Cup o' Joe

Readings for the Second Sunday in Advent - Baruch 5:1-9; Luke 3:1-6I won't speak for others but only me.  And for me, it's easy to read the Scriptures and see the love of God working in and through others in a different time and place and think "I wish God would still act that way now."  But I think I miss the mark.  God does still act.  God is still working in and through others - including me.  And you.  In the Gospel of Luke we begin hearing the adult story of Jesus this week, and Luke sets it in a specific time and a specific place.  Not just "out there", but in reality.  God still does that.  He is still specific to our time and our places.  And God is still present in our reality, our experience, our geography today.  Right now.Special thanks to Bridget Zenk for her composition and performing of our intake and outtake music.  And thank you to all of you for continuing to listen to this podcast and share it with others.  I'm incredibly humbled.  Have a question or comment?  I can be reached at pdjoezenk@gmail.com

Readings for the First Sunday in Advent - Jeremiah 33:14-16;  Luke 21:25-28, 34-36We begin our new liturgical year with readings that sound an awful lot like the readings from last weekend, the close of our last liturgical year.  Why, exactly, is that?  Even more importantly, these readings which were speaking to particular situations back in the time of Jeremiah and Jesus continue to speak to our time and our individual lives.  We hear readings of hope and reality.  And the best part?  I have a guest speaker w/ me today as my co-host is none other than my daughter Bridget!Special thanks to that same Bridget ("co-host") Zenk, for her composition and performing of our intake and outtake music.  And special thanks to all of you for continuing to listen and share this podcast with others.  I'm so grateful and humble.  Have a question or comment?  I can be reached at pdjoezenk@gmail.com

Readings for the Feast of Christ the King - Daniel 7:13-14;  John 18:33b-37This weekend, we celebrate the Feast of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.  But it would be a tragedy if we only reflect upon this once a year.  Who is Lord of our life today, this very moment?  It's not an exercise in guilt, but one of choice and it's one we have to make every day.  And just what kind of a kingdom did this King point to anyway?Special thanks to Bridget Zenk for her composing and performing of our intake and outtake music.  And thank you for continuing to listen and share this podcast with others who you think would benefit from it.  I'm humbled.  Have a question or comment?  I can be reached at pdjoezenk@gmail.com

Readings for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Daniel 12:1-3; Mark 13:24-32As we draw nearer to the end of the Liturgical Year, our readings darken and we hear readings of The End of Time.  And that is w/ purpose.  Our liturgical calendar is rooted in time and time, indeed, is linear - moving toward an end point.  But there's more.  Time is also cyclical.  As individual human beings and as all things created by God, we experience ends within our lives, multiple times.  And those feelings can upend us, leaving us in darkness and feeling alone and unmoored.  Our readings today remind us that there is hope, even there, if we have but eyes to see.Special thanks to Bridget Zenk for her composition and performing of our intake and outtake music.  And thank you to all of you for continuing to listen and share this podcast.  I'm so incredibly humbled.  Have a question or comment?  I can be reached at pdjoezenk@gmail.com

Readings for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - 1 Kings 17:10-16;  Mark 12:38-44The heroes of our readings today are two women who literally have nothing.  Nothing, that is, but a faith that you and I would be wise to give everything we have to gain.  We all know that we are called to be women and men of faith.  But just what does that mean?  It's not belief.  It's even more than trust.  It's having the courage to enter darkness and trust that our God waits for us on the other side.  Special thanks to Bridget Zenk for her composition and performing of our intake and outtake music.  And thank you to all of you for listening to this podcast and sharing it with others.  I'm so incredibly humbled.  Have a question or a comment?  I can be reached at pdjoezenk@gmail.com

Readings for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time - Deuteronomy 6:2-6;  Mark 12:28b-34Sometimes it's easy to feel overwhelmed.  Scripture is so thick, there are so many books and sometimes the answers can even seem to contradict one another.  How do we know who or what to listen to?  Today, we hear readings of summation.  Call it our Cliff Notes edition.  Moses summarizes the Law.  And then Jesus summarizes the Gospels.  They give us the One Thing that grounds us and around which we are to revolve.  And throw in a City Slickers reference for good measure because, why not?Special thanks to Bridget Zenk for her composition and performing of our intake and outtake music.  And thank you to all of you for continuing to listen and recommend the podcast.  I'm truly humbled.  Have a question or comment?  I can be reached at pdjoezenk@gmail.com

Readings for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Jeremiah 31:7-9;  Mark 10:46-52At first glance, this Gospel reading looks like just another story where Jesus heals a blind man.  But this is not just any old healing.  We'd all be blessed to be as blind as Bartimaeus.  Special thanks to Bridget Zenk for her composition and performing of our intake and outtake music.  And thank you to all of you for continuing to listen and share this podcast with others.  I'm incredibly humbled.  Have a question or comment?  I can be reached at pdjoezenk@gmail.com

