 2021 02:53 - 22 minutes - 31.3 MBJesus’ life has been a continuous flurry of activity as he moves from one event to the next. All are amazed at his miracles and the wisdom of his preaching. Jesus has selected his team of disciples and the ministry is making great headway. That is until the reading we hear this week from Mark’s gospel. Jesus has gone home to Nazareth where he is met with a combination of amazement, resentment and open hostility. This was obviously not a social visit where Jesus came to see friends and ...
Reflections on God’s Creation
July 13, 2021 02:32 - 20 minutes - 28.3 MBThe famous opening words of the Bible in the Old Testament, set the scene for all that is to come: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. All that was, all that is, all that will be, all this comes from God. The opening chapter goes on to describe the scale, the diversity, the goodness of God’s creation. Basil of Caesarea, a Bishop in the fourth century compared God the creator to a potter who, after painstakingly crafting a series of beautiful pots, ‘has not exhausted eith...
The Power of a Touch
June 30, 2021 15:14 - 17 minutes - 24.4 MBOur gospel reading this week is a story of two women who are healed. Both are anonymous, one named by a condition and the other by a relationship. There is a bleeding woman who is cut off from her community because of her condition and has been impoverished by physicians whose skills have failed her. She would have been invisible to those who did not know her and those who did would have shrunk back for fear of contact contamination. In her desperation she doesn’t care. “If I but touch th...
You Are Part of the Family
June 14, 2021 04:33 - 29 minutes - 40.3 MBThe readings this morning have a thing or two to say about family. Who do we consider to be family? Who do we turn to when we need help? In ancient times family had a different meaning than it does today. Many of us see our families consisting of ourselves, parents, siblings, children, grandchildren, special aunts and uncles or cousins. In biblical times families consisted of many, many people that also included great aunts and uncles, all first cousins and second cousins were all considered...
Experience the Mystery
June 03, 2021 01:12 - 19 minutes - 26.6 MBThis week we hear a reading from the gospel of John about a man named Nicodemus. Nicodemus was one of Israel’s teachers and leaders. People respected and admired him. In our reading we find him going to see Jesus under the cover of darkness. But Nicodemus had no idea whom he was dealing with. Nicodemus may have come to Jesus intending to push him on his theology, but he found himself being pushed instead. Jesus told Nicodemus that, given his status as a teacher of Israel, he really shou...
The Gifts of the Spirit
May 25, 2021 15:06 - 18 minutes - 26.1 MBThis week get ready for an adventure! Put on your helmet, strap on your seat belt and get ready for mighty wind or a persistent calling! This is the day that we celebrate the lively Spirit of God, blowing freely and wherever God wills. This is a gentle and sometimes wild presence that transforms lives and communities, breaks down barriers and gives life to weary and uncertain persons and communities. This week we celebrate Pentecost, the third great festival of the Christian year. Pent...
The Ascension of Jesus
May 25, 2021 15:01 - 17 minutes - 23.6 MBThis week we hear about the Ascension of Jesus. Can you imagine what a spectacular sight it was? Exactly as promised, Jesus ascended into heaven. The scriptures were fulfilled. In Luke’s account of the Ascension, Jesus chooses to leave from Bethany. It would have been a beloved place of memory for Jesus. It was here that he found hospitality in the home of his friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. It was also here he raised Lazarus from the dead and where here he received the gift of a wo...
Love One Another
May 10, 2021 03:31 - 16 minutes - 22.7 MBThis week’s reading comes from the Gospel of John. A reading that if you take the time to count the word love or loved you will find it nine times in these verses. The love, friendship and joy of these verses is what we all hope lies at the heart of our experience of Christian community. Our love for one another inspires faithful action and generous giving. The joy that we participate in and experience through various outreach projects doesn’t lead us away from suffering and struggle bu...
Staying Connected
May 10, 2021 03:27 - 20 minutes - 28.6 MBLast week we reflected on the image of Jesus as the good shepherd and us as the wandering, stubborn sheep. This week the image used draws us even closer to Jesus with the image of the vine. We are extended from the vine as the branches. We are rooted in and draw strength and life from Jesus. We are intimately connected to Jesus. If we were cut off from Jesus, we would perish like a branch chopped off from Jesus, we would perish like a branch chopped off from its vine. How might we extend to ...
Tender Compassion
April 26, 2021 16:17 - 18 minutes - 25.9 MBA mother was once asked by a census taker how many children she had. She replied, “Well there’s Nathan, Daniel and Elisha and…” Never mind the names,’ the man interrupted, “Just give me the numbers.” The mother angrily replied, “They don’t have numbers, they all have names!” This might be a funny story, but don’t you find that there is some truth to it in our modern world. We are often reduced to statistics and numbers, especially by the government. Here in Canada, our governments know...
Presence Matters
April 26, 2021 16:12 - 20 minutes - 27.5 MBThis week we hear about Cleopas and Simon who are heading to Emmaus from the gospel of Luke. Jesus walks along with them, his identity unbeknownst to them. At first the two fail to recognize him, even as Jesus interprets the scriptures for them. We then move with Cleopas and his companion where they have just begun telling the eleven disciples about their encounter with Jesus on the road. The text tells us that “While they were talking about this,” Jesus himself appeared among them.” Ye...
Peace Be With You
April 14, 2021 14:14 - 21 minutes - 29 MBShalom aleichem. The days following Jesus persecution, death and resurrection were tumultuous. Jesus’ friends and devout followers must have been devastated and grieving. In our Gospel reading this week from John 20:19-31, we hear of the disciples locked in a room because they were afraid of the Temple authorities—so the local troubles continue. Suddenly appearing before them is Jesus in the room, and saying, “Peace be with you.” But Thomas doubts that Jesus has risen from the dead, because ...
