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The Social Jesus Podcast


The Road We Walk When Our Hopes Have Been Deeply Disappointed EPISODE 17

Luke 24:13-35 Our story this week speaks powerfully into our own lived experiences in justice work because it refuses to deny despair. The disciples are not portrayed as faithless for their sorrow; they are honest. They had hoped for a different outcome, and instead they witnessed state violence, public execution, and the silencing of Jesus prophetic voice. In this way, the road to Emmaus begins not with triumph but with trauma. For modern justice movements confronting racism, economic inequality, gender unfairness, environmental collapse, LGBTQ exclusion, or other forms of systemic harm, our story mirrors the emotional landscape we often find ourselves inhabiting. Hope can sometimes be naive. Either way, hope also involves risk, and in moments where things dont turn out the way we hoped, hope is something we can lose. We might even find ourselves feeling foolish. This week Emmaus does not erase deep disappointment, glossing over it with easy, pat, or trite answers. Instead, it provides a framework for navigating the complexities of justice work in our midnight hours. In moments when things dont turn out the way we had hoped, we can acknowledge our grief, we can practice presence with one another. We can lean into our community. It is here that hope is often renewed, new visions are born, hope reawakens, and we return to the struggle with a new understanding of what we have just encountered. This story reminds us that even when hopes are dashed and the path forward is unclear, we are not alone, and, sometimes, the very act of walking together is where transformation begins. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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New Beginnings and Our Justice Work Today
Episode 1
New Beginnings and Our Justice Work Today
John 1:10-18 These narratives proclaim that life, justice, and love outlast injustice and empire. In this sense, the Jesus story is Gods refusal to validate systems that oppress and do harm. The gospels affirm that the way of Jesus was solidarity with the oppressed, resistance to injustice, and courageous love. This way began in a manger in Bethlehem, traversed the countryside challenging injustice and mitigating harm, and ultimately, after standing up to systemic injustice in Jesus own societal context, Jesus way was not defeated by a Roman cross, but was resurrected to live on in the lives of his followers. To follow Jesus today is to take his liberating call seriously. It means recognizing that injustice is not only personal but also systemic and woven into economic, political, social, and yes, even religious structures. Discipleship involves naming those injustices, standing with those harmed by them, and working for change even when such efforts are costly. Just as in Jesus time, movements for justice will unsettle comfort and provoke resistance. Yet the call remains the same: to seek a world shaped by compassion, equity, and shared thriving. This second weekend of the Christian Christmas season, and the first weekend of the new year, lets embrace the call to believe and live out the gospel truth that justice work is sacred, necessary, and, ultimately, life-giving. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Wisdom and Understanding Give Birth to Social Justice
Episode 1
Wisdom and Understanding Give Birth to Social Justice
Luke 2:41-52 Any Christian teaching, action, or movement that disparages, discourages or prevents adherents from caring about social justice rejects Jesus central wisdom and teachings on loving ones neighbors. Any form of Christianity that inhibits your pursuit and practice of social justice denies the central tenet of the gospel that the Jesus of the stories taught, for the work of social justice is merely the act of applying the ethic of loving ones neighbor. Social justice is the practical fruit of loving ones neighbor. Therefore, to say that Christianity is rooted in love of neighbor is to also state that genuine Christianity bears the fruit of social justice out of love for our neighbor. Whatever form of Christianity we subscribe to, our faith should not disconnect us from our world, from our community, from our society. It should propel us to lean into and be more deeply connected to our world, community and larger society. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Resurrection as Injustice Undone
Episode 1
Resurrection as Injustice Undone
Luke 24:36-48 Whatever we make of the resurrection stories today, reading them through much more scientific lenses, we cannot ignore the fact that nowhere in these passages is Jesus death lifted up. The good news is that Jesus death had been undone! Whatever else we make of these stories today, their truth is that oppression and power dont have to have the last words in our stories either. We can choose to keep going. The opposition doesnt have to have the last word. Love can conquer injustice. Our stories arent over yet. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Jesus Baptism as Alignment with a Movement for Justice
Episode 2
Jesus Baptism as Alignment with a Movement for Justice
Matthew 3:13-17 Jesus baptism by John signifies his identification with Johns vision. Rather than distancing himself from John, Jesus begins his ministry proclaiming the same kingdom message as John did, and he gathers a community shaped by similar ethical demands. Jesus expands Johns work by centering it on the poor, the sick, and the socially excluded, and by intensifying its critiques of wealth, domination, and religious hypocrisy. Seen in this light, Jesus connection to John is not incidental but foundational. Jesus inherits and radicalizes Johns social justice movement, transforming prophetic protest into a sustained, embodied challenge to systems that dehumanize, exploit, and exclude. This challenge was an inheritance that ultimately led to Jesus, like John, being executed by the social power they both confronted. Following Jesus today cannot be separated from a commitment to social justice, because Jesus life and teachings, like John the Baptists, consistently confronted systems that harmed the vulnerable and concentrated power in the hands of a few. The Gospels portray Jesus not only as a spiritual teacher but as a public figure whose message of Gods reign challenged economic exploitation, social exclusion, and religious complicity with injustice. To follow Jesus, then, is to take seriously the ethical and political implications of his vision. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Spirit, Love, Justice and Truth
Episode 2
Spirit, Love, Justice and Truth
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 Establishing justice on Earth is the result of the Spirit. In our reading, that Spirit descends in the bodily form of a dove, which many today take as the symbol of peace arrived at because universal distributive justice has been established. At the core of Jesus message, the heart of Christianity, is the call to love our neighbor. And loving ones neighbor is what we call today social justice: making sure we and all of our neighbors have what they need to thrive, not just barely survive. Social justice is rooted in love, specifically love of ones neighbor. It calls us to engage our civic responsibility toward one another. It calls us to take inventory of how we are sharing space with others we live alongside with on our planet. Justice is also deeply tied to truth-telling. It is difficult to practice justice as a society when we dont share the same reality, and when some have been misinformed and convinced through appeals to their own bigotries and fears that the reality is different from what is genuinely happening. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The Good Shepherd and a Socially Just World
Episode 2
The Good Shepherd and a Socially Just World
https://renewedheartministries.com For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Another World is Possible
Episode 3
Another World is Possible
Matthew 4:12-23 Where the assurance-of-heaven gospel often emphasizes individual belief, Jesus emphasizes collective or societal transformation. He calls for repentance not as private guilt management, but as a turning away from participation in unjust systems. Good news to the poor, release to the captives, and freedom for the oppressed are not metaphors for the afterlife in Jesus inaugural sermon in Luke; they describe real conditions in the world he inhabits. Salvation, in this sense, is liberationhealing bodies, restoring community, and challenging concentrations of power that crush human flourishing. The gospel of the kingdom that Jesus preached also redefined righteousness. Instead of ritual purity or doctrinal correctness, righteousness is measured by care for the vulnerable: the hungry, the sick, the imprisoned, and the foreigner. Judgment scenes in Jesus teaching do not hinge on confessions of belief but on whether people fed the hungry and welcomed the stranger. In Jesus gospel, faithfulness to God is inseparable from justice. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Water, Wine and Human Beings Fully Alive
Episode 3
Water, Wine and Human Beings Fully Alive
John 2:1-11 I like the image of turning water into wine. It reminds me of the saying in the womanist tradition of making a way out of no way. The story asks us to focus on the present, to do all we can in the moments we have before us. What had transpired in the story was a crisis: running out of wine at a wedding feast. And what ended up happening was better: wine being drank better than any that had been drunk previously. We are about to face crises of our own this coming year, crises of injustice rooted in marginalization and bigotry bearing the fruit of violence and oppression. In the midst of crisis, we too can be about turning water into wine. We wont know exactly how till we are in the moment, but each moment will provide opportunities for us to make choices and build on them. The wine may be about to run out, and all we may have at our disposal is water. But dont give up. Look for the water pots. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Different Kinds of Christianity Produce Different Kinds of Fruit
Episode 3
Different Kinds of Christianity Produce Different Kinds of Fruit
John 15:1-8 Today, it is no secret that many kinds of Christianity are failing to produce the kind of fruit that makes this world a better place. We can, if we choose, be a part of shaping a world that is just and safe for everyone. It will require change for some types of Christianity. And this change, difficult as it may be, in the end, will be worth all the effort it takes. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Following the Way of Love and Justice in this New Year
Episode 4
Following the Way of Love and Justice in this New Year
John 1:29-42 Jesus ministry emerged out of the movement John the Baptist started, and carried forward its core conviction: faithfulness to God is expressed through concrete love for others. So Jesus did not appear in a religious vacuum. He began his public life by aligning himself with Johns baptism and signaled continuity with Johns call to the kind of repentance that was social transformation rather than private piety. Whereas John announced justice as a way to prepare for Gods reign, Jesus embodied and expanded that vision proclaiming that reign had drawn near. Like John, Jesus confronted those who relied on religious and political status while neglecting justice. Yet Jesus went further by forming a community that practiced this ethic in daily life: sharing resources, breaking bread across divisions, and embodying Gods love in public, visible ways. In continuity with John the Baptist, Jesus defined true fidelity to God not by religious performance, but by love enacted as social justice, transforming relationships, and challenging unjust structures at every level of society. As I read the Gospel of Johns account of the first disciples called to follow Jesus, Im struck with what it may mean to follow Jesus today. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
A Gospel of Economic Justice
Episode 4
A Gospel of Economic Justice
Luke 4:14-21 Poverty is an indictment of the system it exists in, because that system creates and allows for poverty. A system of winners and losers will always have those who lose. But in Jesus new social order, everyone has enough to thrive. In our reading, Jesus gospel doesnt just end with the poor. It also includes freedom for prisoners, sight for the blind, liberation for the oppressed, and the year of the Lords favor when slaves would be set free, debts cancelled, and lost or sold land returned back to ancestral families. Today, in addition to econimic justice, we could extend this list of system failures even further. Participating in Jesus justice work today is to combat white supremacy and anti-Blackness. It means combating misogyny and patriarchal norms. It means standing for the safety and well-being of our LGBTQ family and friends, and even more. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Loving One Another and Social Justice
Episode 4
Loving One Another and Social Justice
John 15:9-17 Whatever we say about love, the Jesus of the gospels, and the Divine, these beliefs about love must transform us into more loving human beings. We can teach, preach, and believe in love, and still not let those beliefs become anything more than mental assent to ideas. We must choose to apply our beliefs about love not just to how we imagine God relates to us, but also to how we relate to one another! And we cant love one another and not care about the things each of us suffers as a result of the way our society is shaped. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The Beatitudes in the Context of Social Justice
Episode 5
The Beatitudes in the Context of Social Justice
Matthew 5:1-12 To follow the Jesus of the Beatitudes today is to embrace a faith rooted in justice, compassion, and solidarity with those on the margins. The Beatitudes bless the poor, the grieving, the meek, the peacemakers, and those who hunger for justice, revealing a God who stands with the oppressed rather than the powerful. This way of Jesus calls for inner transformation that leads to public action and to challenging systems that cause harm, resisting violence, and restoring the humanity of all involved. It also acknowledges the cost of discipleship, including misunderstanding and opposition. Following Jesus means living into Gods just future here and now, where love, justice, and liberation shape our response to an unjust world and our work to shape our world into a safe home for everyone. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Confronting the Discomfort of Our History and Our Present