Readings for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Isaiah 53:10-11;  Mark 10:35-45Martin Luther once invited us all to "Sin boldly!"  He must have been thinking about James and John in today's reading.  They are bold - make no mistake about it.  And they are 180 degrees off-base in their assumptions, which were the foundation of their request.  They sought glory.  They had no idea what glory was.  And so Jesus made sure to set not only the two of them, but all of the disciples, straight on what glory consisted of - which meant tipping everything that they thought they knew upside down.  As if that wouldn't be enough for a podcast, let's also do a quick unpack of the theory of the atonement.  That's a light subject, no?  Perhaps that's why this one went a bit long...Special thanks to Bridget Zenk for her composition and performing of our intake and outtake music.  And thank you to you for your continued listening and sharing of this podcast.  I'm so grateful and humbled.  Have a question or comment?  I can be reached at pdjoezenk@gmail.com

Readings for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Wisdom 7:7-11;  Mark 10:17-30This weekend, we get to have a mirror held up to us.  The good news is - it's not entirely a bad thing.  There are parts of this mirror that actually have us looking good.  But other parts, not so much.  The best part?  Jesus looks at us in love and names these things, inviting us out of them and into relationship with Him.  But the question is - what are we willing to give up for that relationship.  The author of Wisdom would tell us that nothing is more important - not power or riches or health or even light itself.  And while that sounds good, when the rubber meets the road, what are we willing to set aside?  We are the only ones that can answer that question.Special thanks to Bridget Zenk for her composition and performing of our intake and outtake music.  And thank you to all of you for breaking open God's Word alongside of me.  I'm honored and humbled.  Have a question or a comment?  Send it my way at pdjoezenk@gmail.com.

Readings for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Genesis 2:18-24;  Mark 10:2-16This one is a bit more lengthy, but how does one talk about sin quickly?  So often when we think about sin, we think about something much smaller than the reality.  We think of the outer showings but pay little attention to the inner reality.  The readings this weekend don't give us that option.  We may think that they are only speaking to us about marriage and divorce.  I think that they are about something much more than that.  Special thanks to Bridget Zenk for her composition and performing of our intake and outtake music.  And thank you to you for continuing to break open God's Word along with me - and thanks for sharing this podcast with others around the globe.  I'm beyond humbled.  Have a question or comment?  I can be reached at pdjoezenk@gmail.com

Readings for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Numbers 11:25-29;  Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48It's so easy to get caught up in titles and degrees and membership.  I'll listen to this person because they carry the right credentials but not someone without them.  I'll follow this person because they belong to the same group as I do, but not that person who doesn't.  It's so common we don't even notice it.  And it's been going on for a long, long time - at least so our readings show us today.  Thankfully Moses and Jesus cut through the blindness.  The Spirit of God is radically free and She will go wherever She will go.  And far from upsetting us - this is something to be celebrated.  And you know what?  Let's throw in two quotes from Abraham Lincoln just for good measure. Special thanks to Bridget Zenk for her composition and performing of our intake and outtake music.  And thank you to all of you listeners, for continuing to break open God's Word alongside of me and for sharing it with others.  I'm humbled.  Have a question or comment?  I can be reached at pdjoezenk@gmail.com

Readings for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Wisdom 2:12, 17-20;  Mark 9:30-37Jesus picks up on the same topic that he ended with last week - if we are to be a follower of His, it leads to Jerusalem and the cross.  This is the second time of three times that Jesus will make these statements to his disciples.  Why so often?  Because it goes against everything our culture and those voices inside of our heads tell us to do.  We are always striving to do better than others, to looks smarter, to be more successful.  But do we ever stop to ask ourselves why?  What is motivating us to act in such a way?  What are we protecting?  Because as Jesus reminds us (for the second time), it's not the Kingdom of God that is asking us to live in such a manner. Special thanks to Bridget Zenk for her composition and performing of our intake and outtake music.  And thank you to all of you for continuing to listen and share this podcast with others.  I'm incredibly humbled.  Do you have a question or comment?  I can be reached at pdjoezenk@gmail.com

Readings for the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Isaiah 50:5-9a;  Mark 8:27-35The word Gospel, as we all know, means "Good News".  And while the Gospel is always good news, sometimes that news can also be hard.  Today is one of those days.  Isaiah shares with us the path of the Suffering Servant, which Christians see as a foreshadowing of the ministry of Jesus.  But if it's a foreshadowing of the ministry of Jesus, it also foreshadows our ministry.  Jesus confirms this by looking at you and I and reminding us that if we want to follow him, we need to pick up our cross and do so.  Hard words.  Being a follower of Jesus is not for the faint of heart.  Special thanks to Bridget Zenk for her composition and performing of our intake and outtake music.  Also thank you to all of you for continuing to listen and break open God's Word with me.  I'm humbled and honored.  Have a question or comment?  I can be reached at pdjoezenk@gmail.com.

