“We urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.” (2 Cor. 6.1) As I sat in yesterday’s Ash Wednesday service, listening to the great and profound readings associated with that day—Joel’s prophetic thunder; Jesus’ call to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving; David’s remorseful song—it was this simple message that struck me. Do not receive the grace of the Lord in vain. How blithe we are about receiving grace. It pours over us in a measureless flow, and we happily... Read more
God doesn’t give us much time to enjoy Eden. Two chapters of wonder and creative power and beauty, and then over 1,000 chapters of life east of Eden. And that cherubim with the flaming sword meant to guard the gates? We’ve felt the heat of that sword at every turn. I’ve been pondering my ancestral parents, Adam and Eve, and the gift that keeps on giving – sin. Not a word that’s quick to be used any more, mainly because... Read more
At the outset of the 2011 election campaigns, here’s another plea that Christians become aware of the ways we are divided by the waves of moral manipulation in the mouths of candidates of both parties. Will we find the paths of righteousness in campaign speeches? Methinks not. Nor does my fellow Episcopalian and Patheos columnist, Frederick Schmidt — professor at Perkins School of Theology — who writes: “…it saddens me to listen to my Christian friends talk about politics. It’s... Read more
At home in my dresser upstairs I have a wee yellow sock, about four inches long. Just one. Downstairs I have a drawer in the laundry room full of single socks, which, despite my husband’s indictment, do not lose their partners through any collusion on my part. Those socks are casualties of clothes-basket subterfuge, a mangled mêlée that always takes place in the dead of night when no one is looking. Those socks always retain some vestige of hope –... Read more
The lectionary reading for this coming Sunday is from the Gospel of Matthew, 15.21-28 – the faith of the Canaanite woman. On many of my readings over the years, all I could really think about in this short story is how apparently rude Jesus is to the poor woman. First he ignores her; then he dismisses her as ineligible for his mercy. Really. Is this any way for the Savior of all the world to behave? I’ve spent some... Read more
As many of you may know, my passion is the Church — its unity, its sanctity, its truth. I lament the state of the Church for a lot of reasons. Here is a visual lament, beautiful and mournful: Thirty Abandoned Churches from Around the World. Imagine vital communities gathering, celebrating, remembering, worshipping in these buildings. What spiritual parasite has destroyed these communities? Where did faith go? I am convinced that it is impossible — apart from divine sustenance, like God-directed... Read more
We have all seen the galling pictures of poor children in underdeveloped countries around the world, and perhaps we have become inured to their connections with real, everyday life. Photographer James Mollison has seen something else through his lens and it gets behind the stereotypical shots of poverty and privilege. His recently released book, Where Children Sleep, introduces us to children around the world and their most intimate corners of privacy . . . or lack of it, as the... Read more
There isn’t much in scripture that seems to indicate Our Lord will be using my email habits to judge my soul. I don’t think He’ll have to look that hard. Nevertheless, forwarded emails about Jesus that demand I send them on to ten people or surrender my salvation make me nervous. “Stop what you’re doing and read this email. If you love Jesus, pray for the person who sent this to you and then forward this to ten people. If... Read more
Today I ran across an interesting commentary on the quick fixes churches apply to the church growth problem. Dan Dick was writing about the United Methodist experience, but his comments could apply across the board. He considered the measures the denomination and local churches had taken to reverse church decline, and noted that “The United Methodist Church has suffered through over 50 years of “church-in-box” programs that have produced poor results at best.” He goes on to describe the effects... Read more
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Is Despondency a Christian Value?
Because I spend a lot of time reading and editing online articles on religion, and because we Americans are particularly sensitive to issues of public expressions of faith, and because the campaigning season is upon us, I also get a healthy dose of politics. The 2012 election is nearly 15 months away, and I’m already hanging my head in misery. Let me count the ways. You can go to my Facebook account and see that my Political Views are... Read more