Episode 5
Confronting the Discomfort of Our History and Our Present
Luke 4:22-30 Today we need to pay close attention to responses that answer justice and reparations movements with rage and responses that define these movements as good news. This weeks story reminds me that if at times I feel like throwing the Jesus of the synoptic gospels off a cliff, Im in the right story! Im being confronted with the discomforting truth of why we too often respond to calls for justice in our time with the same resistance and rage. What our story whispers to us is that this rage against justice today is the same rage that placed our Jesus in our gospel stories on a Roman cross. And it calls us to reject that rage and instead embrace a future where we live in a world that is a safe, compassionate, just home for everyone. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Sent to be Socially Life-Giving
Episode 5
Sent to be Socially Life-Giving
John 17:6-19 Although we may be different, we belong to each other. What affects one affects us all. We either thrive together or decline and wither together. Humanity is far from homogeneous, but we are all still part of each other. Like it or not, our shared humanity connects us all. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Salt, Light, a City on a Hill and a Justice Oriented Faith
Episode 6
Salt, Light, a City on a Hill and a Justice Oriented Faith
Matthew 5:13-20 Today, Jesus words caution against forms of Christianity that dismiss social responsibility in favor of spiritualized belief or personal salvation alone. They also challenge movements that appeal to biblical values while ignoring the prophetic demand for justice. Faithfulness to Jesus does not mean abandoning moral traditions or prophetic critique; it means carrying them forward in ways that confront contemporary injustices such as economic exploitation, racism, patriarchy, LGBTQ discrimination, mistreatment of migrant communities, and more. This passage is ultimately a call to a justice-shaped faith. It insists that following Jesus means participating in the long, unfinished work of aligning social life with Gods vision of justice, compassion, and liberation: the hope of both the law and the prophets. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Fishing for People and Speaking Truth to Power
Episode 6
Fishing for People and Speaking Truth to Power
Luke 5:1-11 Fishing never works out well for the fish! and fishing for people instead doesnt fix that. The examples in Jeremiah, Amos, and Ezekiel, give Jesus call to the disciples a very different social and political context of justice. In this story, Jesus is inviting these working class folk take up the justice work spoken of by the Hebrew prophets, to take up fishing for people as Jeremiah, Amos, and Ezekiel would have defined it. Fishing for people was about hooking or catching a powerful and unjust person, and removing them from the position of power from where they were wielding harm.This wasnt about saving souls so they could enjoy post mortem bliss, but about changing systemic injustice in the here and now. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Pentecost as Connectedness and Distributive Justice
Episode 6
Pentecost as Connectedness and Distributive Justice
John 15:26-27; 16:4-15; Acts 2:1-4 In the synoptic Gospels and the book of Acts, we see a fruit of the Spirit included the restoration of social justice. In these stories, whether the Spirit is poured out on Jesus or his followers, it is evident in their profound concern for the suffering caused by societal structures. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Extra: Tribulation Survival Guide: How To Stay Alive When Everything Else Is Dead with Stuart Delony
Episode 7
Extra: Tribulation Survival Guide: How To Stay Alive When Everything Else Is Dead with Stuart Delony
In this episode we interview Stuart Delony as he shares about his recent satirical book The Tribulation Survival Guide: How To Stay Alive When Everything Else Is Dead. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The Blessing and Cursing of the Gospel
Episode 7
The Blessing and Cursing of the Gospel
Luke 6:17-26 Rather than the gospel being universal good news, the first shall be last and the last shall be first sounds quite the opposite. The equity that the sermon on the plain envisions is a world where there are no more losers and survival comes through our working together. Luke's gospel is for the underprivileged, longing for things to be put right, those present power structures are being weaponized against. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Reuniting the Material and the Spiritual
Episode 7
Reuniting the Material and the Spiritual
John 3:1-17 This division between the flesh and the spirit, between the physical, material world and the spiritual has born seriously destructive fruit throughout Christianity. The Jesus in the synoptic gospels did not separate the spiritual from the fleshly or material. He taught his followers how to navigate their material world by righting injustice, ending oppression, and offering healing alternatives to violence. That Jewish Jesus did not separate the spiritual and material to offer a path of escape from the material world. Rather he taught his followers how to lean into their material world in life-giving ways. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Justice Lessons from the Transfiguration
Episode 8
Justice Lessons from the Transfiguration
Matthew 17:1-9 For Matthews audience, following Jesus meant stepping into a living tradition of liberation and prophetic courage that stretches back through Moses and Elijah and continues in our social justice work today. In the Hebrew Scriptures, Moses represented Gods decisive intervention on behalf of the oppressed. The exodus is not merely a spiritual metaphor; it is a concrete act of liberation from economic exploitation, state violence, and dehumanization. To follow Jesus today, then, is to inherit his commitment to justice and freedom. It is to stand with those trapped in modern Pharaohs, systems of injustice and harm, and to declare that such systems are neither natural nor ordained. Elijah embodies another essential dimension of this tradition: speaking truth to power. Elijah confronts kings, exposes the violence hidden behind religious and political respectability, and refuses to bless unjust arrangements. His prophetic voice in the stories insisted that faithfulness to God cannot be separated from justice for the vulnerable. Jesus stands squarely in this lineage. Hes bringing this ancient struggle to its fullest clarity and urgency. In this sense, Christian social justice work is not a political add-on to faith; it is the faithful continuation of the work begun with Moses, sharpened by Elijah, and embodied in Jesus. Ours is a path that still leads from bondage toward freedom, from silence toward courageous truth, from death-dealing crosses of state violence to triumphant and overturning resurrections. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Insights on Turning the Other Cheek, Enemy Love, and Judging Others
Episode 8
Insights on Turning the Other Cheek, Enemy Love, and Judging Others
Luke 6:27-38 Pam McAllister expressed the tension well as she explain the teachings of Barbara Deming: Barbara wrote about the two hands of nonviolence... With one hand we say to one who is angry, or to an oppressor, or to an unjust system, Stop what you are doing. I refuse to honor the role you are choosing to play. I refuse to obey you. I refuse to cooperate with your demands. I refuse to build the walls and the bombs. I refuse to pay for the guns. With this hand I will even interfere with the wrong you are doing. I want to disrupt the easy pattern of your life. But then the advocate of nonviolence raises the other hand. It is raised out-stretchedmaybe with love and sympathy, maybe notbut always outstretched. With this hand we say, I wont let go of you or cast you out of the human race. I have faith that you can make a better choice than you are making now, and Ill be here when you are ready. Like it or not, we are part of one another. Active nonviolence is a process that holds these two realitiesof noncooperation with violence but open to the humanity of the violatorin tension. It is like saying to our opponent: On the one hand (symbolized by a hand firmly stretched out and signaling, Stop!) I will not cooperate with your violence or injustice; I will resist it with every fiber of my being. And, on the other hand (symbolized by the hand with its palm turned open and stretched toward the other), I am open to you as a human being. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The Sabbath and Social Justice
Episode 8
The Sabbath and Social Justice
Mark 2:23-3:6 Are there times when we have interpreted our own Jesus following in ways that have become death dealing for our society? Is our practice of Christianity socially life-giving? Are we obstacles to those around us working toward a more just, safer, compassionate society with room for everyone or are we, like Marks Jesus, standing up to those obstacles and being conduits of love, life, and healing? Where are we in the way? How can we get out of the way and come alongside, choosing to recognize those working to make our world a safer place for everyone, and adding our energy and effort to their work? For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The Temptations of Jesus and Our Justice Work Today
Episode 9
The Temptations of Jesus and Our Justice Work Today
Matthew 4:1-11 This years season of Lent begins with Matthews version of Jesus temptations. Matthews version reminds us that the story of the temptations of Jesus is not about a private spiritual test for Jesus. The story portrays a confrontation with systems of power, scarcity, and domination. In the wilderness, Jesus faces three offers that mirror the injustices of the world: turning stones into bread, gaining political power, and using religion as performance. The problem of scarce resources and the call to turn stones into bread has historically been solved for the few at the top who ignoring the collective hunger of the masses. Similarly, the powerful have not collectively shared political power but seized it through violence. And religion, too, has often been used to legitimize control. But Matthews story is of a Jesus who refuses each temptation. Matthews Jesus rejects exploitation, coercive authority, and religious manipulation. His choices reveal a vision of justice rooted in faith, solidarity, and liberation, the kind of liberation that still today has the potential to challenge our contemporary oppressive structures and call Jesus-following communities to pursue economic justice, shared power, and faith expressed through action for the common good of all, even those the present system marginalizes and harms. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Lessons of Justice from the Transfiguration
Episode 9
Lessons of Justice from the Transfiguration
Luke 9:28-36 We are living in a time when systemic protections for the vulnerable among us are being dismantled. Collective sustaining aid is being slashed or terminated every day. All of this channels more money away from the common wealth of the people into the pockets of privileged, propertied, and powerful wealthy billionaires. What does it mean for us as we leave the Christian season of Epiphany, to remember Jesus standing not alongside Herod, Caiaphas, or Pilate but alongside Moses and Elijah, in solidarity with those whose society was being dismantled. Who are the Moseses of our day? Where are our Elijahs? Who are the ones standing alongside the Jesus of the oppressed (whether they would describe it in those terms or not) on our mountain top moment right now? In the liberation and justice wakes of Moses, Elijah, and Jesus, who are the ones working alongside those marginalized and made vulnerable in our day, and how can we align our stories, our energy, and our efforts with theirs? For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Labelling Social Justice as Dangerous
Episode 9
Labelling Social Justice as Dangerous
Mark 3:20-24 The Beelzebul controversy makes me think of how certain Christians have feared the womens liberation movement, opposed the abolition of slavery, or are still opposed to making our world a safer place for those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer/questioning. I think of how certain Christians are opposed to political movements attempting to make our world safer for children by passing background checks for firearms. The number one cause of death of school age children in the U.S. is not library books or drag queens, but mass shootings. Certain Christian leaders seek to inspire fear among middle class people about programs to have the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share of taxes to fund more programs for the poor and disenfranchised. This story serves as a warning and helps us consider whether we are genuinely using the wisdom of Jesus teachings as we assess the work and progress of those presently shaping our world into a safer, compassionate, just home for everyone. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Nicodemus Visits Jesus
Episode 10
Nicodemus Visits Jesus
John 3:1-17 Even though Nicodemus is coming to him at night as an attempt to save his privilege and status, Jesus knows that it is not possible for Nicodemus to tell the truth without reprisals. Allyship for Nicodemus will cost him something, and this helps us interpret Jesus language about being born again in a more life-giving way. Jesus is not saying to Nicodemus that we are all somehow broken as humans and must be born again, as the traditional interpretation states. Rather he is saying that Nicodemus has ascended a professional ladder, and now that he is reaching the top, Jesus tells him the ladder's leaning up against the wrong wall. Nicodemus must start over. Our reading this week gives us an opportunity to interpret John's theological vision, not as anti-world escapism, but as a sustained, justice-rooted practice in our churches and public life today, together. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The Temptations and the Rise of Authoritarianism in America
