December 10, 2025 Midweek News
Greetings church family,
Last Sunday we continued our series “What Do You Fear?” We remembered how John the Baptist’s prophetic work landed him in jail. He spoke out against Herod Antipas’ marriage and got a prison cell and death penalty as a result. He was afraid that all his work had led to nothing. Was Jesus the one? The promised Messiah? The message back from Jesus – “Look around John! Can’t you see the kingdom is taking root, despite the oppression and harm of King Herod!?”
The image above was inspired by our scripture from Matthew 11. Here’s what the artist has to say about the meaning behind her work and its connection to hope and scripture:
“In this image, John sits in prison, letting the disciples’ testimony settle in. People with hearing, visual, and physical impairments experience new senses and
mobility. Those with skin diseases are cleansed. Those with little material comfort are offered irrepressible hope, and the lungs of the dead are filled with the breath of life. I decided to image this good news through the dancing light of a lantern¹ in John’s prison cell.
I chose dancing figures because dancing feels like a primal response to the radical healing taking place outside the prison walls. As these six dancers illuminate the cell, I imagine John, even if for a moment, breaking into a bit of laughter at the magnitude of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus was quite literally doing
the unimaginable. He was removing barriers so that the marginalized were no longer reduced to begging and sitting on mats, shoved to the edges of society. He was not only healing physical ailments; perhaps more importantly, he was restoring people to community.”
Advent Devotionals and Breath Prayer Advent Calendars are available in the sanctuary. Join us this Sunday as we worship together at 11:00am – in person or online.
Advent Blessings,
Pastor Jared