People who believe that
don’t really care about the Bible, though—
he said it with so
much certainty—like he was coached,
like his life depended on being Right every time.
Anything less is a crime.
Continue reading “The Conversation Stopper”
Category: Theological Animation
The Power of Prayer: Christian Witnesses at Guantanamo
By Frida Berrigan. Reprinted from Sojourners Magazine.
“Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,have mercy on us
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace.”
Mohammed Ahmad Said al Edah is a 52- or 53-year-old citizen of Yemen. As of Nov. 16, 2015, he has been held at Guantánamo for 13 years and 10 months. As of January 2010, the Guantánamo Review Task Force had recommended him for transfer to Yemen provided that certain security conditions were met. Continue reading “The Power of Prayer: Christian Witnesses at Guantanamo”
The Ultimate Rite of Reversal
From Jay Beck of the Carnival de Resistance:
Historically, Carnival had its origins in the traditional topsy-turvydom of the medieval Christmas season, which in turn was grounded in the doctrine of the Incarnation and expressed in Mary’s words in the Magnificat: “He has put down the mighty from their seat and raised up the humble and meek. He has fed the poor with good things and sent the rich empty away” (Luke 1:52-53). Mary rejoices in a God who overturns privilege and favors the poor and the hungry. The church, whether Catholic, Presbyterian, or Baptist, has too often been supported by and sided with the the rich and the well-fed. If we aren’t rich ourselves, we long to be. There have been wonderful exceptions: the early desert fathers, St. Francis of Assissi, Gustavo Gutierrez and Dorothy Day to name just four. There are many others.
Continue reading “The Ultimate Rite of Reversal”
Ongoing Direct Encounter
By Wes Howard-Brook and Sue Ferguson Johnson, commentary on readings for the First Sunday after Christmas
Note: This is part of a series of Wes & Sue’s occasional comments on the Lukan gospel readings from the Revised Common Lectionary during year C, 2015-16.
Christmas carols continue to echo around and within us, but Sunday’s Gospel from Luke has Jesus already nearly grown. Only Luke provides any glimpse of Jesus’ childhood. This tantalizing scene, though, offers many hints for how the adult Jesus will subvert both the expectations of his Roman audience and of those hearers who, so far, may be expecting Jesus to become a warrior “messiah like David” (1.32, 69; 2.11).
Continue reading “Ongoing Direct Encounter”
Keeping the Vigil of Mystery
By Joyce Rupp
Begin again, again, and again,
deliberately, with intention, each day
opening the heart’s door, seeking to invite
with the divine companion, eager to abide with us.
Stop squirming.
Release clinging.
Let go of the binding chains to self-willed ways. Continue reading “Keeping the Vigil of Mystery”
I AM Waiting
by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
I am waiting for my case to come up
and I am waiting for a rebirth of wonder
and I am waiting for someone to really discover America and wail
and I am waiting for the American Eagle to really spread its wings
and straighten up and fly right
and I am waiting for the Age of Anxiety to drop dead
and I am waiting for the war to be fought which will make the world safe for anarchy
and I am waiting for the final withering away of all governments
and I am perpetually awaiting a rebirth of wonder Continue reading “I AM Waiting”
Magnificat: Poor Women’s Voices Liberated
By Ched Myers, for the 4th Sunday in Advent (Luke 1:39-55)
Note: This is part of a series of Ched’s occasional comments on the Lukan gospel readings from the Revised Common Lectionary during year C, 2015-16.
Luke 1 is the prolegomenon to the nativity story, and is structured around the stories of two women who, for radically different reasons, cannot conceive. In a nutshell, Elizabeth is too old, and Mary is too young. Their stories are narrated in staggered parallel:
- Annunciation to Elizabeth (1:5-25) Annunciation to Mary (1:26-38)
- Elizabeth’s Response (1:41-45) Mary’s Response (1:46-55)
- John’s birth (1:57-66) Jesus’ birth (2:1-20)
Continue reading “Magnificat: Poor Women’s Voices Liberated”
These Long Advent Nights
By Tommy Airey, an Advent Communion Meditation from Detroit
And maybe this is what heroism looks like nowadays: occasionally high-profile heroism in public but mostly just painstaking mastery of arcane policy, stubborn perseverance year after year for a cause, empathy with those who remain unseen and outrage channeled into dedication.
Rebecca Solnit, Hope in the Dark (2004)
About 40-50 years after the death of Jesus, Luke’s Gospel, the story of Jesus the suffering servant, was read in its entirety in small Christian communities all over the Roman Empire. Out loud. It would take about 90 minutes to two hours. About the length of one of our movies.
Continue reading “These Long Advent Nights”
Making The House Ready for the Lord
By Mary Oliver
Dear Lord, I have swept and I have washed but
still nothing is as shining as it should be
for you. Under the sink, for example, is an
uproar of mice—it is the season of their
many children. What shall I do? And under the eaves
and through the walls the squirrels
have gnawed their ragged entrances- but it is the season
when they need shelter, so what shall I do? And
the raccoon limps into the kitchen and opens the cupboard
while the dog snores, the cat hugs the pillow;
what shall I do? Beautiful is the new snow falling
in the yard and the fox who is staring boldly
up the path, to the door. And still I believe you will
come, Lord: you will, when I speak to the fox,
the sparrow, the lost dog, the shivering sea goose, I know
that really I am speaking to you whenever I say,
as I do all morning and afternoon: Come in, Come in.
The Baptist’s Radical Critique of Entitlement: Repentance as Radical Discontinuity
By Ched Myers, the 3rd Sunday in Advent (Luke 3:7-18)
Note: This is one of Ched’s occasional comments on the Lukan gospel readings from the Revised Common Lectionary during year C, 2015-16.
The third week in Advent lingers on Luke’s portrait of John the Baptist, in which we get our most substantive glimpse into this wilderness prophet’s message (right, icon by Robert Lentz, 1984). This reading cuts sharply against the grain of the holiday season, so often defined in corporate-sponsored Christmas culture by commercialization and commodification of all things religious. But the Lectionary’s wisdom seeks to restrain the manic rush into what a young Jewish friend calls “the days of craze,” insisting rather on a sober look at the travails of empire.
Continue reading “The Baptist’s Radical Critique of Entitlement: Repentance as Radical Discontinuity”
Radical Discipleship 