Episode 10
The Temptations and the Rise of Authoritarianism in America
Luke 4:1-13 The current political environment in the U.S. has given us a different lens to read Jesus temptations in the wilderness through as this text, once again, rolls by in the lectionary. Presently we are witnessing the rise of authoritarianism, nationalism, and the weakening of and some feel the fall of democracy in our own society. The politics of the gospel call us to say no to a politics of exclusion, exploitation, and enrichment of the elites at the expense of the masses. The temptations story calls for a willingness from Christians who bear responsibility for the mess we find ourselves in to embrace deep repentance and to become reacquainted with the Jesus of the gospels. These stories also serve as encouragement to Christians who wisely saw the direction our society was headed and did all they could within their spheres of influence to divert our societys course. Regardless, of where we find ourselves presently, the stories of the temptations are a source of encouragement, conviction, and, to those for whom it applies, repentance as we enter this years Lenten season. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Hope Despite Appearances
Episode 10
Hope Despite Appearances
Mark 4:26-34 Just as we dont have to understand how seeds work in order to plant the seeds, we dont always have to understand how our world is going to be put right to take the first steps in reshaping it. Many times, the road to justice is made as we travel it. How justice is achieved from the modest beginnings of grassroots movements is often a path with twist and turns that surprise us and could not have been predicted. There is mystery in how our combined justice efforts combine with others justice efforts to create something that is often greater and more beautiful than the sum of all its parts. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Justice Lessons at the Well
Episode 11
Justice Lessons at the Well
John 4:5-42 Jesus words echo all the way down to us today and affirm us as we challenge systems that restrict access based on race, gender, class, sexual orientation, and religious gatekeeping today. If what Jesus said is true about access to God, it should also lead us to challenge systems that exclude access to justice. The Samaritan woman, who was marginalized by ethnicity, gender, and social stigma, is treated as a human being with value in Johns story. Her question matters. Her voice is honored. Justice work begins the same way: by centering those most excluded and trusting their questions as genuine sources of divine revelation. Spirit and truth resists empty religiosity that divorces worship from lived reality. Truth is not mere doctrine; in Johns Gospel truth is embodied in Jesus life-giving, boundary-breaking love, just as the synoptic Gospels define that lived love as concrete justice for those being harmed by Herods and the temples complicity with Roman exploitation. Worship that ignores oppression, poverty, racism, or patriarchy leads to worshipers who ignore these realities in our material lives as well, and that kind of worship and actions are incomplete. God is spirit in this context means that God is much larger than the institutions that try to trap the Divine and control access to it. God is Spirit and that Spirit is present wherever people struggle for for their humanity, liberation, justice, and wholeness. Streets, shelters, protest lines, classrooms, and kitchens all become legitimate spaces of worship when animated by Spirit and truth. The question is no longer where we worship, but how we live, whether our practices align with the liberation, justice, and love we see Jesus modeled towards others in the gospel stories. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The Courage to Stand Up to Harm
Episode 11
The Courage to Stand Up to Harm
Season 2 Episode 11: The Courage to Stand Up to Harm Luke 13:31-35 All of this causes me to consider those today with the courage to speak out against harsh decisions and brutal acts being perpetrated in the name of government efficiency today. A chainsaw is quite metaphorically being taken to our system, all to grant benefits to wealthy elites who verbalize allegiance to our present administration in the U.S. At what cost? The dismantling of a system, and undeserving people harmed in its wake. And those who speak out now are also being targeted for doing so. In our story, Jesus knew where his solidarity would lead. He knew that if he continued to speak out against the harm being perpetrated by the powerful, if he continued to stand in solidarity with the marginalized, the vulnerable, those most harmfully impacted by the decisions the powerful in his society were making, and if he called the entire populace back to fidelity to the God of the Torah with its economic justice (including the Torahs periodic wealth redistribution and debt cancellation), he well knew that taking up the prophets role could garner him a prophets end. And this is why the Jesus story remains relevant for me in times like we are living through today. Jesus, knowing where his choices would lead, still had the courage to make those decisions and stand up for what was right for the people. Today, many Christians (not all) are directly responsible for the political, social, and economic horizon we are looking out on in this nation. How would the Jesus of our reading this week respond to Christians who carry his name today being the very agents who have let a fox in the hen house to wreak havoc, chaos, and long lasting harm to so many? May those of us endeavoring to follow Jesus in our present moment be encouraged by the prophet we find in this weeks reading. A Jesus who named Herod for what he was. A Jesus who boldly refused to stop speaking truth about what was right. A Jesus who, setting his face toward Jerusalem, determined to go to the heart of the system in his commitment to Gods just future and making our world a safe, compassionate, just home for all. In the face of so many who are being harmed now, and for those for whom the next few years will bring untold harm, may we, too, find the same courage the Jesus of this weeks story showed. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
When the Wind and Waves Threaten Justice
Episode 11
When the Wind and Waves Threaten Justice
Mark 4:35-41 It seems like, no matter what area of justice we are working for, whenever we take three steps forward the winds and waves push us two steps back. Working from of a place of love to make our world a more equitable place continues to mean facing winds and waves from those who benefit from an inequitable world. This weeks reading is for those presently facing winds and waves. It reminds us that there will be storms, there will be winds, there will be waves that threaten to sink us. This passage doesnt promise that these wont be part of our story. In fact, they remind us that they most certainly will. Yet the disciples werent alone in the boat. And neither are we. Youre in the right story. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Justice Lessons From Being Expelled
Episode 12
Justice Lessons From Being Expelled
John 9:1-41 This weeks reading presents to us a story of standing up to the status quo and the risks involved in standing with the marginalized when doing so contradicts religious and political institutions. This kind of action is not abstract sentiment. It is costly. It demands we move from private belief to public solidarity, to love our world and those in it who are being harmed, even when that harm is supported by religiosity. Following the Jesus of our story this week also calls us to confront systems that crush life and stand where solidarity and harm mitigation is risky. Our story calls us to step out of our comfort zones and redirect our loyalties, resist injustice, and commit to transformative action alongside the marginalized, for the flourishing and thriving of all as we work to shape our world into a just, compassionate, safe home for everyone. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Social Repentance Not Private Piety
Episode 12
Social Repentance Not Private Piety
Luke 13:1-9 Here in the U.S., we are witnessing the gutting of programs that help our societys most vulnerable. All of this is so that, under the guise of concern for the national deficit, those in power can grant tax cuts to the billionaire class who are already wealthy beyond their ability to use their wealth in one lifetime. This is compounded by the fact that all of these new budget proposals will still increase the national deficit by trillions of dollars. For the common person in our communities, prices on daily needs continue to rise, wages remain low, and thousands upon thousands of people are losing their jobs through massive firings and layoffs, with new firings being announced almost every day. Where will our breaking point be? Our reading this week calls us to pause during our season of repentance in this years Lent. Lenten repentance can be superficial and temporary or long-lasting, deep, and life-giving. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Preferential Options and Patriarchy
Episode 12
Preferential Options and Patriarchy
Mark 5:21-43 It initially looks like this story will affirm the social assumption that if we take care of those considered less than in our society then there wont be enough for everyone else, assuming life is a zero-sum game. But then this story takes a sharp turn. This story ends up teaching us how to practice a preferential option for the marginalized of our society. Placing the synagogue leader next to the woman in this weeks reading affirms practicing a preferential option of the marginalized in general. Then, by placing the woman alongside this little girl too, the story calls us to reject specifically preferences practiced within patriarchy. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
A Story of Hope for our Present Moment
Episode 13
A Story of Hope for our Present Moment
John 11:1-45 The command Jesus gives at the tomb in our reading is also significant. Although Jesus calls Lazarus out of the grave, he then tells the surrounding community, Unbind him, and let him go. In our reading this week, Lazarus emerges alive, but still wrapped in the burial cloths. It is the communitys task to remove them. Seen this way, the resurrection of Lazarus becomes not only a miracle story but a call. Communities that follow Jesus are invited to help roll away the stones of injustice and participate in the unbinding of those whom death-dealing systems have harmed and wrapped in despair now. In the story of Lazarus, resurrection interrupts grief and despair in the present, today, not later. It doesnt ask us to wait for hope in the future. It offers us hope for today. It restores a person to community, relationship, and dignity today, not only as Martha says, in the resurrection. Christian social justice work can be understood in similar terms. Ours is the work of participating in life-giving transformation here and now. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
We Wont Be Great Until Everyone Is Great
Episode 13
We Wont Be Great Until Everyone Is Great
Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 Today Christians pick something that triggers our own bigotry and attach moral value to it, describing it as sinful when intrinsically there really is nothing harmful or wrong involved and we are simply triggered by someone being different than ourselves. A example today would be certain denominations that still refuse to acknowledge women as equals to men in ministry though women are by no means less qualified or less righteous than men. But somehow they are defined as less than. Certain Christian communities continue to label members of the LGBTQ community as sinners when in all actuality they are simply different than cisgender, straight Christians. Different is not synonymous with sinful. Differences simply reveal the rich and beautiful diversity of our human family. In our story this week, "sinner" simply meant a person living in poverty that could not afford a more expensive interpretation of "righteousness." For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Embracing our Dependency
Episode 13
Embracing our Dependency
Mark 6:1-13 Is our Christianity all about getting to heaven and saving our own individual soul? Or does following Jesus call us at the very first to be concerned with someones present material need? The very first test for someone who encountered one of these original twelve was not how they responded to a gospel presentation on Jesus death, heaven or hell, or whatever gospel topic is too often the soundbite version of sharing Christianity today. The very first test was how would this person respond to someone on their door step with no bread, no money, and no extra clothing. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Justice Lessons from the Final Scenes of the Gospel Stories
Episode 14
Justice Lessons from the Final Scenes of the Gospel Stories
Matthew 26:14-27:66 Our reading this week offers profound lessons for justice work today. Beyond the theological significance that so many have derived from the story of Jesus arrest, trial, crucifixion and resurrection, this story also highlights the dynamics of power, oppression, and systemic injustice. Jesus is betrayed, falsely accused, and executed by an unjust system. His experience reflects the plight of marginalized and silenced individuals. His courage, nonviolence, and steadfast commitment to speaking truth challenged social structures rooted in complicity, imperialism, and harm for those made the most vulnerable. This narrative invites us to reflect on what it means for us today, as Jesus followers, to participate in the work of resisting injustice, advocating for the vulnerable, and embodying moral integrity in the face of oppression, in our own time and contexts. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Mary, Christian Patriachy and the Existence of Poverty
Episode 14
Mary, Christian Patriachy and the Existence of Poverty
