https://estuariescommunity.com estuaries Mon, 15 Aug 2022 00:38:46 +0000 https://estuariescommunity.com en https://estuariescommunity.com/00_HOME Tue, 02 Jun 2020 02:32:46 +0000 estuaries https://estuariescommunity.com/00_HOME estuaries is a first step toward a long-term vision. Our goal is to incite a cultural ecology that fosters spiritually holistic, emotionally healthy, and intellectually rich believers who are capable of engaging meaningfully with culture. As in a natural estuary, where the influx of both marine and riverine influences result in some of the most productive habitats in the world, we believe that bringing people of diverse backgrounds into a Spirit-led, emotionally-intelligent, and intellectually-rigorous environment will help bring about a new influx of life that the church in America desperately needs. <img width="820" height="1328" width_o="820" height_o="1328" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/12c62942fbf579a31b8d6a88c19d7f2b6da5fd2040a3052c6cfd47c466d1ccb0/Screen-Shot-2022-07-23-at-7.12.10-PM.png" data-mid="148622770" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/820/i/12c62942fbf579a31b8d6a88c19d7f2b6da5fd2040a3052c6cfd47c466d1ccb0/Screen-Shot-2022-07-23-at-7.12.10-PM.png" /> BETWEEN LANDS is an experimental platform for developing creative work from the Estuaries community. Estuaries is a group of artists, scholars, and professionals united by friendship and a commitment to reimagining culture in the way of Jesus. We aim to foster interdisciplinary networks of resilient disciples with an equal value for the intellect, spirit, body, and emotions. The title Between Lands captures the cultural space we often find ourselves in as we grapple with questions about faith, art, life in the Spirit, and whole-living. https://estuariescommunity.com/02_ABOUT Tue, 02 Jun 2020 02:32:46 +0000 estuaries https://estuariescommunity.com/02_ABOUT Estuaries are places where the river meets the ocean, merging salt and freshwater to form one of the richest natural habitats on Earth. They are living proof of the power of integration. In our tumultuous, perplexing cultural moment we in the Western church are in dire need of an integrative and ecological way of practicing Christianity. One that does not simply react to the times, but draws resilience and dynamism from our faith’s ancient roots. We founded Estuaries in 2017. Our goal was to create a space that was equal parts Spirit-led, intellectually vibrant, and emotionally healthy, where believers could grapple with the issues of the day while being healed and transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. We asked some of our best friends to join us, and over the next two years, we invited others—to bring their whole selves, to help us form an estuary. What began as a two-week seminar in Kona has generated a lasting community, a publication, and more gatherings, writings, and collaborations to come. We are worship leaders, prophetic ministers, counselors, theologians, lawyers, scientists, academics, artists, musicians, engineers, chefs, farmers, and designers. We come from different countries, cultures, and backgrounds. We are theologically-orthodox and philosophically-pluralistic. And we are committed to articulating and embodying the Gospel in all of our fields and disciplines, so that together, we can reimagine culture in the way of Jesus. https://estuariescommunity.com/03_PEOPLE Sun, 28 Feb 2021 02:19:54 +0000 estuaries https://estuariescommunity.com/03_PEOPLE CHRISTIAN AND CHRISTINA GONZALEZ HO <img width="750" height="750" width_o="750" height_o="750" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4c16c897a1bb29b976b9666dc583d0be84a313c953e61a1f4fa5ae83cc8cbb51/495A3084.jpg" data-mid="150384526" border="0" data-scale="100" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/750/i/4c16c897a1bb29b976b9666dc583d0be84a313c953e61a1f4fa5ae83cc8cbb51/495A3084.jpg" />DIRECTORS cultural theorist | designer Christian Gonzalez Ho is a Ph.D. student in Art History at Stanford University. He holds an M.A. in Architecture from Harvard University and a B.A. in American Studies from Fordham University. Christian's work focuses primarily on the dialogical relationships among philosophy, art, and culture. In a past life, Christian worked in New York City as an off-Broadway playwright, director, and actor. He also spent time at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City and worked as Director of Design at Exodus Cry, an anti-human-trafficking organization. Christian loves to surf, snowboard, play basketball, and drink really, really, good coffee.&nbsp; writer | musician Christina Gonzalez Ho is a writer, musician, and worship leader. She holds a B.A. in Comparative Literature from Stanford University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. In 2018, she co-authored Los Angeles: Mestizo Archipelago (Pinatubo Press), a book on the L.A. art world. Her audio series, The Last Two Years, is on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.