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The Forgotten Common Good

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  The Forgotten Common Good   “A certain ruler asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to obtain eternal life?” Jesus replied, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except the one God. You know the commandments: Don’t commit adultery. Don’t murder. Don’t steal. Don’t give false testimony. Honor your father and mother.” Then the ruler said, “I’ve kept all of these things since I was a boy.” When Jesus heard this, he said, “There’s one more thing. Sell everything you own and distribute the money to the poor. Then you will have treasure in heaven. And come, follow me.” When he heard these words, the man became sad because he was extremely rich.” (Luke 18: 18- 23 CEB) ) If you have spent any time in church, undoubtedly you have heard sermons and teachings on the text of the Rich Young Ruler (described elsewhere as young and rich). This interaction of Jesus is particularly hard for many of us to understand, when we come from a social location where we are among the most resource
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Beneath the anger

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  Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua. They had known every act the LORD had done for Israel . (Jos 24:31 CEB) "Mediating narratives of supremacy that originate in diseased theological and social imagination--and ultimately unresolved trauma--must be replaced by alternative, healthy theological imagination that contributes to human flourishing." -- Charles Kiser and Elaine Health in Trauma-informed Evangelism This past week, I have enjoyed watching the Olympic games in Paris.  There is something about competition, involving the world's best athletes that is awe inspiriting.  What I have been fascinated by is the massive social media reactions of self-professed Christians to an opening ceremony float, and an Algerian female boxer.  Both situations are very small portions of the Olympic games, but the attention to each situation, and the intensity of emotions behind posts and my favorite, social media arguments is
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What would Jesus think about Independence day?

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  "To be a place of we the people, we have to be a place that is truly for all people, and how do we do this if we don't talk about the stolen land that America rests on?" -- Kaitlin B Curtice in Native     The LORD proclaims: Stop at the crossroads and look around; ask for the ancient paths.      Where is the good way? Then walk in it and find a resting place for yourselves.      But you said, “We won’t go!” (Jeremiah 6:16 CEB) July 4th is a time of celebration, where we commemorate the declaration of independence from the formerly British colonies, known as the United States.  In the nearly 250 years as an independent nation, it has grown from an economic experiment for the British empire to an empire that impacts nearly every economy on the planet.  With that growth, the quality of life for many has improved as indicated by lengthening life expectancies, disposable income, retirement systems, and accessible healthcare.   While many will see the expansion as a sign of d
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The Plain Thing Is The Main Thing

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    Justice is a joy to the godly, but it terrifies evildoers (Proverbs 21:15 NLT) The LORD spoke to me, taking hold of me and warning me not to walk in the way of this people:  Don’t call conspiracy all that this people call conspiracy. Don’t fear what they fear, and don’t be terrified.  It is the LORD of heavenly forces whom you should hold sacred, whom you should fear, and whom you should hold in awe. (Is 8:11-13 CEB)   "Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions." (Mt 7:20 NLT) I was recently speaking with a leader in the denomination that I am part, and the leader, who I greatly respect, shared his ongoing concern and shock at the continued justification of violent and brutal behavior by Christian leaders.  He was correctly identifying the disconnect between civil religion, or nominal Christianity (those who identify as Christian but deny, deprioritize, and diminish the life, teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus)
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Book Review: Surviving God

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  "Healing the soul-wounds of abuse requires new images of God that can comfort, nourish, sustain, and empower."--Grace Ji-Sun Kim and Susan Shaw in Surviving God.     God heals the brokenhearted      and bandages their wounds.      God counts the stars by number,      giving each one a name.      Our Lord is great and so strong!      God’s knowledge can’t be grasped!      The LORD helps the poor,      but throws the wicked down on the dirt!      Psalms 147:3–6 (CEB) I typically read several books per month and do a quick review of most on various social media.  However, this month, I read Surviving God by Grace Ji-Sun Kim and Susan M Shaw and cannot limit my comments to a paragraph.  Before I begin, I must share my bias.  I am a huge Grace Ji-Sun Kim fan and have read most of her writings.  I have read her book on intersectional theology, which was also co-authored by Susan Shaw and found it incredibly informative, and more importantly, spiritually formative. Surviving God t
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Your Silence is the problem

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If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this? (Esther 4:14 NLT) "The soul work, the mediative task of finding center and bring to the surface our most playful, poetic and responsive selves in our world of busy intersections when we feel belittled, shut down, or silenced, is perhaps our most essential task." --David Dark in We Become What We Normalize In the book of Esther, we learn the story of a young Jewish woman who is forcibly placed in the harem of King Xerses from Persia.  Persia was the superpower of its day (5th century BCE) and continued its oppression of what we consider the mid-east.  I have read multiple accounts of this story that often romanticizes her story as if she wasn't traumatized by being taken from her family, and then sexually assaulted.   She was chosen due to her physical appeara
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Affirmative Action and DEI: Strategies for Equity

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   But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it.  How strange a body would be if it had only one part!  Yes, there are many parts, but only one body.  The eye can never say to the hand, "I don't need you." The head can't say to the feet, "I don't need you."  In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary.  And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So, God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other.  If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. (I Cor 12:18-26 NLT) "During the Jim Crow era,
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