John 12:1-8 Our story this week involving "Mary" was used to historically disparage women leaders within Christianity toward a purely patriarchal form. Characterizing Mary Magdalene as a prostitute advanced the patriarchal goals of disparaging women as somehow "morally inferior" to men, and therefore unfit as leaders in the Western Christian church. This argument is hinges on incorrectly conflating the stories of three women in the Gospels. Women were leaders in the egalitarian sectors of the early Jesus movement and there is no reason why the shouldn't be allowed to be so, today. Lastly, the latter portion or our reading this week is used to perpetuate the myth that poverty is an inevitable part of society and there is nothing we can do to erradicate it. But the Torah and prophets taught differently, and the early church interpreted these words in John differently. Today, we understand that Poverty is a by-product of the system in which we live. And we are responsible for whatever system exists. Poverty is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the action of human beings. In the words of Gustavo Gutierrez, The poverty of the poor is not a call to generous relief action, but a demand that we go and build a different social order. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Jesus Following and Social Justice
Episode 14
Jesus Following and Social Justice
Mark 6:14-29 Rev. Dr. Emilie M. Townes states, When you start with an understanding that God loves everyone, justice isnt very far behind. For those endeavoring to follow Jesus teachings, not being concerned with matters of social justice is a failure. Its a failure to love. Its a failure in our Jesus-following. It may derided by those who have something to lose from making our world a more just home for everyone. Thats okay. To believe in a gospel of love means to be about justice because justice is what love looks like in public. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The Resurrection and Our Hope for Liberation
Episode 15
The Resurrection and Our Hope for Liberation
Matthew 28:1-10 Ultimately, Easter invites us to live differently, to embody resurrection in our daily lives, and to practice compassion, pursue equity and equality, and confront injustice with courage. The empty tomb is more than something to believe in in the sense of belonging to a creed; it also tells a truth at the heart of every movement for change: change doesnt happen without struggle and setbacks. Even in our midnight moments, the dawn is still ahead. Winter gives way to spring. And in that light, the resurrection is something to participate in. It asks us to roll away stones in our own communities, to bring life where there is death, and to come together in the ongoing work of renewal. In a world still marked by injustice and inequality, Easter proclaims that another way is possible, and we are called to be part of bringing it to life. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Peace Through Justice Doesnt Need A War Horse
Episode 15
Peace Through Justice Doesnt Need A War Horse
Luke 19:28-40 What would our local communities look like if each person simply had enough to thrive and we all were committed to making sure we were taking care of each other? Today, as in the time of Jesus, there are two philosophies of peace in our world. One says, If you want peace, prepare for war. The other says, If you want peace, work for justice. As MLK and so many other justice workers have rightly reminded us, true peace is not just the absence of conflict, but also the pursuit of fairness and equality for all. It is with peace through justice that the gospel authors align the work and ministry of Jesus. This is why I believe Jesus enters Jerusalem for the last time to protest in the Temple for economic justice on the back of a young donkey. Because peace through justice doesnt need a war horse. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcending and Escaping or Engaging and Transforming
Episode 15
Transcending and Escaping or Engaging and Transforming
John 6:1-21 A focus on transcending this world comes from Johns gospel. But as Jesus followers, we must allow ourselves to be confronted by the fact that that focus has not always produced good fruit. The synoptic gospels admonish us as Jesus followers to engage our world, to transform it, to work alongside others working to shape our world into a home for everyone, a home where everyone has their needs met, a home that is safe, rooted in distributive justice, and founded on compassion and the recognition that each of us bears the image of the Divine and is part of one another. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
When Doubt Leads to a More Tangible Experience
Episode 16
When Doubt Leads to a More Tangible Experience
John 20:19-31 Thomas offers an important lesson for us: authentic faith does not require suppressing questions or ignoring evidence. In Christian movements for justice especially, people are often confronted with competing narratives, misinformation, and systems that obscure truth. Like Thomas, we are called to seek truth honestly, to question easy answers, and to resist accepting claims without examination. This kind of critical engagement strengthens, rather than weakens, our commitment. Additionally, Jesus response to Thomas models a compassionate approach to those who struggle. He does not shame or exclude Thomas but meets him where he is. This informs us that we too are to create spaces where people can wrestle with uncertainty, unlearn harmful assumptions, and grow at their own pace. Transformation rarely happens through coercion; it happens through deconstruction, reconstruction, community, relationships, and believing the best about one another. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The Original Good News of Easter
Episode 16
The Original Good News of Easter
Luke 24:1-12 The cross has been the symbol of salvation in Christian history for two millennia. The apostle Paul was among the first to define the good news as being about Jesus death. Before Paul, there are signals in our sacred texts that the good news was not originally that Jesus was crucified but that the Jesus whom the Romans had crucified was alive! The original good news was not the cross. It was the resurrection. Christian theologians from multiple marginalized communities have spent years critiquing a theology that centers the good news on Jesus suffering rather than Gods triumph over suffering by undoing, overturning, and reversing that death. The earliest form of the good news, good news that we still need today, is not that death brings life. But that Empire doesnt have the last word. There is a larger universe than that created by oppressors. As powerful as death is, life is even more powerful. This present moment doesnt last forever. Injustice doesnt have to win. Justice will continue to strive even in the face of of the deepest obstruction. The universe can be bent toward justice. Hope is a discipline that is worth it. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Not Spiritualizing the Material
Episode 16
Not Spiritualizing the Material
John 6:24-35 There is no reason to pit the saving of souls against social justice work. Saving bodies is just as much a part of the Jesus tradition as savings souls is. In fact, in the synoptic gospels, social justice engagement is a requirement for genuinely following Jesus. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
So Send I You
Episode 17
So Send I You
John 20:19-31 The reality is that those who bear Jesus name in the world often represent him to those around them whether they want this burden or not. Over the last four decades so many evangelicals have embraced a politic of harm rather than one of diversity and inclusion and a politic of retribution rather than a politic of compassion in the public sphere. (I know it goes back much much further but Ive only been cognizant of it for that long.) Today some people cant stomach even hearing the name Jesus, and its not because of the Jesus in the story was so horrible. The Jesus in the story was awesome. He was all about diversity, equity, and inclusion in his time and culture. He was about justice and standing up for the marginalized, outcast, and oppressed. People recoil even at the sound of Jesus because of the meanings Christians have associated with Jesus, today. As Jesus was sent into our world, so we Christians have been sent too. But our sending hasnt born the same fruit. Rather than standing up to the injustices of the elite and powerful in solidarity with the marginalized, we have too often allowed our religion, like others, to be coopted by those standing behind the wheels of injustice and abuse of rights. How any Christian could support the things we are witnessing transpiring every day around us here in the U.S., I will never understand. And yet, this is our reality. This Easter season, lets take a moment to reflect, to take some personal inventory. As the Father has sent Jesus, Jesus said, So send I you. What is the fruit our presence bears in our world? Is our presence life giving or death dealing? Are we part of the movement in our time toward a safer, more compassionate, just society or away from it? Are we working to ensure our world is a safe home for everyone, or just those who are like ourselves? We may have been sent by Jesus as he was sent. But its up to us to make sure we are following Jesus example in the kind of impact we have in our world. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The Bread of Life
Episode 17
The Bread of Life
John 6:35, 41-51 The kind of Jesus following that is only about managing fear of death is also convenient for those in positions of power who benefit and are privileged by unjust systems and ways of shaping our societies. Death-management-only Christianity leaves unjust systems unchallenged, unchanged, and thus untouched. This is why a heaven-focused version of Christianity is often promoted by people in power. They know that a Christianity that is other-world-focused leaves this world, their world, unchanged. Faith that has become mere death management is, ironically, death-dealing. Faith should first do no harm. It should call us to consider how we show up in our world while we are alive and inspire us to shape our shared world into a compassionate, safe home for everyone. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Justice Work is Holy Work
Episode 18
Justice Work is Holy Work
John 21:1-19 The needs of the people are holy. Their needs were holy for Jesus, and they must be holy for Jesus followers today, too. Working for peoples material, physical, concrete daily needs (like bread and fish) is sacred, holy work. Others may call it a social gospel, but it is the same work Jesus engages in the gospel stories and the same work he calls each of his followers to engage. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in Letters and Papers from Prison, There remains an experience of incomparable value... to see the great events of world history from below; from the perspective of the outcast, the suspects, the maltreated, the powerless, the oppressed, the reviled in short, from the perspective of those who suffer. The needs of the people are holy. Feeding the people is sacred work. Justice work is holy work. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The Evolution of the Eucharist
Episode 18
The Evolution of the Eucharist
John 6:51-58 The early Jesus communitys shared meal evolved away from a meal of real bread and fish among a hungry crowd of Jewish Jesus followers where open mutuality and sharing resulted in baskets of food left over. It became a ritualized meal appropriating the Greco-Roman 'bread and wine' and symbolizing Jesus death among Christians. This evolution happened as Jesus followers social locations changed. What had begun as a Jewish peasant movement became more affluent by the time the gospels were written down. And as the churchs social location continued to transition toward prosperity, privilege, and power there would be many other changes in the Jesus movement as well. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
A Shepherd Restoring Paradise
Episode 19
A Shepherd Restoring Paradise
John 10:22-30 The good shepherd imagery in the synoptic gospels is referencing verses like these in Ezekiel where the leaders were censured for becoming an oligarchy that fed themselves off of the sheep rather than caring for them. In Mark, Matthew, and Luke, likening Jesus to a shepherd meant he would gather those who had been scattered by the injustice of the Temple rulers who were complicit with Romes exploitation of the masses. The early Jesus community held this imagery dear. Jesus, to them, was a shepherd who would restore the flock with justice. The shepherd imagery wasnt used to describe whisking people away to a distant heaven but to describe restoring justice here on earth as it is in heaven. It was about restoring paradise, with Earth as an abundant pastureland tended over by a caring and just shepherd. Today, we are to do the same work the Shepherd worked at: restoring paradise. Though this is ancient imagery, today it points to the holy work of seeking distributive justice for everyone, a justice that ensures each of us has what we all need to thrive and that all, regardless of our differences, would have life and have it to the full. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Right Now Matters
Episode 19
Right Now Matters
John 6:56-69 These things may or may not have meaning in the future, but they all still have meaning right now. In the present, we are alive, and what we are experiencing right now means much to each of us. It betrays a deep lack of compassion to say someones experience of hunger, for example, right now doesnt matter because it may or may not matter in the future. What we are encountering in John is simply a Christianized version of this way of looking at our material existence. The future will come. But right now, we are alive. We live in this moment. Our material existence does matter. Injustice, oppression, violence, and suffering matter. Love for those who are experiencing these realities demands that they matter. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Loving One Another and Distributive Justice
Episode 20
Loving One Another and Distributive Justice
