Season 19: Lent Week 5 | Communal Suffering: Can These Bones Live?

This season we are focusing on justice as an aspect of spiritual formation and we believe Lent to be the perfect season to explore this connection. Using A Just Passion: A Six-Week Lenten Journey, and the lectionary, we will look at various aspects of justice, its importance to God and why the modern church has often regrettably failed to live out God’s call to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with the Lord.”

Our dream team from episode one returns this week to discuss communal suffering and the Paschal Mystery. Ruth is joined again by David Bailey and Tina Harris to explore these topics. How do oppressed people experience the Paschal Mystery? What is redemptive suffering? How do we determine where we are in the cycle of suffering, death, burial and resurrection and how can we discern if God might be calling us towards the next movement in this cycle?

Lectionary scripture for this week:

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Psalm 130

Romans 8:6-11

John 11:1-45

Mentioned in this episode:

Martin & Malcolm & America by Dr. James Cone

David Bailey is a public theologian, culture maker, and catalyst focused on building reconciling communities. David is the founder and Chief Vision Officer of Arrabon, a spiritual formation ministry that equips the American Church to actively and creatively pursue racial healing in their communities. He is the co-author of the study series, A People, A Place, and A Just Society, and the executive producer of the documentary 11 am: Hope for America's Most Segregated Hour and the Urban Doxology Project. David is rooted at East End Covenant Fellowship, serving on the preaching team, and his greatest honor is to be married to his wonderful wife, Joy.

Journey with us this Lent! Our season is inspired by A Just Passion: A Six-Week Lenten Journey, and many of our guests are contributors to this resource. 

Music Credit:

Kingdom Come by Aaron Niequist

Music Kyrie Eleison (Lord, Have Mercy) from Lent Music in Solitude

Support the podcast! This season, in addition to receiving overflow conversation from the episode, patrons at all levels will receive weekly reflection questions intended to help them journey through Lent with both the podcast and the resource A Just Passion! Become a patron today by visiting our Patreon page!  

The Transforming Center exists to create space for God to strengthen leaders and transform communities. You are invited to join our next Transforming Community:® A Two-year Spiritual Formation Experience for Leaders.  Delivered in nine quarterly retreats, this practice-based learning opportunity is grounded in the conviction that the best thing you bring to leadership is your own transforming self!