&nbsp; JOSHUA AND KATRINA BOCANEGRA <img width="750" height="770" width_o="750" height_o="770" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a588004d939769cc09173a1e9b3aa5338d26d2c2930dde9667463d2715a8978b/Screenshot-2017-08-20-22.09.43.png" data-mid="150384543" border="0" data-scale="100" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/750/i/a588004d939769cc09173a1e9b3aa5338d26d2c2930dde9667463d2715a8978b/Screenshot-2017-08-20-22.09.43.png" /> CORE LEADERS writer | theologian Joshua Bocanegra is a writer and theologian living in Kansas City with his wife Katrina and their dog, Nyxie. He has a Master of Arts in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary with an emphasis in Christian Ethics and Systematic Theology with an eye for the Hebrew Bible. His work focuses on intersection of cultures, theology, and faithful discipleship to Jesus. He seeks to approach Christian discipleship in a holistic, relational way, building good relationships with creation, our neighbor, and with God. licensed therapist Katrina Bocanegra is a licensed therapist in Kansas and Missouri.&nbsp; She has a Master’s in Counseling, with an emphasis in Clinical Mental Health.&nbsp; One of her values as a therapist is to utilize multicultural awareness to better understand the people she works with.&nbsp; Prior to licensure, Katrina worked for almost a decade doing Inner Healing, spent several years in youth ministry, and was an associate director for a summer teen camp.&nbsp; She has a passion for working with those in the helping professions and enjoys helping others learn to reconnect with their body and alienated pieces of themselves to move forward in a healthier and more cohesive way. RACHEL TERRELL-PERICA AND WILL TARPEH <img width="750" height="750" width_o="750" height_o="750" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2b6b9df6287093de4222361ef4c2fc52442eed214a4a4abfe976077abcf6ac2c/Screenshot-2017-09-05-14.12.23.png" data-mid="150384709" border="0" data-scale="100" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/750/i/2b6b9df6287093de4222361ef4c2fc52442eed214a4a4abfe976077abcf6ac2c/Screenshot-2017-09-05-14.12.23.png" /> CORE LEADERS attorney | feminist Rachel Terrell-Perica believes the power of the gospel coupled with Christ-centered justice can change our world. She holds a B.A. in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity from Stanford University and a JD from Berkeley Law School. She cares deeply about eradicating inequality in our society and galvanizing the church to exemplify racial unity and female empowerment. Rachel has played piano for almost 20 years and loves encountering God's presence through worship and prophecy. She lives in Palo Alto with her husband, Will. educator | engineer&nbsp; Will Tarpeh is an engineer and professor passionate about increasing access to sanitation in developing countries. He holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering. Will loves to mentor high school and college students in uniting faith and vocation; in particular, he is dedicated to increasing opportunities for historically underrepresented groups in science and engineering. His main teaching areas include sustainability, stewardship, and antiracism. Will is married to Rachel Terrell-Perica. MIKE AND ANNA BROWN <img width="480" height="480" width_o="480" height_o="480" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6774109a2fb4b356d1673ea6e3218e83fccf09c5b3b45ab0cc172ba8e144c39a/IMG_4949.jpeg" data-mid="150384800" border="0" data-scale="100" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/480/i/6774109a2fb4b356d1673ea6e3218e83fccf09c5b3b45ab0cc172ba8e144c39a/IMG_4949.jpeg" /> CORE LEADERS missionary | speaker Mike Brown has worked with Youth With A Mission for his entire adult life! &nbsp;He loves being married to his wife, Anna, and thinks one of the best things he’s ever done is father his four kids, Eternity, Xavier, Riley-Joy, and Haven. &nbsp;He loves to dream with his friends about how to change the world, go on slightly dangerous adventures whose stories will live on for years to come. And most of all, he loves anything that draws him closer to the heart of God. He currently helps lead the Awaken community in Kona Hawaii and travels the world teaching and speaking in YWAM and churches alike.