It's Worldwide Communion Sunday, and we are revisiting the vision of unity, abundance, and wholeness that is at the heart of what Communion is. This Sunday reminds us that this "togetherness" is not just a mystery, but something we live out daily in the way we enact our faith. Two Gospel stories this week...Zacchaeus, and John's version of the Feeding of the 5000...illustrate the heart of the Kingdom...welcome, plenty, transformation.

We talk often about how the Bible is written by many, many authors across many, many years, and so there will be differing perspectives, opinions, and voices contained within its pages. This a good thing, leading to depth, richness, and diversity.

But sometimes our scriptures speak loudly, with one voice. And this week is one of those times...James and Mark are both proclaiming the same truth about the ways of this world, and the ways of God's Realm. And though they employ different ways of communicating, the message is the same. Join us this week for a journey into pride and humility, power and servanthood, death and life.

James has a lot to say this week about the power, for both good and for evil, of speech. In twelve short verses, he drills down to the bedrock of the matter, that the words we speak and how we speak them can create, and nurture, and inspire, or they can destroy, and poison, and defeat. He bases this in solid Creational theology, and calls upon Christians to speak words of life. Good stuff. Join us as we explore the power of words.