America is voting in the national elections this year. This, of course, raises our awareness of what is going on in the world and how our leaders are responding. Beyond this, we have the ability to voice concerns in a real (data driven) way. Super Tuesday – a day where many states go to the ballot box to vote in the primaries – was yesterday and some things were unsurprising. Both Trump and Biden received the most electoral votes in... Read more
Grief is a central tenet of the Christian story. God grieves the loss of perfect unity in the Garden and Job grieves the loss of his family. The prophets grieve the situation Israel continues to find themselves in and Jesus grieves his friend Lazarus. Still, American Christianity has such a hard time acknowledging grief. Grief is often a point in our lives where we are forced to renegotiate what we think about the world. Our systems have been upended, and... Read more
Every year I aim to read 25 books, and every year I fail. I always come close, but each year I find myself stuck in a few books. Sometimes these books are really challenging and heady. Other times, they’re simple but profound. This year is no exception. While it’s hard to pick my favorite five books that I read this year, it forces me to reflect on the year that’s about to end. I think we’re all ready for 2023... Read more
Our last week of Advent falls on Christmas Eve. Depending on your Christian tradition, you may have to go to church twice today! However, if you’re a low-church Protestant, you can still get by with the one service. I won’t tell. No matter if you attend 100 services or none, today’s Church calendar meditates on the peace of God as we wait through the final days before the birth of Jesus. Today’s reading comes from Luke: “In the sixth month... Read more
On the third week of Advent we leave Mark’s Gospel and read the Gospel of John. We read about staying awake to the needs of our community and how it can be hard to do the work of our faith. Today, we look at John, who is by far the most theological and christological of the gospels. In John, the Light is the coming of what we have been looking for since the beginning of time. “A man came, sent... Read more
Advent is a time of waiting – we wait for the birth of Jesus. Our first week of advent was about staying alert to what God is doing in our world today. This week, we stay in the Gospel of Mark with the introduction of the story. We find John the Baptist doing the work of Advent. “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is written in the prophet Isaiah: Look, I am going... Read more
Advent is the start of the new lectionary calendar in the Church. Advent (from the latin for “arrival”) is the 4 week period before Christmas that we wait for the arrival of Jesus being born. The Church is beginning the “B” calendar this year with specific readings for each week. In the grand tradition of the Church interpreting the scriptures for their time, let’s read through the Gospel readings with eyes in the 21st century. Impending Doom Our Gospel reading... Read more
The Protestant branch of Christianity seems to have hangups on Mary. It might be because we fear the veneration of Mary to the same status as Jesus. Or it could be another way to separate us from the Roman Catholics. Either way, Mary seems to have a very small roll in Protestantism. You can find her in December with Joseph on a donkey heading to Bethlehem. Maybe she’s laying Jesus in the manger with shepherds watching. Alternatively, we may see... Read more
I love Thanksgiving. It is by far my favorite holiday. Christmas can take a hike – I want to eat Thanksgiving turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce – give me Thanksgiving! Plus you have the great story of the Pilgrims and Native Americans sharing a meal in peace. It seems that it’s the perfect holiday. However, the last couple of decades have brought doubt on the actual story of Thanksgiving. The brutal nature of the Settlers is contrasted with kindness of the American... Read more
If you ask a White Conservative Christian in America if they’re under attack, you might hear “yes!” Much of this subset feels that they are being forced out of their beliefs. Ultra conservative and fundamentalist preachers spout on about the secularization of America. They have started to become more active politically, focusing on school boards and local elections to further their beliefs in government. Even still, there is a lack of what Frederick Douglas called ‘praying with your legs’. “I... Read more
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