&nbsp; missionary | teacher Anna Brown is 36 years old, wife to Mike Brown, and mother to Eternity, Xavier, Riley-Joy, and Haven. She received bachelors degrees at the University of Maryland in Education and Math. She has spent time with the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, Iris Ministries in Pemba, Mozambique, and has been in Kona with the University of the Nations since 2012. She currently helps to lead a community called Awaken, and works with the Kona Bible Team, which distributes bibles to nations and people all over the world. She feels passionate about developing effective, Christ-like, passionate leaders in all spheres of society. BEAU AND KRISTEN DAVIDSON <img width="664" height="664" width_o="664" height_o="664" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1564cd2fab484a871e20dc20369dd2056b8b6910756e413f8b5d3bbf110fc7b0/Screen-Shot-2017-09-08-at-3.00.17-PM.png" data-mid="150384966" border="0" data-scale="100" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/664/i/1564cd2fab484a871e20dc20369dd2056b8b6910756e413f8b5d3bbf110fc7b0/Screen-Shot-2017-09-08-at-3.00.17-PM.png" /> CORE LEADERS writer | chef Kristen’s background is in culinary arts, ceramics and creative writing. Her delight in food, particularly good ingredients and the desire for a more just food system, lured her into farming. Here she fell in love with herbs, beneficial bacteria, fungi, and the breathtaking complexity of the natural world. audio engineer | farmer Beau Davidson is a worshiper, farmer, music producer, father, and husband. After earning his BS in Recording Engineering from MTSU, Beau spent his early 20s working in the Nashville, TN music industry. In 2009, he joined YWAM New Zealand, where he began two years of itinerant ministry and music. In 2011, Beau returned to his hometown of Kansas City, MO to join the worship arts community at the Kansas City Boiler room. There, he met and married his wife, Kristen—and in a surprise twist, also fell in love with dirt. Thus began a philosophical love affair with Land. Together, Beau and Kristen began practicing ecosystem regeneration in the heart of urban Kansas City. In 2018, they moved with their two children to a working farm where they began Laird Woodland Farm, an ecological research initiative to tend the borderland between philosophy and practice of resource-stewardship, creativity, and whole living. https://estuariescommunity.com/04_GATHERINGS Mon, 15 Aug 2022 00:38:46 +0000 estuaries https://estuariescommunity.com/04_GATHERINGS Estuaries We do not currently have an upcoming gathering planned, but if you are interested in finding out more about Estuaries and receiving an invite to any future events, please email us at estuariescommunity@gmail.com https://estuariescommunity.com/05_PARTNERSHIP Mon, 15 Aug 2022 00:12:55 +0000 estuaries https://estuariescommunity.com/05_PARTNERSHIP We are looking for financial partners who believe in the Estuaries project and want to assist in the creation of this unique environment with us. If you are interested in partnering with Estuaries, please contact us HERE. You can also make a tax-deductible donation to Estuaries via this LINK. https://estuariescommunity.com/D07_CG-03-11-20-Devotional Wed, 10 Jun 2020 23:25:07 +0000 estuaries https://estuariescommunity.com/D07_CG-03-11-20-Devotional DEVOTIONAL 03.11.20 by Christian Gonzalez Ho &gt; Velvet Painting: Unlearning DarknessLynn Aldrich2016Velvet, velveteen, painting on a wood panel24” x 18” x 1” <img width="350" height="628" width_o="350" height_o="628" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7dc8f1a52aa15afb436d20439b3a99af12de834c2b05185a267516797e5e663e/CG_IMAGE2_Devotionals.png" data-mid="74185072" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/350/i/7dc8f1a52aa15afb436d20439b3a99af12de834c2b05185a267516797e5e663e/CG_IMAGE2_Devotionals.png" /> The first time I saw Lynn Aldrich’s “Unlearning Darkness” from a distance, I assumed it was a painting of a color gradient. Several months later, I saw it again from close up and realized I was wrong. It was not a painting or a gradient, but layer upon layer of velvet strips arranged in undulating waves of color. I found myself arrested by the piece’s mystery and subtle strangeness, surprised by the furtive glimmers of light refracting off the irregularities and uneven surfaces, especially the light emanating from what, at first glance, had looked like a black block of fabric at the base. In actuality, it was comprised of layers of different blacks and brown, punctuated by violet and purple. These punctuations and the play of light across the material deconstruct the appearance of a gradient, effectively entwining the piece into a chromatic ecosystem. The result defies the kind of pure, cool, airbrushed gradients emblematic of Ed Ruscha, Billy Al Bengston, Craig Kaufmann, and James Turrell, to name a few of Aldrich’s Los Angeles peers. Aldrich’s work revels in the sumptuous material incarnation of these colors, their relation to one another heightened by their composition and proximities.