I am a pharaoh. Or at least, I am one of his people. As a white heterosexual male living in a racist, sexist and heterosexist world, I am the beneficiary of privilege solely because of what I look like. White progressives often like to think of ourselves as participants in liberation of the “oppressed.” We like to cast ourselves in the roles of Moses, Aaron and Miriam, or at least, as one of the Israelites walking through reeds and seas... Read more
If what you saw onstage last night at the Super Bowl’s halftime show was a singer wearing too little clothes, let me suggest it is says more about the eye of the beholder. If what you saw was a singer selling sex to the masses in a skimpy outfit, let me suggest you saw what you hoped to see. If what you saw was an offensive, inappropriate hypersexual display of legs and barely covered unmentionables, let me suggest you saw... Read more
God weeps. That, if anything, has been the primary theological response of Americans in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre where 20 young boys and girls were murdered. Indeed, in the wake of such incomprehensible tragedy, perhaps this is the only theological response that makes much sense. It’s not that God is absent, whether through lack of care for humanity or lack of prayer by humanity. Rather, God is with us, weeping with us, sharing in our sorrow. That... Read more
Tomorrow, ministers across America will be addressing the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut. Sometimes, the best we can do is grieve together, and I hope that our churches, of all places, are sanctuaries that can honor, facilitate and express grief together. So, I put together a short service based on a Tenebrae service. Typically, this is a service for the Wednesday of Holy Week. But Tenebrae means shadow, and many of us very much feel caught beneath long... Read more
Yesterday, I passed a church sign that proclaimed Christmas was the story of a baby born to die. It seemed a macabre, odd way to wish passersby a merry Christmas. Apparently, though, quite a few Christians root the story of Jesus’ birth in his death, as if they are determined to nestle the cross into the manger’s hay, right next to Jesus. But Jesus was not born to die. He was born to live. At first, I thought I was... Read more
Mark 10:17-31/Proper 23B/Pentecost 20 “You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.” One of the first things many young Christians learn to recite is the 10 Commandments. My wife, in fact, can still sing the ditty her Sunday School teachers used to help her memorize them. Ever notice, though, that Jesus kind of rewrites the 10 Commanment here?... Read more
Proper 22B/Pentecost 19 Mark 10:2-16 Earlier in the gospel of Mark, Jesus has a very public falling out with his family. His brothers declare him insane and his family seeks to retrieve him so he won’t make a fool out of himself and the family anymore. In return, Jesus publicly disowns his family, a rejection that would have shocked the culture of his day. And now, a few chapters later, Jesus seems to be speaking positively of keeping families together... Read more
I am the rich young ruler. And so are you. In the context of our world, we are all rich young rulers. If you make a mere $34,000 a year, you are part of the elite economic class, the wealthiest of the wealthy, the top 1 percent of humanity’s 7 billion people. In this light, there a few passages in the Scriptures more troubling than Jesus’ exchange with the rich young man in the gospels. As the world’s rich, few... Read more
A curious thing is happening this Sunday in churches across America. For some, this curious thing is Pulpit Freedom Sunday. The day, promoted by the conservative group Alliance Defending Freedom for the fourth year, urges pastors to speak out in favor of candidates they support, defying IRS restrictions that forbid such political speech in religious nonprofits. It’s generally a bad idea, and even most conservatives Christian pastors disagree with the ADF on this one. Yet there are still about 1,000 pastors... Read more
This is the final post in a series on the death of God. Read part one, The Foolish Death of God and part two, The Orthodox Death of God. A few weeks ago, I began a series on the death of God, and perhaps, with all this talk of death, you are wondering where is that critical part of the Christian faith called resurrection, without which Paul says we are to be pitied. And just as I think we re-member,... Read more
Edges of Faith
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