Readings for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Isaiah 35:4-7a; Mark 7:31-37Isaiah speaks to a people without hope and does his best to give them a vision of what hope would look like within a hopeless place.  For until they have bought into the vision, until they are able to see it, they have nothing to say, nothing to leap about.  They must first "be opened."  What was true then is also true now.  If we as individuals and we as the People of God are not people of hope and vision, we carry no authority.  We have nothing to say, nothing to share.  Just ask the rose.  Special thanks to Bridget Zenk for her composition and performing of our intake and outtake music.  And thank you to you - for listening and sharing this podcast with others.  I continue to be humbled by your presence and trust.  Have a question or comment?  I can be reached at pdjoezenk@gmail.com

Readings for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Dt 4:1-2, 6-8;  Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23Both Moses and Jesus (there's a couple of heavyweights for you!) call us out into the deep today.  We are not invited to stay in the shallow end of the pool by merely going through the motions of our beliefs or saying the right words.  We are called to the weightier things like justice and mercy and faith.  And how do we do that?  Not by just bringing part of ourselves to the table, but our entire self.  That's what brings life.  Special thanks to Bridget Zenk for her composition and performing of our intake and outtake music.  And special thanks to you for listening and continuing to share this podcast with others you think would enjoy it.  I'm humbled at the places around the world that continue to listen.  Have a question or comment?  I can be reached at pdjoezenk@gmail.com

Readings for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time - Joshua 24:1-2a, 15-17a, 18b;  John 6:60-69This week comes with a challenge.  Actually two.  Joshua gives one in the first reading and Jesus in the Gospel.  Which way will you go?  Whom do you choose?  And you will notice in each case, they give the grace for choices that may not serve them or ourselves well.  They respect free will that much.  Those choices still stand before us today.  Whom will we choose?  Special thanks to Bridget Zenk for her composition and performing of our intake and outtake music.  And thank you to you for continuing to break open God's Word alongside of me.  I'm humbled and grateful.  Have a question or comment?  Feel free to send it to me at pdjoezenk@gmail.com

Readings for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Proverbs 9:1-6;  John 6:51-58I know - this sounds like a JRR Tolkien novel.  Sorry, nothing so sublime here.  Just a juxtaposition between wisdom and folly that we hear in the book of Proverbs, looking at the values that each holds.  And if, perchance, we wish to partake of the food of Wisdom, just where do we find that?  Jesus lets us know in no uncertain terms in today's continuing look at the Bread of Life discourse.  Special thanks to Bridget Zenk for her composition and performing of our intake and outtake music for this podcast.  I'm also grateful to you for your patience these past weeks when my pod was struggling to get out to all the feeds and continuing to listen.  I'm humbled.  Have a question or comment?  I can be reached at pdjoezenk@gmail.com

Readings for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time - 1 Kings 19:4-8; John 6:41-51The thread between the two readings couldn't be much easier to spot.  We can't make the journey on our own.  It's too difficult.  But what it also reminds us is that we are not at the end, either.  No matter what is happening in your life, whatever difficulties and struggles you may be facing - God gives us a gentle shove (or maybe not so gentle!) and doesn't invite us to keep moving.  He orders us.  There are missions to accomplish and you need Bread to sustain you.  So get up, partake of the Bread, and keep moving.  Your life has purpose.Special thanks to Bridget Zenk for her composition and performing of our intake and outtake music.  And thank you for continuing to listen and share this podcast with others.  I'm so humbled and grateful.  Have a question or comment?  I can be reached at pdjoezenk@gmail.com.

Readings for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15;  John 6:24-35This weekend, we hear about how God provides for us - specifically giving us Bread from Heaven (in the form of manna and Jesus, himself).  And while there is much to explore there, I went in a different route.  I talked about how quickly the Hebrew people of both Moses's and Jesus's day could be so obtuse.  How can they forget God's presence and actions for them so quickly?  It's almost comical.  Until we realize that maybe it's not just them.Special thanks to Bridget Zenk for her composition and performing of our intake and outtake music.  And thank you to you for continuing to listen and share this podcast with those you believe would enjoy it.  I'm incredibly humbled.  Have a question or comment?  I can be reached at pdjoezenk@gmail.com

Readings for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time - 2 Kings 4:42-44;  John 6:1-15God desires for you and I to be fed.  It's as simple as that.  Whether it is manna in the desert, food during a plague or 5,000 people sitting on a grassy field, God desires not that we remain empty and in need, but rather that we are satiated.  But there is really only one thing that feeds us, right?  The Word of God.  Jesus says that himself when Satan tempts Him in the desert.  "Humanity does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God."  Yet Jesus is wise enough to know that if our bellies are not filled, our minds cannot be reached.  And so he does both.  The question before us this week is - are we Philip or are we Andrew in this process?Special thanks to Bridget Zenk for her creating and performing of our intake and outtake music.  And thank you to you for continuing to listen and share this podcast with others.  I'm humbled and grateful.  Have a question or comment?  Feel free to reach out at pdjoezenk@gmail.com