&nbsp; In 2019, after a month of intense fatigue, persistent swelling in my lymph nodes, and a mounting pressure in my chest, I began to wonder if I had cancer. The mere thought of it felt paralyzing, like watching a black hole yawning open before me. Several months later, my fears were confirmed and I entered that vertiginous universe with its batteries of tests, the omni-present sickness and fatigue that chemotherapy precipitates, and sometimes-smothering weight of uncertainty. And yet, God’s voice and presence suffused and interrupted this journey in ways that were imperceptible from a distance. Like discovering climbing holds on what appears to be a sheer rock face. It is only under the shepherding of God, immersed in the scorching darkness of the shadow of death, that I have begun to unlearn the logics of fear and despair. The shadow and the shepherd must both be present. In the face of unmitigated terror, my semblance of God is emended by the real God. Like Jacob, wrestling with the angel in the dark; like a Beethoven concerto’s impassioned struggle between soloist and orchestra, by turns opposing, by turns cooperating, even as they are being woven together. This is the sort of “emended beauty” found in the cleft of horror. For me, it is a reminder that I am being refined—not incinerated. When Jesus prophesied of His own public execution, Peter tried to censure him; it was anathema to their understanding of the Messiah—there could be no silver lining in their leader’s destruction. However, Christ’s resurrection was a victory for humanity that dwarfed the political liberation His disciples had been angling for. It is Christ’s victory over death that ensures that within the horrors of darkness we remain tethered to His love and peace.&nbsp; Through “trouble, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness or danger, or sword… In all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us!” (Romans 8:35, 37) Through the revelation of Christ by the Holy Spirit, we experience the love of God while we pass through a world that remains in the throes of sin and death. A neo-platonic Christianity seeks to avoid darkness. We often quote Isaiah 58:11 to imply that the light erases darkness. But the literal translation says that light rises in the darkness. Cassell captures this sense movingly with his imagery of the Polish fiddler—his music is “eloquent in the pitch dark/tell-true, indelible … Abundance/emending beauty.”&nbsp; The victory of Christ is more subversive and complete than we dare to imagine. It is an existential concerto, wherein we wrestle and through which we discover His love and learn to walk in His ways even as we pass through the thick and terrible shadow.&nbsp; This reflection was originally published on March 11, 2020 as part of Biola University’s 2020 Lent Project. Read more at: http://ccca.biola.edu/lent/2020/#day-mar-11 <img width="850" height="1063" width_o="850" height_o="1063" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/45478f19a27f96757c6f70c904a8ea06ebdb12238d72f8872d37ce3cc5cd7f26/CG_BIO.jpg" data-mid="74185051" border="0" data-scale="36" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/850/i/45478f19a27f96757c6f70c904a8ea06ebdb12238d72f8872d37ce3cc5cd7f26/CG_BIO.jpg" /> CHRISTIAN GONZALEZ HO Christian Gonzalez Ho holds an M.A. in Architecture from Harvard University and a B.A. in American Studies from Fordham University. Christian's work focuses primarily on the dialogical relationships among philosophy, art, and culture. From 2004 to 2009, Christian worked in New York City as an off-Broadway playwright, director, and actor. In 2010, he began graduate work at Yale,&nbsp;but left after a semester to intern at the International house of Prayer in Kansas City. During his time in Kansas City, he became the Director of Design at Exodus Cry, an anti human trafficking organization. He currently works as a cultural researcher in Los Angeles, CA.&nbsp;Christian loves to surf, snowboard, play basketball, and drink really, really, good coffee. He is the co-creator and co-director of Estuaries. https://estuariescommunity.com/D06_CG-01-05-20-Devotional Wed, 10 Jun 2020 23:17:55 +0000 estuaries https://estuariescommunity.com/D06_CG-01-05-20-Devotional DEVOTIONAL 04.01.19 by Christian Gonzalez Ho But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return: and your reward will be great; and you shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind to the unthankful and to the evil. - Luke 6: 35 Therefore if your enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. - Romans 12: 20-21 As a child growing up in church, I found it somewhat embarrassing the way the Old Testament referred to the “enemies” of God. In Exodus, for example, God commands the Israelites to wipe out their enemies, and in the Psalms, David prays that God would “break the teeth in their mouths” (Psalm 58). In a “civilized” society such as ours, I thought it was antiquated at best and barbaric at worst to speak of anyone with such vitriol and rage.