John 13:31-35 Before I became an ally to trans people, and before falling out with many of our early followers, I had spent years speaking, writing, and teaching on the universal love of God for everyone. Yet one response I repeatedly heard during our transition as a ministry was that people couldnt understand what made us shift from Gods love to Gods justice. I spent countless hours trying to help folks understand that love means justice. They arent separate! Justice is the fruit of love, and you cant genuinely have one without the other. As Cornel West famously stated, Justice is what love looks like in public. Those who believe they understand Gods love should be the loudest in the room opposing the injustices of classism, racism, misogyny, patriarchy, bigotry to and erasure of our LGBTQ siblings, and more. To believe in universal love is to work for a distributive, societal justice for those who are the objects of that universal love. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Morality, Culture Wars, and Consent
Episode 20
Morality, Culture Wars, and Consent
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 Where we get into culture wars today is in how to define sexual immorality in our list. I find it ironic that those who are quick to accusing others of sexual immorality are most often guilty themselves of the immorality of arrogance on this list. And however we land on what we define to be sexually immoral, our own sexual ethic should at least include the golden rule, consent and the practice of doing no harm. Too often what certain sectors of Christianity define as sexually immoral is between two consenting adults and hurts no one. We must ground discussion on what is and isnt sexually immoral on a definition of morality that looks at the intrinsic results of the behaviors in question, not just imposed dogma. Is something intrinsically death-dealing or is it life-giving and mislabelled? We too often turn our gaze and pretend not to notice things that are intrinsically death-dealing while we scrutinize and forbid behaviors that intrinsically do no harm. So, while holding in our hands the golden rule, lets begin a discussion on consent. Consent is an egalitarian discussion. It doesnt privilege any gender above another, or penalize one while ignoring others. Beginning the discussion of what is sexually moral and what is sexually immoral with discussion of consent includes us all. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The Jesus Story and Living with Disabilities
Episode 21
The Jesus Story and Living with Disabilities
John 5:1-9 Healing or removing a disability as Jesus did for so many in these stories is not an option for many if not most of us today. But we can take a cue from the narratives and challenge theologies that shape the exclusion and mistreatment of those with disabilities. We can also push for accessibility and inclusion for fellow members of this diverse human family who live with disabilities, whether in our faith communities or in society. The Jesus story is complicated when it comes to our theology, practice, understanding, and relationship to our own disabilities and/or the disabilities of others. The Jesus story isnt perfect on this topic, but there is still good we can glean from it to inform our justice work with and for people with disabilities today. No one throws away an apple because it has a core. You just eat the good flesh and discard the rest. There is good, too, in the Jesus story here: good that still calls us to create a safer, more accessible, more just, more compassionate world that is home for everyone, regardless of our differences. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Jesus, a Greek Woman and a Magical Cure
Episode 21
Jesus, a Greek Woman and a Magical Cure
Mark 7:24-36 Intersectionality is such a rich lens through which to relate to this Jesus story as we consider how it may inform our justice work today. We each occupy intersecting social positions within our own societys systems, where we can simultaneously be both oppressor and oppressed. Our privilege or disadvantage intersects depending on different aspects of our identities in relation to society. This story illustrates how, in the areas where we hold privilege, we can learn to listen with compassion to those who are marginalized or excluded in those same areas. At the same time, in aspects of our identity where we are deemed "less than" by others, the story encourages us to stand up and hold accountable those who diminish usno matter who they are, even if it's Jesus. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Carrying on the Work of Love and Justice
Episode 22
Carrying on the Work of Love and Justice
Luke 24:44-53 Repentance for the forgiveness of sins that they taught had a quality that began with John the Baptist in Luke 3. Johns repentance was not for personal, private, individual sins. John called his listeners to a repentance for community sins, social and political choices, that were not only making the most marginalized vulnerable to harm, but also being the conduits of that harm as well. The elite, the powerful, propertied, and privileged, had become complicit with the Roman empire's exploitation and extraction of the masses in Galilee, Samaria, and Judea. John then came, echoing the Hebrew prophets, calling for national repentance for national sins in the hopes that the people would experience national forgiveness. In the Hebrew scriptures, forgiveness did not mean being allowed to go to heaven when one dies. It meant liberation from oppression here on earth, violence being replaced with safety and peace, and injustice giving way to compassion and equity. It meant social healing, not private, personal, individual benefit that was separate from everyone else. That forgiveness isnt connected to a post mortem destination later, but to healing of their land in this life. A more vernacular way of describing the healing of the land today would be to speak of societal healing for societal sins being committed right now. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Refusing to Passively Endure Injustice
Episode 22
Refusing to Passively Endure Injustice
Mark 8:27-38 Too often Christians in power have used bearing ones cross to teach that to follow Jesus means to passively and patiently endure whatever abuse, injustice, or oppression one is experiencing with the hope that in the afterlife your suffering will be rewarded. Nothing could be further from the way Jesus describes taking up ones cross in our reading this week. The cross is not passively enduring injustice. The cross is the threat abusers and oppressors make against us for our refusal to passively endure injustice. The cross is the threat intended to make us passive. When Jesus tells his followers to take up their cross, hes telling them to keep refusing to be passive, even if youre threatened with a cross for doing so. Jesus call is a call to courageously refuse to let go of your hope for justice, for change, for liberation, and freedom to thrive. Dont passively endure suffering. Dont give in when those who have privileges to lose seek to persuade us to patiently endure pain, humiliation, and violation of our sacred rights to self-determination, wholeness, and freedom rather than speaking out For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Pentecost and Social Justice
Episode 23
Pentecost and Social Justice
Acts 2:1-21 Pentecost reminds us that Christians should be deeply concerned with social justice because it reflects the heart of Gods love for humanity. Throughout the Bible, there is a clear emphasis on caring for the poor, the oppressed, and the marginalized. In Micah 6:8, believers are called to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God. This verse and others, such as Proverbs 31:89 and Isaiah 1:17, stress the importance of speaking up for those who cannot speak for themselves and defending the rights of the vulnerable. Jesus himself modeled social justice during his ministry: healing the sick, feeding the hungry, and standing with the outcasts of society. To follow Christ means to uphold his values, including actively working toward fairness, equity, and compassion in our communities. Social justice is not a political trend. It is a spiritual calling rooted in love, and a church imbued with the Spirit will heed this call. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Servants of the Most Vulnerable
Episode 23
Servants of the Most Vulnerable
Mark 9:30-37 Some may consider this to be a subtle difference, but it makes a huge difference. One way to tell the difference is to ask yourself who is being addressed: those in power and being corrected for how they lord their authority over others, or those being lorded over and encouraged to passively accept their experience? How we shape our faith communities matters. And these words offer wisdom in our justice work in our faith communities and in the wider society. When we vote for leaders, are we voting for leaders who have at heart the well being of even the most vulnerable among us? Do they care about the actual needs of the community they are seeking to serve or are they primarily concerned about themselves and what they want from whatever leadership role or office they are seeking? As I consider the political season we are presently in here in the Unites States, I hear wisdom calling to each of us from these words in Marks gospel. Consider the record of those seeking office from our local communities all the way to the Office of the President. Do they really care about others or do they only want your vote? Ask yourself, how do those asking for your support treat those who most vulnerable to injustice, subjugation, and exploitation in our society? Character matters! Is their character such that seeks to serve themself or to genuinely serve the people? Anyone who wants to be first, must be servant of all. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
I Have Much More to Say to You
Episode 24
I Have Much More to Say to You
John 16:12-15 Today, we can build on Jesus work, with these themes as our foundation too. Literalists among us have often cited passages like this and only been concerned with those who are literally widowed or fatherless. But the principle here is to prioritize and center whomever our society makes vulnerable to harm. In patriarchal societies like the ones both Proverbs and Isaiah were written for, community members not connected to a man (widows were without a husband, while the fatherless were without a present father) were vulnerable to social, political, and economic harm. Today we can mark other differences that make certain people in our communities vulnerable to harm. Today we dont only use patriarchal biases We also use differences like race, gender, sexuality, education, culture, legal status or citizenship, and more to make community members vulnerable. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Inclusivity and Taking Care of the Vulnerable
Episode 24
Inclusivity and Taking Care of the Vulnerable
Mark 9:38-50 "Love, inclusivity, justice, and liberation dont impose extra conditions, nor do they require everyone to be alike in every detail. Jesus embodies an openness to diversity. In this passage, He speaks about our responsibility toward the most vulnerable among usare we truly caring for them? We must be intentional in our rejection of being so 'heavenly minded' that we are indifferent to the needs of our world. Our mission is not just to save souls but to care for bodies and our material world. We must address the injustices and suffering of the present, rather than focusing solely on the afterlife. Otherwise, we lose our essence, our 'salt.' In Marks gospel, Jesus calls us to transform the world into a safe, compassionate, and just home for everyone, especially the most vulnerable." For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The Gerasenes and the Current Migrant Crisis
Episode 25
The Gerasenes and the Current Migrant Crisis
Luke 8:26-39 The present immigration crisis is driven by a complicated intersection of violence, poverty, and environmental factors, and we need cooperation, compassion, and long-term solutions for the root causes. Current policies are violating peoples human rights. Migration to the U.S. is not new, and our present response to migration is unsustainable and brutally cruel. As followers of Jesus, whose teachings were shaped by the Hebrew prophets and the Torah, it would do us well to listen to those same sources and allow them to inform our stances today. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Divorce Just Aint What It Used To Be
Episode 25
Divorce Just Aint What It Used To Be
Mark 10:2-16 Our practice of marriage and divorce in our culture today should be based on the ethics and values of the golden rule, the well being of all parties involved, whether abuse is taking place, and an egalitarian concern for justice for everyone. This is the spirit of the gospels teachings. People matter above institutions. Institutions were made for people not people for institutions. Even the institution of marriage. Justice and that which was life-giving were Jesus concerns in Mark. And that which is just and life-giving should be our concern today, too. Marriage and divorce are two sides of the same coin. We are not infallible. And when marriage becomes death-dealing, divorce as a life-giving option should be among the choices available to those seeking to turn things around. Whether people believe that they can work on and change their marriage or that their marriage should be undone, that is strictly up to them. It is not our place to shame or look down on them. Its our job to life-givingly support them during such difficult choices. People who have been divorced or are going through divorce dont need our judgement. They need our encouragement and our care. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Caring for Those Outside the Tribe
Episode 26
Caring for Those Outside the Tribe
Luke 9:51-62 Where does this leave us today? Not belittling family ties, but working for economic justice. Wealth inequality continues to widen globally. Many workers struggle to earn a living wage, while a small percentage hold disproportionate economic power. Fair access to education, healthcare, and employment opportunities remains uneven, particularly for marginalized communities. Rising costs of housing and basic needs further strain low- and middle-income families. Economic justice calls for policies that ensure fair wages, progressive taxation, and affordable healthcare. It also involves addressing systemic barriers rooted in race, class, sexual orientation, gender identity, and more. In todays world, achieving economic justice means creating an economy that prioritizes human dignity, shared prosperity, and the common good over excessive profit and unchecked corporate power. The family based economic system of Jesus day created vast wealth for some but economic hardship and poverty for many others. Today, we can take a page from Jesus critique and work for economic justice for everyone in our society. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
