Texts: Genesis 24.1-27 – Abraham’s servant departing to find Rebekah at the well for Isaac Mark 5.21-43 – Jairus’ daughter, woman with hemorrhage The aspect of theological language I think our readings point us to this evening is the faithfulness of God. I want to suggest to you that the failure of our plans is not the failure of God’s faithfulness. Abraham’s Gamble First, Abraham, the great hero of faith for both Old and New testaments. Abraham who... Read more
Transformative Travel The next few blogs will be coming from the United Kingdom, where my wife and parents and I are currently knocking about. I’ve missed these opportunities to travel abroad over the last couple of years. It changes us, doesn’t it? The unexpected events that fill a day, the face to face interactions with people whose lives are so different from our own. I’ve already had the privilege of spending some time with Dr. Celia Deane-Drummond and her colleagues... Read more
I’ve written before about what I think is disastrous in contemporary Russian Orthodox ecclesiology, or the theological identify of the church. Here I want to note a moment in the life of that church that I find to be full of remarkable possibility for all Christians. A Lost Ecclesiological Dream I’ve also written before about Sergei Bulgakov, who helped me title this Patheos column. He and his mentor and friend Pavel Florensky were writing during a period of unprecedented ecclesiological... Read more
I offer today a thought or two about a theological controversy I’ve gotten myself involved in. They happen. This one involves the ordering of sacraments in the Episcopal Church. Here’s the broad sketch. The Episcopal Church is gathering next month for its triennial General Convention. This has been called “Disney Land for Episcopalians,” which I’m afraid is misadvertised if you’re 7 years old and looking for princesses. On the other hand, if you’ve got lots of Episcopal friends around the... Read more
Does tragedy serve a moral purpose? As my state carries on with funerals this week for the children and teachers killed in Uvalde, one moment in particular has been on my mind. It’s in a video someone took during that harrowing hour when the first responder team was still trying to figure out what to do next. A man calls out “You know they’re just kids in there, right?” You can hear so much in his voice. Anger, grief, fear,... Read more
The Prodigal Son as a Parable of the Trinity A reader of my book Leaving Emmaus: A New Departure in Christian Theology asked an insightful question about the Trinity. She was paying attention to my interpretation of the triune God through an analogy of gift exchange. I offer a reading in the chapter in question of the Prodigal Son, suggesting that the first half of the parable might be a verbal icon of the Trinity. We have in the story a... Read more
What is a church? Let’s consider it specifically: the particular communities where many of us gather on Sunday mornings. What is that? What do we imagine that we’re doing when we go there? Meaning and Voluntary Gatherings A conversation with a friend this week has me thinking about this question in a new way. Churches, my friend Rich says, are civic organizations. That is, they are voluntary gatherings which help generate meaning for those who gather. The non-compulsory character is... Read more
Yesterday afternoon, in the final celebratory days before long awaited summer vacation in south Texas, a young man walked into an elementary school and began shooting children. At latest count, he managed to kill 19 people, including third and fourth graders and two teachers. Twenty, in that his actions led to his own death. This happened just over a 150 miles from where my daughter was, at that moment, celebrating the end of the school year with her own fourth... Read more
“I have lived under the impression that a man’s purpose is known only to God.” My wife, on a recommendation from a student of hers, recently bought me a novel. A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles. She knew it was a safe bet, as I’ll read nearly anything that has to do with Russia. The story has no overt theological pronouncements to make. But that’s never stopped me from turning loose my own theological curiosities. Today I’d like to... Read more
Hugh of Saint Victor was a priest from 12th century Germany. He joined the Abbey of Saint Victor in Paris, where he lived in community with other priests. Saint Victor’s Abbey was a newly formed home to such priests, originally a kind of clerical retirement home. The clergy there followed the rule of Saint Augustine, by that time an 800 year old guide to life in religious community. The original code was written by Augustine himself who, doomed to a... Read more
The Diagonal Way
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