&nbsp;But&nbsp;as I grew older and learned about American slavery, the genocide of the native Americans and of human trafficking, I began to understand both the desire and need for retribution. For a long time in the West, the idea of “enemies” was somewhat theoretical. Enemies were ideologies, dictators in other countries, psychopaths on the loose somewhere “out there.” Now, at the end of 2019, as story after viral story of mass shootings, terrorism, police brutality, and rampant sexual abuse in every societal institution including the Church has shattered our delusions of insulation from evil, and after Trump era politics has transmogrified political discourse into a battlefield, we in the West must reckon with the terrifying realization that our enemies are not “out there”—they are among us. Ironically, in this moment, it isn’t the scriptures petitioning the decimation of our enemies that feel archaic and out of touch, but the New Testament’s mandate to love them. Yet, Jesus is unwavering in His teachings about enemies: “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” It should go without saying that the Gospel never teaches Christians to ignore, condone, or underwrite evil. Followers of Christ ought never to tolerate works of darkness. But what scripture seems to be referring to is the position of our hearts toward our enemies—a genuine desire for their well-being and transformation. This desire is impossible outside of exchanging our legitimate claim to vengeance for the forgiveness and healing found in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. In fact, it is absurd unless we meditate upon the Incarnation. The nativity is the paragon of God’s mercy, grace, and love. In it, God offers to all of humanity the undeserved gift of reconciliation in the form of a baby—His only son. Often, we skim over the most profound detail of this story: that God offered this perfect gift of love to His enemies—to those who would reject, humiliate, torture, and execute Jesus. To most of us, myself included, the idea of offering redemption to a corrupt politician, a terrorist, or even a person whose politics we can’t stand, is horrific enough. Such an act makes us vulnerable. It seems to fly in the face of justice. Yet, to become disciples of Christ is to commit ourselves to doing exactly that. God offered Jesus freely to a world of sinners. If that is how He treats His enemies, how can we withhold mercy and forgiveness from ours? This reflection was originally published on January 5, 2020 as part of Biola University’s 2019 Advent Project. Read more at: http://ccca.biola.edu/advent/2019/#day-jan-5 <img width="850" height="1063" width_o="850" height_o="1063" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/45478f19a27f96757c6f70c904a8ea06ebdb12238d72f8872d37ce3cc5cd7f26/CG_BIO.jpg" data-mid="74184687" border="0" data-scale="36" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/850/i/45478f19a27f96757c6f70c904a8ea06ebdb12238d72f8872d37ce3cc5cd7f26/CG_BIO.jpg" /> CHRISTIAN GONZALEZ HO Christian Gonzalez Ho holds an M.A. in Architecture from Harvard University and a B.A. in American Studies from Fordham University. Christian's work focuses primarily on the dialogical relationships among philosophy, art, and culture. From 2004 to 2009, Christian worked in New York City as an off-Broadway playwright, director, and actor. In 2010, he began graduate work at Yale,&nbsp;but left after a semester to intern at the International house of Prayer in Kansas City. During his time in Kansas City, he became the Director of Design at Exodus Cry, an anti human trafficking organization. He currently works as a cultural researcher in Los Angeles, CA.&nbsp;Christian loves to surf, snowboard, play basketball, and drink really, really, good coffee. He is the co-creator and co-director of Estuaries. https://estuariescommunity.com/D05_CH-04-27-19-Devotional Wed, 10 Jun 2020 22:36:19 +0000 estuaries https://estuariescommunity.com/D05_CH-04-27-19-Devotional DEVOTIONAL 04.27.19 by Christina Gonzalez Ho Birth, death, and resurrection. These are the themes we meditate upon throughout Lent. They also are the main events that mark the seasons of the earth and of civilization. In some ways, it seems that all of history is simply an endless cycle of birth, death, and birth again, with no real end in sight. The same can feel true in our personal lives. As we walk with Christ year after year, we become wiser, more loving, and more faith-filled. Yet, the more we grow, the more we realize how much healing and transformation we still need. In those moments, it can feel as though we have nevertruly known God, never had any real faith in Him, after all. Meanwhile, our physical bodies cycle continuously between health, sickness, and—hopefully—health again, until eventually, they cease to function altogether. Will it ever end? What are we progressing toward, and will we ever get there? Does our progress even matter? Our choices to surrender, to die to ourselves, to hold fast to God’s goodness—do they have any lasting effect if we keep struggling, keep suffering, keep coming face to face with our lack? In Revelation 19:7-9, John hears a great multitude from heaven praising God with a sound “like loud peals of thunder.” “Let us rejoice and exult and give [God] the glory,” the multitude roars, “For the marriage of the Lamb has come.” This event, clearly long-awaited, is the celebration of the ages: Christ and the Church are finally becoming one. At this celebration, we, the Bride, are “granted” to clothe ourselves in “fine linen, bright and pure . . . the righteous deeds of the saints.” This image