WWJD? (“What Would Jung Do?”): Jungian Spirituality for Lent

March 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment
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Note: This sermon is part of a Lenten study of Joyce Rockwood Hudson's book Natural Spirituality: Recovering the Wisdom Tradition in Christianity. Links to the previous installments in this series on “Jungian Spirituality” will be included at the end of each post. 21 I learned both what is secret and what is manifest, 22 for wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me. There is in her a spirit that is intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, mobile, clear, unpolluted, distinct, … [Read more...]

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What Happens to Those God Loves? (A Progressive Christian Lectionary Commentary for Feb 26)

February 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment
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9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11 And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." 12 And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him. 14 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Baptism, Gospel of Mark, Lectionary Commentary, Lent, Spiritual Practices Leave a Comment

How Do I Find Time to Pray?

February 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment
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I've been experimenting with various ways of ordering my schedule and prioritizing my workload. In response to the question, "How do I find time to pray?" my best current answer is, "Either you do or you don't." My college Health and Exercise Science professor had a similar philosophy about exercise: "If you don't start today, what makes you think you're going to start tomorrow?" But I'm not sure sure exercise (or really much else in my schedule) is precisely analogous to making time for … [Read more...]

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A Progressive Christian Explores Healing Prayer: A Spiritual Practice for Preaching Mark 1:40-45 (Lectionary Commentary for February 12)

January 23, 2012 By 2 Comments
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Although I do not know anyone personally with leprosy, much less anyone who has been healed of the disease, I will nevertheless seek to explore some of what it may mean for twenty-first century, progressive Christians that both Jesus and his early followers regularly practiced various forms of healing prayer. There are a number of entry points into this scripture that we could consider.  Some of the more comfortable methods of interpretation might be to turn the focus away from ourselves and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Gospel of Mark, Lectionary Commentary, Sermons, Spiritual Practices 2 Comments

What To Do If You Need a Retreat, But Can’t Leave Home

January 23, 2012 By 2 Comments
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(Paula Huston, Simplifying the Soul: Lenten Practices to Renew Your Spirit, Ave Maria Press, 2011, 170 pages.) I have had the opportunity to go on a few five-day contemplative retreats in recent years: to the Abbey of Gethsemane in Kentucky (where Thomas Merton was cloistered), the hard-to-reach Monastery of Christ in the Desert in New Mexico, and the saguaro-cacti-surrounded Desert House of Prayer in Arizona. Unfortunately, the last of these retreats was more than five years ago. In … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Book Reviews, Lent, Spiritual Practices 2 Comments

Is Baptism Overrated?

January 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment
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Preview: Baptism is not overrated when it is viewed as a powerful sacrament and a transformative means of experiencing grace. And I recognize that many of my Baptist and Anabaptist forebears were persecuted, suffered, or died for the right to baptize adult believers as they saw fit according to their local congregation.Nevertheless, baptism is overrated anytime it is used as a barrier to Communion or even as a barrier to church membership. Open Communion to all without exception is both what … [Read more...]

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