God and Money
Episode 26
God and Money
Mark 10:17-31 Will Jesus followers today as a community ever return to these practices and teachings? We live in a very individualistic culture. The first step may be to create communities that make our hyper-self reliance obsolete. We have people in all classes in our communities. Some have nothing to give because their needs arent even being met. Others are living month-to-month and just barely getting by. Their needs are met, but they have no extra. Some in our communities have a little extra that they are saving for a future emergency. And others have so much extra they couldnt possibly spend it all in multiple lifetimes, much less their own. So today as we read Jesus call to share our possessions with others, certain questions arise. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Dependency and the Community of Justice
Episode 27
Dependency and the Community of Justice
Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 This passage reminds us today to focus on justice work here and now. Not to focus on supernatural realms, but on our own present reality. Lukes Jesus anchors his disciples joy in something much deeper than whats unseen: their belonging to the beloved community of love, compassion, and justice rather than having their names written in the books of Rome. Its a call to keep our focus on what the reign of God means for our concrete material lives in matters of justice and compassion and in making our world a safer home for everyone. Justice creates a much larger community than ancient Rome or any nation or religion today. And when we work to make our world a more just home, we are part of this communitynow and forever. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Participation Not Substitution
Episode 27
Participation Not Substitution
Mark 10:35-45 I too know something of what it means to stand up for justice and love. I know something of pushback from those who are benefitting from an unjust system, pushback that threatens your own livelihood and ministry. These days, Im thankful for resurrecting life. My life looks nothing today like I thought it would twenty years ago. But thats okay. I wouldnt change the stances Ive taken or the people being harmed that Ive stood in solidarity with. I know its the same for many of you too. Standing up for love and justice sometimes involves drinking the same cup Jesus drank and being baptized with the same baptism he was baptized with. In those moments we are participating with Jesus in standing up rather than choosing to be silent. We are in the right story. We must remember, this story doesnt end in death, dying, or a cross. This story, and our story, ends in resurrection. Love wins. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Who Is My Neighbor
Episode 28
Who Is My Neighbor
Luke 10:25-37 Ultimately, seeing others as neighbors is a choice. It is a spiritual and ethical discipline that transforms how we relate to those with whom we share our world. It invites us into a larger story, one in which love transgresses human-made boundaries, dignity is upheld, and justice and peace become possible. If we are to build a future that honors every human being, we must begin by looking at the person beside us, no matter how different, and saying, You are my neighbor. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Bartimaeus and Christians of Privilege
Episode 28
Bartimaeus and Christians of Privilege
Mark 10:46-52 We create so many lines based on social differences that we must learn to step across. Whether these lines are gender, social class, education, race or culture, or sexuality, when we choose to enter into relationship with those who are different from us, we experience that proximity which has the power to change the way we perceive and act. Proximity doesnt guarantee change. But it does provide the opportunity for change. Crossing lines that we have created and defined by our differences is the doorway to relationship. Our relationships have the potential, if we allow them, to help us understand more of the experiences of others who are different from us. As these relationships grow, we learn how others live in our society and have experiences different from our own. If we choose to respond to this awareness with empathy, we begin to discern, perceive, and understand broader realities. We begin to look at our world differently. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Mary, Martha and Gender Equality
Episode 29
Mary, Martha and Gender Equality
Luke 10:38-42 The Bible and gender equality is a subject of ongoing theological debate within many Christian communities. This debate draws passionate voices from both complementarian and egalitarian perspectives. Egalitarianism holds that men and women are created equal in worth, dignity, and capacity, and that their equality should extend into all areas of lifeincluding leadership roles in the church, home, and society. When read through an egalitarian lens, the Gospels can offer a strong foundation for gender equality. It is also just as true that the Bible has historically been used to support patriarchal systems. What we must ask ourselves in our contexts today is whether a passage or an interpretation of a passage is life-giving? We must ask who is it hurting? Is it moving us closer to a world that is a safe, compassionate, just home for everyone, even those different from ourselves, or away from one? For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Two Greatest Commandments and Social Justice
Episode 29
Two Greatest Commandments and Social Justice
Mark 12:28-34 Next week is election week here in the U.S. Next week, many of us will be taking our civic (love of neighbor) responsibilities very seriously. You cant say you love your neighbor and vote to put someone in office that will harm those you claim to love. So Im thinking of my LGBTQ neighbors. Im thinking all the women neighbors in my life and their rights to bodily autonomy and health care. Im thinking of neighbors of a different race or culture than my own. Im thinking of neighbors who have migrated here to survive and gain a better life for themselves. I cant tell you how to vote. Thats not my place. But I can plead with you to engage your public life, your civic life, and not simply your private religious piety. This Tuesday, love your neighbor by getting out there and voting for love and justice. And no matter what the results turn out, that next morning when you wake, keep at it. Keep living love, keep taking action, keep choosing compassion as, together, we continue to follow Jesus in shaping our world into a safe, compassionate, just home for everyone. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
A Prayer For Liberation
Episode 30
A Prayer For Liberation
Luke 11:1-13 Our reading closes with a story about shameless persistence in prayer. I will be the first to admit that I dont understand how prayer works. But it helps me in reading this passage to keep everything in its context. Lukes audience was an oppressed people being encouraged to persevere in their prayers and actions for liberation. They were praying for the end of all injustice, oppression, and violence. They were praying for liberation from financial debt. They were praying that they would have enough food on their tables. They were praying and working for justice in this world, their world. And whether we would define ourselves as praying people or not, persisting in the work of justice even against what seem to be insurmountable odds, is an encouragement still needed today. Maybe the temptation we are to pray not to be led into is the temptation to give up hope or give in to despair. And if this is how we choose to read this prayer, this a prayer I can say Amen to. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
When Faith Does Societal Harm
Episode 30
When Faith Does Societal Harm
Mark 12:38-44 Whenever I heard the story of the widows mites growing up in church, it was always held up as an example of the piety and fidelity we should follow. She gave so much with the little she had and we should sacrificially do the same. But nothing could be further from the point of why Marks gospel is actually telling this story. The widows mites story is not a story to applaud the widows dedication to giving but a story that critiques how the widow was being exploited. The widow is not an example for the poor to follow but the system that exploits her is an example for the wealthy and powerful not to follow. Devoted to God meant devoted to the Temple-State, and it didnt trickle down to the poor, but rather into the pockets of those in positions of power who already possessed so much. It gave them even more at the expense and harm of those from whom these resources were being taken, all while they piously said lengthy prayers in public to add religious influence to their economic exploitation. Standing in the Hebrew prophetic tradition, Jesus like the prophets of old who spoke truth to power, declared that these teachers of the law would be punished most severely. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The Moral Dilemma and Challenge of Wealth
Episode 31
The Moral Dilemma and Challenge of Wealth
Luke 12:13-21 Faith traditions, moral philosophies, and humanitarian values all speak to the sacred responsibility that comes with wealth. Jesus taught that to love ones neighbor means to meet their needsnot out of guilt, or duty, but out of genuine care. The Hebrew prophets cried out for justice, not just charity. Across cultures, the wise and ethical have consistently called upon those with means to see their wealth not as an end in itself, but as a resource for the greater good. In the end, wealth, especially gained in an economic system such as our present one, is not measured by how much we can accumulate, but by how much good it enables in our lives and others. This is what it may mean to be rich toward God. It means being rich toward our fellow humans. When we use what we have to love, to serve, and to repair the world around us, we step into a deeper purposeone that honors both the giver and the receiver. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The Beginning of Birth Pains
Episode 31
The Beginning of Birth Pains
Mark 13:1-8 I think of the economic stress so many are under presently. I think, too, of the political divisions that continue to grow here in the U.S. I think of the acknowledged and unacknowledged radical and misogynistic biases so many of us still have inside ourselves in the country. I think of the ecological damage we cannot continue to perpetuate. Add to all of this the recent gut punch of the recent election results and what those results reveal about who we are here in the U.S. and how far we still need to go toward a multicultural democracy. This is not the end. If we choose it, all of our present challenges now could be the beginning of us giving birth to something new. We dont have to give up hope. We can look at the world around us and still imagine a world that is a safe, compassionate, just home for everyone. The current loss and anxiety, our energy and concerns, can be channeled into a renewed commitment to resistance giving birth to the kind of world we want to live in, a world where there is room enough for all of us thrive. Things will be different this time. But we are different this time, too. We are more organized, and we are ready. We are not alone. Our community of resistance is still here. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Bending Our Worlds Moral Arc Toward Justice
Episode 32
Bending Our Worlds Moral Arc Toward Justice
Luke 12:32-40 That famous arc of justice requires deliberate and courageous efforts from those who choose to stand on the side of equity, compassion, and truth. Choosing to bend that arc toward justice is an act of hope, and also one of resistance. It means refusing to accept the world as it is and daring to imagine a world as it could bea world where all people are treated with dignity, where systems serve the vulnerable, and where peace is rooted in justice or fairness.This choice is not always easy. Especially right now, when we are witnessing so many caving to injustice and bowing the knee for expediency. Choosing justice may cost us comfort, popularity, or privilege. But it is a path that gives life deeper meaning. It invites us to be co-creators of a more just and loving society. Whether we are advocating for racial equity, economic fairness, gender and LGBTQ inclusion, or environmental stewardship, each small act of justice matters. Every word spoken, every protest joined, every policy challenged adds weight to the arcs bend. History honors those who didnt wait for justice to arrive, but who helped carry it forward. That choiceto actis always ours. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Give Us Barabbas
Episode 32
Give Us Barabbas
John 18:33-37 Again, this kind of language has led to some deeply problematic interpretations. Some Christians completely disregard the injustice, oppression, violence, and therefore concrete suffering people are experiencing now and focus solely on saving their souls for postmortem heaven later. Honestly, Im struggling a bit this week. In the wake of the recent election, I sincerely wish Christians were less involved here and now. If Christians civic participation is going to result in harm for women, my LGBTQ and immigrant friends, and so many others, I would rather they do just focus on heaven. Please stay out of the affairs of our world! If Christians do engage this world, we must ensure our actions make our world a safe, more just, more compassionate place for everyone or we end up doing more harm than good. So much is here in this story for us to painfully unpack and explore. So many lessons for our present movement, and Im not rushing to positivity and hope. Our work to shape our world into a safe, compassionate, just world for everyone just got a lot harder. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