stands in stark contrast to a much earlier one: Adam and Eve, freshly exiled from the Garden, wearing the skins of slain animals to cover their shame. At the wedding feast of the Lamb, the Church will have no spot or blemish to hide. Our linen garments will serve only to enhance the radiant perfection Christ has brought forth in us. He has taken on the responsibility of making us worthy to become one with Him—but the garments, the heavenly multitude tell us, are granted to usto make. The process of making linen from flax is laborious and time-consuming. Even with modern-day technology, some parts of the fiber harvesting can only be done by hand. Moreover, weaving flax fiber into cloth is also difficult, as flax is brittle and breaks easily. The entire process from plant to cloth requires patience, practice, and repetition. No doubt it also feels endless, even futile sometimes, to those in the thick of it. The finer the cloth, the more painstaking the process. Yet, when it is finished, linen is strong, durable, and lovely. Those with a positive outlook on life see it as a mostly-wonderful existence, with occasional moments of hardship and suffering. Others view life as mostly-drudging and painful, occasionally relieved by moments of grace. But there is another way to understand this life that is perhaps more biblical than either of the two. Instead of yearning for an earthly state of being in which all our desires are finally met and prayers answered, we can see this life as the slow, repetitive process of making fine linen to wear on that day. We can treat our choices and experiences, grim or glorious, and cyclical though they may be, as the loom on which we weave it. We can remember that we do not do this task alone. We are filled with the Holy Spirit, who continually leads us to the truth that Christ has already given us His whole self. We are surrounded by a thick cloud of fellow-weavers, past and present, reminding us of our destiny: one day, we will be equal to Christ in love and holiness, worthy of being one with Him forever. We will sit down at His table with the heavenly host, with friends, family, and saints of old. We will bear an eternal weight of glory. This reflection was originally published on April 27, 2019 as part of Biola University’s 2019 Lent Project. Read more at: http://ccca.biola.edu/lent/2019/#day-apr-27 <img width="1000" height="1250" width_o="1000" height_o="1250" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/fc0450d97b066b61635fa76f94a4b6e6c09e44a385fc105dac5b2caab265ed4d/CH_BIO.jpg" data-mid="74184035" border="0" data-scale="36" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/fc0450d97b066b61635fa76f94a4b6e6c09e44a385fc105dac5b2caab265ed4d/CH_BIO.jpg" /> CHRISTINA GONZALEZ HO Christina Gonzalez Ho is a worship leader, musician, and writer. She holds a B.A. in Comparative Literature from Stanford University (2010) and a J.D. from Harvard Law School (2014). After graduating law school, she practiced law on the east coast for three years before moving to California to begin work on a map of the cultural landscape of Los Angeles. Christina is passionate about storytelling, social justice, and cultivating friendship with the Holy Spirit. She is the co-creator and co-director of Estuaries. https://estuariescommunity.com/D04_JB-04-26-19-Devotional Wed, 10 Jun 2020 22:17:09 +0000 estuaries https://estuariescommunity.com/D04_JB-04-26-19-Devotional DEVOTIONAL 04.26.19 by Joshua Bocanegra Before All Things The day Christ died a record-long freight trainbarreled through the Rollins Road crossing.For seven minutes tankers and lumber flatsvibrated through the spikes in his wrists.A fisherman dropped his pole by the retention pondand headed toward the hill. A girl at a bus stopclutched her side as the embryo implanted himself. We’ll be late for the movie, I said.That night, a meteor lit a tongue of fireover the Midwestern sky. Our kitchen flashed,and you froze at the sink. Christ was just born,you said. I ground my best coffee as an offeringand kept watch through the night. Legion roaredthrough the maple leaves. The Pharisees’ stonesthudded to the ground. The loaves in the kitchenruptured their bags, then the earth burst into being. -Tania Runyan BECOMING HOLY Seven days ago, we mourned as our Messiah died. Five days ago, we rejoiced in awe and wonder as he rolled back the stone that imprisoned him in the grave. Now, he is alive. I suspect we’ll never really understand what happened during those days between his arrest and his resurrection. But we do know something wonderful happened. We can feel it. The writers of the New Testament understood that with his death and resurrection, Jesus had initiated his reign over the cosmos. Now, he sits in heaven at his Father’s right hand where he guides his kingdom into an epoch of holiness, justice, and peace. For many in the West, the “end-times” have become a topic of obsession, with all our ideas about the when’s and how’s of the final days of human history as we know it. Yet, for the author of Hebrews, the “end of the ages” has already begun. Indeed, it was initiated the very moment Jesus had appeared to “put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” Whatever happened on the Cross, however it “works,” the author is convinced that it was the starting point of the new age when God would reign through the promised Messiah. His resurrection is the reason we celebrate his death every year. It is the reason we remember his death every time we take the elements of Communion. The forgiveness of sins was only the beginning of something beautiful. It is the doorway into his kingdom. And yet, as the author says earlier in the Epistle, “At present we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see him...Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death…” (2:8-9). Without trying to make a doctrinal statement, it is important to remember we are still living in the end-times, the epoch in between the initiation of his kingdom movement and the day when he returns to fully take what belongs to him. As citizens of his kingdom, we bring his rule little by little into the world. We incarnate his life into the everyday moments. Something as unspiritual as a train barreling “through the Rollings Road crossing” becomes endowed with meaning because it is taking place within God’s good world. Coffee becomes a sacrament within the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. The banal is imbued with holiness as the Breath of God is breathed into the world and all that happens in it through those indwelt by the Holy Spirit. The more we understand this, the more meaningful our lives become. Every moment is a moment of communion. Everything in his kingdom is holy. Zechariah promised a day when the bells on the horses would be inscribed with “Holy to Yahweh” (Zech. 14:20). When you read “holy,” think “devoted.” Think, “a doorway into communion.” He goes on, “Every pot...shall be holy to the LORD of hosts” (Zech. 14:21). Everything you own is becoming holy. Every moment is an entry into his presence. All of it. When Jesus finally returns, it won’t be a scratch in the record, at least not for those already in his kingdom. It will be the fulfillment of all desire, the answer to the groan of creation. In that day, no one will “teach his neighbor and his brother saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me” (Jer. 31:34). Prayer:Jesus, today, you sit at the right hand of your Father. Today, you reign as king of the cosmos. Everything in the heavens, everything on the earth, everything under the earth belongs to you. You have made everything and every moment holy. You have made everything and every moment an opportunity to commune with you. Help me, today and everyday, to remember that. I will choose to see you and your kingdom in all things. Let this reality permeate my vision, so that when you return, it’s not an interruption of my way of life, but the natural progression of your kingdom and life in me.Amen. For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. - Hebrews 9:24-28 This reflection was originally published on April 26, 2019 as part of Biola University’s 2019 Lent Project. Read more at: http://ccca.biola.edu/lent/2019/#day-apr-26 <img width="1000" height="1027" width_o="1000" height_o="1027" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/804b45f75fd37a0d25489ecf048df3fbca754b36f67cd8b2398ecacec3d604e4/JB_BIO.png" data-mid="74179005" border="0" data-scale="39" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/804b45f75fd37a0d25489ecf048df3fbca754b36f67cd8b2398ecacec3d604e4/JB_BIO.png" /> JOSHUA BOCANEGRA Joshua Bocanegra is a writer and visionary from Kansas City. He and his wife, Katrina, serve as leaders in a local chapter of Living Waters, an inner healing program focused on helping the sexually and relationally broken find peace and wholeness in Jesus Christ. Joshua is driven by the question, "What is the Church?" and the way Christians are to be in the communities they inhabit. The Sermon on the Mount is his starting place for all cultural intersection, and he seeks to encourage believers to embrace the other-centered lifestyle taught there. https://estuariescommunity.com/D02_JB-04-19-19-Devotional Wed, 10 Jun 2020 21:29:15 +0000 estuaries https://estuariescommunity.com/D02_JB-04-19-19-Devotional DEVOTIONAL 04.19.19 by Joshua Bocanegra &gt; Ecce Homo, c. 1665Mateo CerezoOil on canvas98 cm x 75 cmMuseum of Fine ArtsBudapest, Hungary <img width="480" height="628" width_o="480" height_o="628" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a53f483efc1e8aa86aa3ec4029f5b7c347f6d264593a3d5d1a0799579c77fd08/JB_IMAGE1_Devotionals.png" data-mid="74174342" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/480/i/a53f483efc1e8aa86aa3ec4029f5b7c347f6d264593a3d5d1a0799579c77fd08/JB_IMAGE1_Devotionals.png" /> Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors. . SCRIPTURE: ISAIAH 53 Friday Imagine that direst, most shameful day--hour most craven, thirst most unquenchable,backbone