Good Friday is God’s way of saying that we should not avoid reality. Jesus didn’t circumvent it, neither must we. Good Friday begs that we find our real God in the reality of our lives. Even the painful parts. Especially the painful parts! We have a God...
After the stories, healings, feedings and miracles, Jesus heads to Jerusalem. He knew the stakes and went anyway. He goes because he knows this is the place where they “kill the prophets.” Where the system is thick and dynamic with abuse. We would’ve told him,...
We live in a tumultuous time. What corrodes us individually and institutionally is an abiding and advancing sense of futility! Does it matter? Who cares? Can anything change? The paralyzing toxin of futility is in the world and in the church. The saddest part...
God told “Joshua, today I roll away the reproach of Egypt.” This means God is doing three things, rolling away: 1) the disgrace of being slaves in Egypt. 2) the shame of the Egyptians laughing at them and their God. 3) the shame of not being circumcised–a sign...
Some imagine a relationship with Jesus as one without much accountability. What Jesus actually said, was, “…a man planted a fig tree and he came looking for fruit….” The story ends with the tree getting one more year and new fertilizer to bear fruit or it will...
In a moment of doubt, God told Abraham to go outside and count the stars. God did this, it seems, because nothing breaks our sad resignation and lack of imagination like connecting to God’s vastness. Big is who God is. And, big is who God is calling us to be....
Jesus is baptized then, “he is led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness.” His baptism gift was knowing he was God’s own and God was pleased in him. The best part of his baptism gift was the gift he found in his wilderness. Wildernesses come to all of us....
The Pilgrims came from England for “The New World” in 1620. In 1619, “…20 and odd Negroes….” arrived in what would become Virginia. Abducted, enslaved and transported they were brought to the “The New World” from their homeland of Angola. Captain William...
When we gather on Sunday we say to each other, “Peace be with you.” Because that phrase demands action, we reach out for one another. Hands offered. Smiling. Sometimes hugging. In that moment we’re responding to God’s ongoing peace initiative. In that moment we’re...
Standing on a “level” piece of ground, maybe Jesus thought about how God levels things. You remember, “…hills and mountains will be brought down and valleys will be brought up.” God chooses to be a God that brings things to a level. So Jesus said, “the...
