The Prophetic Script

On By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Theological AnimationLeave a comment

Micah IconBy Tommy Airey

With what shall I come before the Lord,
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings,
with calves a year old?
…He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justly, and to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God?
Micah 6:6, 8

*This is the sixth installment in a series of seven pieces on Micah posted every Wednesday during Lent.
—————–
Throughout the Hebrew Bible, there’s a contest over just how one might access the Creator and Redeemer God. Surely, there must be magic words to say or rituals to perform? Micah blows the roof off of priestly religion. Keep your sacrifices to yourself, thank you very much. All God really wants is a Life congruent with the Love that makes the world go ‘round: justice, mercy and humility. That’s all.
Continue reading “The Prophetic Script” →

Learning from Laughter: Blessed by Sand

On By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Biography as Theology, Feminist/Womanist/Queer Liberation and Theology2 Comments

sandboxBy Lydia Wylie-Kellermann

I was pruning these same apple trees and grape vines when I first felt the pull of contractions. Today, it is a two year old that calls me down. “Mooommy,” he calls. He’s standing in the green turtle box filled with sand he collected with his grandpa from the shores of Lake Huron last summer. He stands there barefoot having demanded to take his shoes off even though it’s the middle of March and the snow has not yet fully melted. Continue reading “Learning from Laughter: Blessed by Sand” →

For Botero, Who Looked at What I Could Not

On By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Art as ResistanceLeave a comment

boteroA poem by Rose Marie Berger, a peace activist, poet and the Senior Associate Editor of Sojourners Magazine. This piece was first published in Beltway Poetry Quarterly (Volume 7, Number 2, Spring 2006).
——————–
The bodies are fat
corpulent, like the seven-hundred-
pound man in Maryland
who hasn’t stood since 1998
and must lie on his stomach
or his weight will crush
his windpipe. They hang
upside down by a toe or ankle
these bodies,
faces wrapped in a red silk scarf—
Continue reading “For Botero, Who Looked at What I Could Not” →

An invitation from Word and World

On By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Watershed DiscipleshipLeave a comment

water raiz upDear Friend of Word and World,

The stakes of climate change and climate injustice are too high to stay hunkered down in silos of race, class, religion, or seemingly disparate justice issues. The times necessitate following the lead of communities of color organizing for the health of land, water, and community. On July 15-19, 2015, Word and World will host a Land and Water school, a local/national/international collaboration putting down roots in Detroit to build and energize movement around land, water, sustainability, and environmental justice. Continue reading “An invitation from Word and World” →

Of Thrones and High Places: Lessons from Selma

On By RadicalDiscipleshipIn RaceLeave a comment

selmaBy Kim Redigan

This is not a movie – this is real life!, shouted the elderly woman standing near the base of the Edmund Pettus Bridge as a human wave of tens of thousands rolled past her in a people’s-led march on the day after dignitaries, including the President and Congressman John Lewis, observed the fiftieth anniversary of Bloody Sunday in a far more officious manner.

The hand-lettered sign she carried read:

Justice is Still Blind in Selma, AL . . . Unfair treatment of citizens by certain persons in high places. We need help in Selma, Alabama. Continue reading “Of Thrones and High Places: Lessons from Selma” →

In The Hands of an Angry God?

On By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Theological AnimationLeave a comment

Micah IconBy Tommy Airey

On that day, says the Lord,
I will cut off your horses from among you
and will destroy your chariots;
and I will cut off the cities of your land
and throw down all your strongholds…
And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance
on the nations that did not obey.
Micah 5:10-11, 15

*This is the fifth installment in a series of seven pieces on Micah posted every Wednesday during Lent.
————–
Small town Micah portrays a big time God whose anger and wrath fuel justice. This God, thankfully, is not apathetic or indifferent to the plight of the vulnerable and marginalized. This God is passionate and determined to level the playing field, to eliminate the weapons of war driving the false security apparatus and unjust killings all around us. Continue reading “In The Hands of an Angry God?” →

the word you’re looking for

On By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Feminist/Womanist/Queer Liberation and Theology, Just Peacemaking2 Comments

sarahSarah Matsui was born and raised in Hawai’i, raised some more in Philly, and is now living in San Francisco. She did not grow up in the church though is now part of the church, and she cares deeply about intersections of faith, identities (race, gender, language, sexuality, cultural, etc.), justice, and reconciliation.

The church I am attending sent out a letter today (3/13/15) that overall I was excited about, and thankful for. But it also invited further response. In an optional survey response they requested, I submitted the following note:

“Firstly, I am thankful for our church, this board, and for the direction indicated by the board letter. Secondly, a question: if the board has come to the conclusion that our church’s practices have been causing harm, not leading to human flourishing, and excluding LGBTQ people from belonging in the body of Christ, would a logical next step be to issue an explicit apology to the LGBTQ Christians attending our church and/or to the broader LGBTQ community?” Continue reading “the word you’re looking for” →