breaking and arching in soulshock,spirit quaking as body fights its pinionsin utter shatter and forsaking, and consider,as we must, our part in it. Love, all resolvemobbed by fear into betrayals we vowednever to voice, never to feel; then know this:though house split in two, though shades rent,and sleepers wake to judge, though sky quake closedand human eyes fail to see the truth: how each touchfrom your hand only opened me more to paradise;though armature of fear, or tear, or tombflank part us,in dead of night and pitchest deeps, given forour bond is the song I live to make,and forgiven is the promised burden we must take. - Lisa Russ Spaar GOOD FRIDAY Who has believed what he heard from us? Which of the disciples would have imagined these moments? Who among the crowds who ate the miraculous bread on the mountain would have imagined then that this prodigy, this hero would be led away like this, by foreigners to be exposed to the most extreme humiliation, torture, and death the Romans could devise? The prophet had promised Mary Jesus would be the salvation of all peoples, “a light for revelation to the gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel” (Luke 2:31-32). Then gave a cryptic and ominous utterance, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed, and a sword will pierce through your own soul also…” (2:34-35). Just a week before, Jesus had stood boldly in the Temple and overturned the tables and drove out the merchants. How did this happen? Where were his disciples? Where were his followers? What did Mary feel when Pilate brought Jesus out and presented him to for the world to see? What did she do when she saw him, crowned, yes, but with thorns, blood running down his face? There he stood, with the might of Rome, wearing a robe of royal purple that clung to the open wounds from his scourging. Did her soul break as Jesus stood in a pool of his own blood and Pilate announced to the crowds, to the cosmos, Ecce homo! “Behold, the man.” There is no moment that demonstrates the Incarnation more than these final moments as Jesus is tortured and killed. We see just how true the Incarnation is as we behold him standing at Pilate’s right hand, as we smell the blood and sweat and stench of humanity’s death wrapping itself around him like a python choking its prey. Here we see the absurdity of life, we feel it, we know it. Here we look at the hope of humanity and we see him crushed. As Jesus, with gurgling breath, cries out, “My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?” we remember the emptiness of our own lives. When he finally whimpers, “It is finished,” Hope dies. And we die with him. Now we can finally see the telos of sin. This is what God meant when he said to Adam and Eve, “In the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” To partake of sin is to participate in this rupture of reality, this torture procedure, this murder, this death. Never has the consequence of sin been clearer. When we forget, the broken and bleeding Man on the cross reminds us. It’s so easy to forget in our atonement theories and theological reflections on Good Friday that a real man, a living and breathing human being was beaten to just this side of death, that he was put on display for people to mock and spit on, and that finally he was crucified by the power of the State. And why? Because we sin. Because each of us stands in the Garden of Eden and choose to become like God. Because each one of us eats the forbidden fruit. And still we remember his words, “Three days…” Prayer:Father, as we look at your Son, bleeding and dying on the Cross, help us to remember this is not merely the manifestation of existential absurdity. Help us remember this is the manifestation of the depths of your love. We were lost in our own sin and death, and you reached into the void by your Son, and in his death, our death was transformed into redemption.Amen This reflection was originally published on April 19, 2019 as part of Biola University’s 2019 Lent Project. Read more at: http://ccca.biola.edu/lent/2019/#day-apr-19 <img width="1000" height="1027" width_o="1000" height_o="1027" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/804b45f75fd37a0d25489ecf048df3fbca754b36f67cd8b2398ecacec3d604e4/JB_BIO.png" data-mid="74174847" border="0" data-scale="39" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/804b45f75fd37a0d25489ecf048df3fbca754b36f67cd8b2398ecacec3d604e4/JB_BIO.png" /> JOSHUA BOCANEGRA Joshua Bocanegra is a writer and visionary from Kansas City. He and his wife, Katrina, serve as leaders in a local chapter of Living Waters, an inner healing program focused on helping the sexually and relationally broken find peace and wholeness in Jesus Christ. Joshua is driven by the question, "What is the Church?" and the way Christians are to be in the communities they inhabit. The Sermon on the Mount is his starting place for all cultural intersection, and he seeks to encourage believers to embrace the other-centered lifestyle taught there.