The 8 Points of Progressive Christianity Have Changed. Here’s What They Are Now.

October 25, 2022 By Lindsey Paris-Lopez

What Is Progressive Christianity? By definition, progressive Christianity is always evolving and therefore impossible to pin down. If you ask a room full of progressive Christians what progressive Christianity means to us, you will get as many different answers as there are people. Yet you can find common principles shared among most progressive Christians, including myself. These include openness to learning, appreciation for the diversity of world religions and interfaith dialogue, and passion for social justice. The Center for Progressive... Read more

The Authority of Love: Following Jesus in a Post-Pandemic World

October 8, 2022 By Lindsey Paris-Lopez

“Your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:19) What would we do if we were among the ten people with leprosy Jesus healed from a distance? This question takes on new meaning as our world comes out of a global pandemic. In some ways, we are in the position of the newly healed. How do we respond? Is Jesus Just Being Petty? At first glance, this week’s Gospel appears ironic, falling as it does just after Jesus’ instruction to the... Read more

The Faith That Uproots Injustice Is Already Within Us

September 30, 2022 By Lindsey Paris-Lopez

“If you had faith the size of this mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” (Luke 17:6) Really, Jesus? Those words repeated themselves in my mind as I perused the lectionary. Really? The disciples ask Jesus to increase their faith, and he tells them that if they had any faith at all, even the most minuscule sliver, they could do extraordinary things like uproot trees and... Read more

What I Wish Jesus Had Said: Mary, Martha, and What Love Requires In The Moment

July 23, 2022 By Lindsey Paris-Lopez

Now, as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha,... Read more

The Good Samaritan, Eid Al-Adha, and Loving Our Interfaith Neighbor

July 16, 2022 By Lindsey Paris-Lopez

“Who Is My Neighbor?” This year, the lectionary reading of the Good Samaritan coincided almost exactly with Eid al-Adha. Christians reading a Jewish parable on the most sacred of Muslim holidays provides the perfect opportunity to ponder and embody what it means to love our neighbor. Sibling Rivalry The story of the Good Samaritan is so familiar that it’s easy to miss the point for thinking we know it already. “Samaritan” in modern culture has become synonymous with “do-gooder,” as... Read more

Independence Day as Repentance Day: From Empire to Beloved Community (Luke 10)

July 6, 2022 By Lindsey Paris-Lopez

Repentance Day On the eve of “Independence Day” for a nation born in blood and bondage, many churches probably interpreted the lectionary Gospel, in which Jesus sends his disciples into towns and homes, as a mandate for evangelism and folded it into a celebration of the United States. Yet the message Jesus sent his disciples to preach and the method of preaching he instructed is completely antithetical to the brutal pseudo-Christian supremacy that swept through the Western world like wildfire.... Read more

Love Cannot Rest: A Queer-Affirming Reading of Luke 9:51-62

July 2, 2022 By Lindsey Paris-Lopez

“Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Luke 9:58 God Condemned In The Name of God Love cannot rest as long as there is suffering. Love cannot rest until all are welcome. The lectionary this past Sunday spoke to the urgency of Jesus’ mission and the high cost of following him. What was so urgent about his work, and why is the cost of following so... Read more

Living Without Our Demons

June 25, 2022 By Lindsey Paris-Lopez

Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. – Mark 8:30 Where Do We Go From Here? This is a question the newly healed ex-demoniac must ask. After living so long in agony, Jesus has healed him. Naturally he wants to follow, but Jesus says no. He must stay with the community that had bound and ostracized him, the community that is more frightened than relieved to see him healed and... Read more

God Is A Dance of Love: Three Reflections on the Trinity

June 17, 2022 By Lindsey Paris-Lopez

Misunderstanding Trinity: The Existential Dread God is a Dance of Love, sweeping us into the divine rhythm of everlasting joy. That’s what the Trinity shows me. I didn’t always love the Trinity. For a long time, this doctrine was a source not only of confusion, but also anxiety and dread for me. I wished I could disregard the absurd paradox and simply believe that God is Love. But the violence of God in scripture frightened me, and in that context,... Read more

Pride and Pentecost

June 11, 2022 By Lindsey Paris-Lopez

The Queerest Holiday Pentecost is the queerest holiday of the liturgical year, and the Church should celebrate it as such. The Holy Spirit is weird, wild, and wonderful. It defies explanation. And at Pentecost, it descends in tongues of fire and gives the apostles the ability to speak different languages. How queer is that? It’s also “queer” because it unconditionally affirms all people. All classes, races, genders, sexual orientations, abilities. The Spirit honors all ways of being human. So it’s... Read more