When Justice Means Division
Episode 33
When Justice Means Division
Luke 12:49-56 The challenge, then, is to understand that we cannot build real unity on the denial of justice. Authentic unity emerges not from avoiding conflict but from walking through it together. It is forged in the hard work of truth-telling, repentance, reparations and transformation. Unity and justice are not necessarily enemies; they can be companions. But the order matters. Justice creates the conditions for lasting unity, not the other way around. When we seek unity without first addressing what divides us, we merely delay deeper fractures. We only kick the problem down the road, hoping the matter simply goes away. Placing unity above justice may feel safe and noble, but ultimately, it undermines both unity and justice. A better path is to pursue a justice that repairs, restores, and reconciles, and a unity that is not afraid of truth. Only then can we have a peace that endures... Peace is something sown. The seed of peace is distributive justice. Justice grows and produces the fruit of peace. Peace, then, shouldnt be the primary goal. Its the secondary result of establishing a just, compassionate, safe environment for all. And to plant that initial seed of justice, to push the analogy a little further, the ground for that seed must be broken up, tilled, turned over, and disrupted. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Advent of Us
Episode 33
Advent of Us
Luke 21:25-36 This Advent season Im reminded that Advent is about something finally showing up. We are the ones, especially at this moment, who must show up. We are the ones we are mutually depending on right now. Jesus taught about the power of community to survive and transform the world around us even in the most difficult of times, shaping our world into a safe, compassionate, just home for everyone. Jesus taught us not to isolate and rely just on ourselves, but to come together. No matter what the future brought, we could get through it together, knowing we had each others back. And, once again, this is now the time to renew our commitment to making sure everyone is taken care of. I know from the last time that what is coming wont be easy. But this Advent, Im choosing to hold on to the hope that resistance and survival is possible as we renew our commitments to each other. We are the ones weve been waiting for. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Christianity, Liberation and Justice
Episode 34
Christianity, Liberation and Justice
Luke 13:10-17 Our reading this week is about the tension between a persons liberation and the way a religious institution (the Sabbath) was interpreted to oppose that liberation. The Christian faith tradition also has a long history of using its interpretations of our sacred texts to stand in the way of peoples liberation from injustice. Christianity has always had a dual witness regarding oppression: some advancing it, some fighting it. From the first generation in Acts to today. Some Christians have, Bibles in their hand, opposed the abolition of slavery here in the U.S., or womens liberation from patriarchy, and the LGBTQ communitys work toward a more equitable society. Spiritual and philosophical traditions around the world affirm the essential link between liberation and justice, Christianity with its complicated oppressive history among them. The call to "let the oppressed go free" is not merely a metaphor; it is a summons to act in solidarity with the poor and the excluded. Our gospel must unequivocally state that justice is love made public and embodied in social, economic, and political transformation. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Salvation from the Margins
Episode 34
Salvation from the Margins
Luke 3:1-6 This is the theological and political point of the wilderness in our narrative this week. Change, liberation, and social salvation has historically come from voices on the outside of unjust systems. Its comes from the grassroots, the outside in and bottom up. Outside is where John shows up in our story. Its where Jesus shows up in our story (cf. John 1:46). The wisdom for us as we rededicate our efforts to resistance and harm mitigation in the years to come is to look to the margins. Listen to the voices of those on the edges. Look for the good that is already happening in justice efforts on the margins and get with that! Throw your energy and solidarity alongside that! What work was taking place on the edges in this weeks story? Even in the face of deep harm and the social and economic devastation of vulnerable communities, a path for change was being prepared in the wilderness. The way was being smoothed out for justices arrival. In that first season of Advent, even when things looked most bleak, a way was being made out of no way on the margins. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Humility, Inclusion, Power and Privilege
Episode 35
Humility, Inclusion, Power and Privilege
Luke 14:1, 7-14 What I do appreciate about our reading this week is Jesus admonishment to be inclusive. These are the people who, in his social context, would have been excluded and marginalized. Jesus is here promoting equity and inclusion, principles we still need today. The war we are presently witnessing against equity and inclusion is often couched in appeals to tradition, meritocracy, or neutrality, but it nonetheless undermines efforts to create fair opportunities for all. Those opposing equity and inclusion resent those they would still like to consider themselves as better than, and that is what our reading is speaking to this week. Modern-day opponents of equity and inclusion claim that institutional equity and inclusion initiatives end up dividing rather than uniting, but in truth, what is really triggering them is how equity and inclusion challenges long-standing imbalances of power and privilege. Resistance often stems from discomfort with change, fear of losing status, or misunderstanding the goals of inclusion. Equity doesnt mean favoritism. It means acknowledging systemic barriers and correcting them. Inclusion ensures everyone belongs, not just the historically dominant. Attacking these principles weakens social progress, silences marginalized voices, and sustains inequality under the illusion of fairness. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Advent and Justice Toward One Another
Episode 35
Advent and Justice Toward One Another
Luke 3:7-18 Advent isnt about escaping to somewhere else or about escaping inward either. Advent is about the arrival of justice where we are. And thats what we want to be about. We may have deep anxiety over what the next four years is going to bring, still we can choose to focus on what we can do about it. Some of us can do precious little while others, closer to the powerbrokers of our society, can do a lot. Wherever we find ourselves on that spectrum we are called to do what we can. Advent is about establishing justice on Earth and shaping our world into a just, safe, compassionate home for everyone. Lets be a part of that kind of advent community, the people who bring about the arrival of that kind of world. This year, during our Advent season, lets stop looking for someone or something else to show up. Lets rededicate our commitment to showing up in whatever ways possible for each of us for the sake of justice. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Hating Ones Family
Episode 36
Hating Ones Family
Luke 14:25-33 Lukes context is not choosing ones religion or faith over loving and affirming a family member. The context is choosing justice and inclusion even when your privileged family rejects you for doing so. This passage is about times when standing up for those being rejected and shunned causes division from those who reject and shun others. Jesus often warned that discipleship would divide families (cf. Luke 12:49-59), not because of hatred, but because devotion to him and his vision of a just society could lead to social and relational conflict. The "hatred" that Jesus references is therefore symbolic: it represents willingness to forsake all for the sake of a more just, present world. Ultimately, the phrase challenges those on the side of justice to evaluate their priorities and confront the cost of true discipleship. It is not about rejecting family, but radically reordering love and loyalty and making justice, equity, compassion, and safety for all the supreme focus. In this light, this hyperbolic phrase becomes a powerful statement of commitment to a more just world in the face of potential rejection by a family upon whom our survival depends. Its not a statement of cruelty or a call to reject family members if they dont align with our religious beliefs. This difference may seem subtle, but it makes a world of difference in the work of justice. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Marys Magnificat and the Intersection of Faith and Social Justice
Episode 36
Marys Magnificat and the Intersection of Faith and Social Justice
Luke 1:39-55 Few stories in the gospels narratives of Jesus birth demonstrate the intersection of faith and social justice as much as Marys Magnificat does. The social locations mentioned here matter. Pay attention to who is doing what. These stories arent about those whose character or personality exhibits humility. It is about those who are living in more humble situations and stations of life. They will be lifted up. This is a precursor to such phrases as mountains being brought low, and valleys being raised, the first being made last and the last being made first. And all of this is in accordance not with the hope of escaping one day to another world or retreating into inner peace. It answers the promise made to the ancestors. At the time of Jesus, the Jewish prophetic hope was not to one day become a disembodied soul in some far distant heaven, but that one day all injustice, violence and oppression in our world would be put right, here and now. For those with the awareness to notice these themes, where liberation and social salvation is emerging in these stories is inspiring for our context today. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Sheep, Coins, and a Preferential Option for the Marginalized
Episode 37
Sheep, Coins, and a Preferential Option for the Marginalized
Luke 15:1-10 The parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin in our reading this week both challenge the notion that social justice can be achieved without addressing the root causes of oppression and focusing on communities who suffer harm from inequities. Jesus teachings here call us to to confront the structures that perpetuate inequality, advocating for systemic change for people being harmed now rather than mere charity or superficial solutions. This way of reading the parables of the lost sheep and lost coin align with principles of social justice: true equality cannot exist without addressing the historical injustices against specific communities that have led to disparities. Focusing on the ninety-nine sheep that need no rescue and saying they matter too neglects the importance of context and the specific struggles that the specific communities represented by the sheep or coin in our reading face. Universal approaches to the gospel often oversimplify the realities of systemic oppression and what certain communities uniquely need. In contrast, the lens of a preferential option for the marginalized (temporarily focusing on the lost sheep or the lost coin rather than the rest) provides a nuanced understanding that prioritizes those who are suffering. True justice for all requires acknowledging injustice that may be only affecting certain communities, and focusing on those being harmed acknowledges that injustice to any is a threat to injustice to all. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The Parable of the Dishonest Manager
Episode 38
The Parable of the Dishonest Manager
Luke 16:1-13 Our story this week is one that scholars have offered multiple interpretations of. They have spiritualized the story, taken it literally, and sought to apply the story to our context today, but most interpretation give me the feeling that something is being left on the table. One interpretation I find most convincing is by William Herzog in his classic book, Parables as Subversive Speech: Jesus as Pedagogue of the Oppressed. Herzog looks at various parables from the gospels through the lens of the Brazilian educator Paulo Freires work Pedagogy of the Oppressed. The early Jesus movement built community through what was called 'dishonest wealth.' It was about forging bonds through shared resources and mutual aid. Even now, this parable whispers through time, urging us to transform the riches of the few into a wealth shared by all, to redistribute wealth not to the few, but for the good of all, and to create a robust common wealth rooted in compassionate, empathetic care for everyone's needs. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The Rich Man, Lazarus and Justice
Episode 39
The Rich Man, Lazarus and Justice
Luke 16:19-31 Future reversals of reward or punishment in an afterlife can be a strong motivation. I would rather live by a different motivation though. We can choose to be motivated to do the right thing by a deep belief in the value, dignity, and potential of every human being. Unlike moral systems based on afterlife consequences, we can consider the consequences of our actions in this life and choose to ground our ethics in reason, empathy, and a commitment to human welfare. We can choose to improve the conditions of those around us whose needs are not yet being met. One of the strongest motivations beyond self-concern and afterlife threats is empathy: the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. When we see suffering, we can choose to allow ourselves to be moved not by religious obligation or fear of post mortem punishment, but by a genuine desire to alleviate pain and promote the well-being of those who are suffering now. If we let it, this emotional connection to others can drive us to act with kindness and integrity in this life. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The Christian Normalization of Social Evils
Episode 40
The Christian Normalization of Social Evils
