We’re trying something new with our Monday Music posts! Our curate, Dorie, will be offering a weekly playlist inspired by the upcoming Sunday’s readings from the lectionary, along with a brief reflection. If you enjoy thinking about Scripture in creative ways, have an undying love for indie pop ballads, or just want to have more impromptu dance parties with your philosophical musings, then this is for you!

Here’s what Dorie has to say this week:

Coming up on Sunday, we are tasked with holding the promise of a prophet in the midst of a systematic genocide, Paul's admonitions to live into our own flourishing, and a messianic secret that has inspired both confusion and joy. While we start out with the brutal slaughter of the Hebrew people (“Butchered Tongue” and “O Death”) and the grim realities of economic and social exploitation (“Something to Hope For” and “Working Man”), we also get to bear witness to the bravery of a number of women—midwives Shiphrah and Puah, Moses’ mother Jochebed, Moses’ sister Miriam, and Pharaoh’s daughter—to ensure that life, even just one, continues (“Samurai Cop (O Joy Begin)”, “Water”, and “River”). Paul encourages us to lean into our own gifts for the good of the entire community (“Ngamila”), and Jesus reveals that he is the Messiah, which has historically caused deep confusion, especially among scholars (“Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”), but also shows how deep his trust was with his disciples, and how much they cared for one another (“Damage Gets Done”). I'm struck by hope in the readings this week--the hard-won promises that arise from brutal circumstance that serve to remind us that even in the midst of evil and terror, God is still here with us, and that we too can arise from despondent places. Even when the world is confusing and difficult, we have the immense capacity to be surprised by joy. May we all continue to find those moments as we navigate the ups and downs of our week!

Here are the lectionary readings, to read about what she’s talking about!