Easter Joy
April 06, 2021 04:27 - 18 minutes - 25.2 MBJesus Christ is risen today! The tomb where he lay is empty. On that first Easter morning Mary comes to the tomb while it is still dark. She sees that the stone has been rolled away and she draws the conclusion that Jesus has been taken. Running to Peter and that beloved disciple, she shares her concern. Upon her return to the tomb Jesus appears to Mary as a gardener and will later appear to the disciples. She does not yet believe who she is standing with. Things go no more smoothl...
Palm Sunday
April 06, 2021 04:20 - 18 minutes - 25.2 MBPalm Sunday Jesus resolves to ride into Jerusalem and expose himself publicly, even though he realizes the dangers he will face since the Jewish leaders have been clamouring for his arrest. From the Roman Governor’s view, this was a dangerous time to keep peace and order with the impending Jewish Passover festival and the last thing the Roman authorities wanted was a riot stirred by religious intolerance. So when Jesus enters Jerusalem the atmosphere is tense. As Jesus set out from the...
Seeds
March 26, 2021 18:22 - 20 minutes - 27.8 MBDuring the Jewish feast of Passover, some Greeks arrive in town and approach Philip. They come with a request that the disciples must have fielded many times during Jesus's ministry. Had they traveled all the way to Jerusalem just to ask their question? "Sir, we would like to see Jesus." Philip shares their request with Andrew, and together they tell Jesus. But their query fizzles out and the story then takes a new turn. We never learn if they actually get to see Jesus, the one ...
Let us Live Love
March 17, 2021 17:15 - 15 minutes - 21.8 MBThe passage from John‘s gospel that we hear this week begins in the midst of Jesus’ nighttime conversation with Nicodemus. Nicodemus has gone to Jesus because of a deep yearning. What do I need to do to be closer to God? To be right with God? How can I have more meaning in my life? Though he was a religious leader, something was lacking. He was educated, well connected and respected. He is unlike some of the Pharisees that Jesus has criticized for their hypocrisy, the ones who thought ...
Cleaning House
March 08, 2021 19:50 - 19 minutes - 26.9 MBThis morning we hear a story from John’s gospel that takes place in a courtyard the size of a football field. This is part of a complex of temple buildings that are beautifully crafted of the finest materials. It is in outer courtyard that we hear about the merchants selling animals for sacrifice. There are also the moneychangers who are changing money into authorized temple currency. This currency was called shekels or temple coins and was needed to purchase a sacrifice or pay annual dues. ...
What's It Worth to You?
March 08, 2021 19:46 - 19 minutes - 27.3 MBIn this week’s Gospel reading from Mark, Jesus predicts his death for the first time. “The Son of Man must undergo great suffering,” Jesus tells his disciples quite plainly. He must “be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.” Standing on this side of resurrection history, we too easily miss the bombshell effect these words must have had on Jesus’s disciples. Their great hope, cultivated over the three years they had followe...
Into the Wilderness
February 23, 2021 15:37 - 17 minutes - 23.9 MBOn this first Sunday of Lent our reading from Mark’s gospel is about a long and treacherous stint in the wilderness. Unlike his counterparts, Matthew and Luke, Mark offers his readers no colourful details about Jesus’s experience in the wilderness. We don’t learn what the specific temptations were, or how Jesus responded to them. Mark doesn’t even assure us that Jesus “passed” his desert test. All he gives us are two abrupt sentences: “And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wil...
A Mountaintop Experience for Us All
February 23, 2021 15:35 - 18 minutes - 25.9 MBIt has been said that Science teachers never tire of that moment when a student first looks into a microscope. What had seemed like nothing more than a speck of dirt, suddenly becomes something full of colour, patterns and interest. That student will never look at things the same way again; in that moment everything now has the potential to be more than it was. This same thing happens elsewhere too. Telescopes have the ability to transform. Just think of the night sky when you look thr...
I Will Raise You Up
February 14, 2021 18:03 - 21 minutes - 29 MBIn our reading from Mark’s gospel we find Jesus after a long day of preaching in the synagogue, healing a man who had been possessed by an unclean spirit and who knows what else. As the day comes to a close Jesus, with the disciples, head over to Simon Peter’s house for a warm meal and some time of rest. When they arrive Jesus is quickly directed to Simon’s mother-in-law who is deathly ill with a fever. We read that Jesus, “came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left...
Jesus is in the House!
February 05, 2021 15:39 - 19 minutes - 26.7 MBIn our reading from Mark’s gospel Jesus encounters a man with an unclean spirit. In ancient times, mental health issues were often identified with spiritual possession. Something was believed to “take over” a person’s psyche, imprisoning them by forces greater than themselves. While we cannot rule out spirit possession, we know that we are possessed by many things that need to be cast out. Virtually all of us have behaviors that we struggle with that are large and small. We know often wha...
Ordinary People for an Extraordinary Calling
January 29, 2021 14:23 - 18 minutes - 24.9 MBThis week we hear the call of the first four disciples from Mark’s gospel. After forty days in the wilderness, Jesus begins his ministry proclaiming the good news of God. Jesus goes to Simon and Andrew and then James and John and says, “Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately, they went and followed Jesus. There wasn’t a well let me think about it or a let me get permission from this person or that person, or will you pay better than what I’m getting right now. They...