Fourth Sunday of Advent | December 22, 2024

Artificial intelligence (AI for the uninitiated) seems to be worming its way into more and more aspects of our daily lives. Or at least AI hype seems to be. In high schools and colleges we have students using AI to do their homework, in the working world job-seekers are using AI to write and submit job applications while businesses use AI to read and evaluate those applications. Folks are using AI to plan their vacation itineraries, set fitness goals and create workout plans, write recipes, give them relationship advice, to take the place of therapists, and even as stand-ins for real world friends, confidants, or romantic partners. And now it's come for our churches. Some years back in one of our pre-pandemic conversations, we talked about the role of technology in our faith lives, but at that time the most exotic application we had run across was a "virtual reality Jesus experience" that purported to let users walk alongside Jesus and the disciples through the Gospel narrative. That sounded pretty lame to all of us, including our resident VR enthusiast at the time. Let's just say the technology has ... moved forward ... since then. Where VR Jesus offered a chance to walk with Jesus, new AI-based apps will let you talk with the Son of God, or at least a chatbot version of the Savior. The Text with Jesus app lets users ask questions of and converse with not just Jesus, but other biblical figures, from apostles to prophets. Apparently the premium version will unlock the ability to chat with Satan too. Other AI-powered faith resources are out there too, including EpiscoBot , created for The Episcopal Church by TryTank, a research institute associated with the church's Virginia Theological Seminary. This draws on church resources and teaching to respond to faith-based and spiritual queries. For Roman Catholics, apps like One Day Confession and Confession -- Catholic (you can find them in the Apple App Store) help the faithful confession and spiritual reflection. And a California megachurch pastor has created an AI chatbot version of himself to provide one-on-one spiritual guidance, all for the low, low cost of $49 a month. We're not providing a link to that one. What to make of all this? That's the topic of our conversation this week. To help you think about the issues, here's a link to an article just published in the UK-based web magazine UnHerd, written by a friend of mine, a priest in the Church of England. In it the Rev. Gerry Lynch writes that despite the perils and pitfalls, "Some churches will nonetheless become tempted by the AI hype. They should heed the lessons learnt during the pandemic, when online services and “virtual church” were presented as a God-sent means of Christian revival instead of a regrettable necessity in extreme circumstances." And here's another story on one experiment in having an AI Jesus hear confession at a Roman Catholic Church in Switzerland. Join us for the discussion this Tuesday evening, Nov. 18, starting at 7pm at Irish Tavern in downtown Lake Orion. Word on the street has it that we may even reach out directly, or via text at least, with Jesus himself and see what the Redeemer of Mankind has to say.

This Sunday, all are welcome to join us for a morning of worship and fellowship. Whether you are with us in the sanctuary or joining from afar, your presence strengthens our community. Our service is at 9:30 a.m. We warmly welcome those who cannot attend in person to join us via our live stream.

Our usual conversation got a little sidetracked last week as our discussion leader was traveling due to a family commitment. But that means we've got some tasty leftovers that we can chew on this week! If you recall, last week we're going to talk a little about the Beatitudes, as recounted in the Gospel of Luke. Take a look at last week's topic for the precise passage, but the principal question we were going to address was this: If the words of Jesus about loving your enemies and so on are central to what it means to be a Christian, how well do we measure up? Time permitting, once we've wrestled with this, we've got a couple of other questions to which we can turn, one scripturally based, the other philosophical.  In Matthew's Gospel (6:34), Jesus has some words that seem pretty relevant in these anxiety-filled days: "So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today." Is this good advice? Or even realistic to ask? What do you think is Jesus' basis for saying this? Finally, is not having to worry something that only privileged people can practice? And now, to throw a little philosophy into the mix, the French philosopher Rene Descartes (no horse jokes please) said this: "We do not describe the world we see. We see the world we can describe." What do you think he is getting at here, and do you agree? Join us for the conversation this evening, Tuesday Nov. 11, starting at 7pm at Irish Tavern in downtown Lake Orion.

This Sunday, all are welcome to join us for a morning of worship and fellowship. Whether you are with us in the sanctuary or joining from afar, your presence strengthens our community. Our services are at 8:30 and 10:00 a.m. We warmly welcome those who cannot attend in person to join us via our live stream.

This past Sunday at St. Mary's we celebrated the feasts of All Saints and All Souls. It was an opportunity for us to remember and pray for those who have gone on before, and to think about their witness and the witness of all the saints, whether officially designated by The Church or not. It was a beautiful service in which we welcomed new members of the congregation, experienced the joy of a baptism, and lit candles for those departed who were near and dear. But that's not what we're here to talk about this week. The service also featured a famous bit of scripture that gives us a lot to think about. And to wonder whether we're up to the task. Our Gospel reading was from Luke 6:20-31, the version of the beatitudes, or blessings, taken from Jesus Sermon on the Plain. (Matthew's version, 5:3-10, comes from the Sermon on the Mount.) In this sermon, Jesus lays out four blessings and four woes, but it's the last part that is a particularly challenging call to action. Jesus lays this charge before his apostles and the gathered crowd: "But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you." This is some pretty powerful food for thought, and so we are going to spend some time thinking about and talking about this in our conversation this week. Rather than a series of questions, let's just go with this. If these words of Jesus are central to what it means to be a Christian, how well do we measure up? Join us for the conversation this Tuesday, Nov. 4, starting at 7pm at Irish Tavern in downtown Lake Orion.

This Sunday, all are welcome to join us for a morning of worship and fellowship. Whether you are with us in the sanctuary or joining from afar, your presence strengthens our community. Our services are at 8:30 and 10:00 a.m. We warmly welcome those who cannot attend in person to join us via our live stream.

This Sunday, all are welcome to join us for a morning of worship and fellowship. Whether you are with us in the sanctuary or joining from afar, your presence strengthens our community. Our services are at 8:30 and 10:00 a.m. We warmly welcome those who cannot attend in person to join us via our live stream.

I was having coffee with a friend this morning, and they brought up an idea that I think makes for a provocative topic of conversation. The thought was both simple but also painfully complex. What would our lives and relationships be like if the burdens we all carry, the weight of our traumas, anxieties, cares, and worries, were visible for all to see? If you need a visual, imagine walking through life with a big book strapped to your back in which was written all the things that make you the person you are in the world, all the good and all the bad. Or shouldering a block of stone upon which all these things were engraved. No longer would you have to explain why you are the way you are, for it would be there for the viewing. But neither could you hide yourself from others. Your story would literally be right there, on display for everyone. It wouldn't be written on your face, per se, but it would be there, apparent to anyone who looks. Would this be a blessing, or a curse? No longer would we have to explain ourselves to others. Why we are the way we are would be plain to see. But no longer could we conceal the things about ourselves that we'd prefer not to acknowledge, or admit to ourselves or to others. What would it be like to live this way? How would it change the way you think of others? How would it change the way you think of yourself? And because this is Pub Theology, I would be remiss if I didn't bring in Jesus' words from the Gospel of Matthew (11:28-30): '“Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” We'll talk about all of this in our conversation this evening. Join us for the discussion starting at 7pm at Irish Tavern in downtown Lake Orion.

This Sunday, all are welcome to join us for a morning of worship and fellowship. Whether you are with us in the sanctuary or joining from afar, your presence strengthens our community. Our services are at 8:30 and 10:00 a.m. We warmly welcome those who cannot attend in person to join us via our live stream.