Luke 17:5-10 One of the dangers of readings like the one were reading this week is that they normalize for Christians behaviors and societal evils that we should react to with much more concern. They desensitize us to just how evil some things really are. This helps us make sense much of why certain sectors of Christians today have embraced racist, fascist, authoritarian, and misogynistic elements in our society. Christians I have known all my life have embraced things over the last decade that have left me wondering if I really ever knew them. Things that should have been deal-breakers were instead glossed over, mitigated, or explained away. However we hold, read, view, or interpret our sacred texts, we must do so in life-giving ways within a diverse community of others who experience life on this planet differently than ourselves. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The Ten Lepers and Christian Xenophobia
Episode 41
The Ten Lepers and Christian Xenophobia
Luke 17:11-19 The word for foreigner here is xeno, from which we get the word xenophobia. The scriptures are far from univocal about the foreigner, though, and this is why there is debate among Christians today. The scriptures are not going to force any of us to treat todays migrants any particular way. We get to choose which portions of our sacred text we want to shape us here. Do we want to be the kind of humans who vote for and support mistreating migrants at the U.S. border, refusing asylum for those seeking protections, or placing children who have been separated from their parents into detention centers? Do you want to be that kind of person? Scripture will not give you much cover if you do. You may find verses that you can use to help support your biases, but there are also passages on the other side of the debate, as well. So what makes you choose one set of passages to follow over others, especially in light of the story of Jesus through which Christianity claims to interpret Scripture? However many passages one may find to justify the mistreatment of migrants today, we must all stand before Jesus words here. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Persisting in Spite of Unjust Obstruction
Episode 42
Persisting in Spite of Unjust Obstruction
Luke 18:1-8 In the parable of the widow and the unjust judge, I can understand the challenges Lukes author must have been facing by trying to inspire people to believe in the wake of hopeless devastation. It resonates with where many of us are today. Despite growing polarization and setbacks, believing in social justice today is not nave. Its necessary. Every movement for equality has faced resistance, yet progress has always come through those who refused to give up. From climate justice to racial equity, just voices are louder, more connected, and more persistent than ever. Grassroots efforts, legal reforms, and digital activism are reshaping narratives and holding power accountable. The fight is far from over, and yet each small victory builds momentum. Believing in social justice means choosing hope over cynicism and action over silence. Change is slow, but it is still within reach, if we keep pushing, if we continue, like the widow, who 'nevertheless, she persisted.' For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Persisting Inspite of Unjust Obstruction
Episode 42
Persisting Inspite of Unjust Obstruction
Luke 18:1-8 In the parable of the widow and the unjust judge, I can understand the challenges Lukes author must have been facing by trying to inspire people to believe in the wake of hopeless devastation. It resonates with where many of us are today. Despite growing polarization and setbacks, believing in social justice today is not nave. Its necessary. Every movement for equality has faced resistance, yet progress has always come through those who refused to give up. From climate justice to racial equity, just voices are louder, more connected, and more persistent than ever. Grassroots efforts, legal reforms, and digital activism are reshaping narratives and holding power accountable. The fight is far from over, and yet each small victory builds momentum. Believing in social justice means choosing hope over cynicism and action over silence. Change is slow, but it is still within reach, if we keep pushing, if we continue, like the widow, who 'nevertheless, she persisted.' For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
Episode 43
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
Luke 18:9-14 This group, even the more liberal among this group who interpreted all of the Torah through the lens of love and treating others the way they would like to be treated, failed to enter Jesus kingdom because of their failure to embrace concrete economic changes in Jesus teachings that would have lessened the inequality gap between the rich and the poor of their society. Many Christians think they have arrived at a correct and healthy understanding of the gospel when they conclude that its all about love. But love that is indifferent to povety, according the gospels is not enough. If our grand teachings on love do not translate down into a concrete, material difference for the poor, is our gospel really the same as Jesus? Is it enough for us to declare a gospel of love, the love of God, and how we should love our neighbor if we do not apply that love of neighbor to how we live in relation to wealth inequality, the growing gap between the rich and the poor, and a system that continues to create both great wealth and great poverty. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The Social Vision of the Gospel
Episode 44
The Social Vision of the Gospel
Luke 6:20-31 & Luke 19:1-10 In today's world, where income inequality is widening and economic systems often benefit the few at the expense of the many, Zacchaeus story raises urgent questions. His response to Jesus was not mere charity but restitution and structural changeprinciples echoed in movements for reparations and equitable wealth redistribution today. The story of Zacchaeus challenges both the acquisition and use of wealth. It invites a transformation that starts with a compassionate awakening toward those the system has plunged into poverty and leads to economic action. In a time when billions live in poverty while a small percentage hold vast wealth, the Zacchaeus story reminds us that true discipleship involves justice, not just belief. His encounter with Jesus demonstrates that economic justice is central to spiritual renewal, and that addressing income inequality is not only a policy issue but also a deeply moral and theological one. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
A Gospel About the Living Rather than the Dead
Episode 45
A Gospel About the Living Rather than the Dead
Luke 20:27-38 While the hope of heaven has historically been central to Christian belief, it still should never overshadow Jesus call to follow Him in how we relate to our world while we are in this life. Working toward a just world here and now while we are alive is therefore central to discipleship. The questions about the afterlife that we encounter in this weeks reading are a distraction from focusing on living just lives while were alive. Its interesting that these questions came from the wealthy and elite class of Jesuss society who had the most to lose if the masses embraced Jesus economic call for wealth redistribution such as through the Torahs year of Jubilee? Could this have been another example of that age old political tactic of seeking to sow division among the masses over a peripheral topic to divide their support of justice? Jesus response that God is the God of the living and not the dead calls each of us today to focus on uniting in our focus on the life in front of us rather than on endless metaphysical debates about what may or may not happen to us in an afterlife. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
A World that is Just, Safe, and Compassionate for All
Episode 46
A World that is Just, Safe, and Compassionate for All
Luke 21:5-19 Our present crises of growing inequality and the coming environmental collapse are both intrinsic symptoms of how we are choosing to shape our economic system. The relentless pursuit of profit, if left unchecked, will continue to erode both social cohesion and our planets foundations for life. Just like in the 1st Century, life-giving change requires of us today a profound moral and political shift away from a system that values growth above all to one that values justice, sustainability, and collective flourishing. The gospels call us, just as they called to those in the 1st Century, to the work of shaping our world into a safe, compassionate, just home for all. If the Galilean prophet of the poor named Jesus lived and taught in our society today, what would he say is our coming crisis of one stone not being left on another? For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
A Political Execution: Beyond Atoning Sacrifice
Episode 47
A Political Execution: Beyond Atoning Sacrifice
Luke 23:33-43 The Jesus of our story understood where his actions of standing in solidarity with the marginalized and oppressed could lead. And he had the courage to stand in that solidarity anyway. As certain other religions of indigenous and marginalized populations do, the resurrection narrative also places Diety squarely on the side of the oppressed. This has deep ramifications for Christians who choose to engage in justice work today. When understood in the context of Empire, the cross calls us to rethink Jesus death as political execution. Juxtaposing the crucifixion and unjust power structures pulls back the veil and reveals Jesus death in its political context. It calls us as Jesus followers to insurrection ourselves, as we interpret the death of Jesus as political resistance. Jesus was executed by the state. Could the cross have been political execution rather than sacrifice? Reframing the crucifixion in its context shows it to be Romes political act, not Gods substitutionary plan. And in this light, the politics of Jesus death go far beyond heavenly bookkeeping. Revisiting Calvary as political execution leads us to a place where faith meets empire and we begin to understand Jesus life and teachings as a call to participate in resistance to unjust systems that weaponize and wield death today. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The Liberation at the Heart of Advent
Episode 48
The Liberation at the Heart of Advent
Matthew 24:36-44 Today, too many Christians want to claim Jesus so they can go to heaven but leave Jesus politics alone because it threatens their privilege, their power, or their social standing. Advent reminds us that Christianitys gospel is rooted in a Jesus who proclaimed the advent of liberation for the oppressed and the beginning of a whole new world where injustice, violence and oppression are replaced by loving ones neighbor as oneself and relating to our neighbor as we would like our neighbor to relate to us. Anything less is a failure to grasp Jesus in his entirety. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Clearing a Path for Justice
Episode 49
Clearing a Path for Justice
Matthew 3:1-12 For us today, this invitation challenges us to examine the uneven roads in our own worldspaces where poverty, racial and gender based injustice, LGBTQ discrimination, environmental harm, and economic inequality bend the path away from Gods vision. To make his paths straight is to engage in the slow, committed labor of reforming institutions, amplifying marginalized voices, and redistributing resources so all may flourish and thrive. It means choosing solidarity over indifference, advocacy over silence, and compassion over convenience. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Advent as Good News for the Marginalized
Episode 50
Advent as Good News for the Marginalized
Matthew 11:2-11 Advent rituals remind and call us, like Johns preaching of old, to return to the social justice practices of our various faith traditions, and to renew our commitments to shaping our present world into a just, safe, compassionate home for us all. John chose a radically different calling. Rather than serve within the structured Temple State systemdeeply intertwined with political and religious authorityhe withdrew to the wilderness. He chose a path of challenging the status quo, calling his society to repent for complicity with Rome and to return to the practice of justice toward one another, all of this outside of institutional control. In the gospels, the wilderness symbolizes the margins of society. It represents those places far from centers of power, wealth, and political/religious control. It is in these edges that Gods presence is revealed most clearly. This narrative details speaks to every person who finds themselves doing justice work along the edges of our communities today. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Christmas as Critique of Complicity with Empire
Episode 51
Christmas as Critique of Complicity with Empire
Matthew 1:18-25 Our cultures naturalistic worldview means that what catches our attention is the scientific impossibility of a virgin birth, and this has distracted us from the political point that the author of Matthews gospel is making. That political point has parallels in our time. In the United States today, certain sectors of Christianity have become closely aligned with nationalism, blending religious identity with political power and national loyalty. This alignment often frames a nation as uniquely chosen or divinely favored, and so transforms faith into a marker of cultural belonging rather than a call to ethical discipleship that follows the values and teachings actually found in the Jesus story, values such as nonviolence, inclusion of the marginalized, welcoming the migrant, and taking care of the poor. Christian symbols and language are sometimes used to legitimize policies that prioritize dominance, exclusion, or fear of the other, especially immigrants, religious minorities, and dissenters. In this framework, loyalty to the nation can eclipse core Christian commitments to peace, justice, and love of neighbor. National success is interpreted as divine blessing, while critique of the state is portrayed as unfaithful. This fusion risks turning Christianity into a tool for preserving power rather than a prophetic voice that challenges injustice. When faith is subordinated to nationalist goals, it loses its capacity to speak truth to power and to stand in solidarity with the vulnerable. For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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