Catch up on Touchpoints from Spirit in the Desert faith mentor, Rev. “Bro. Jim” Hanson.
Frankly, I Prefer the Baby
“And yet, even in my denial, betrayal and taking flight, “THE WORD OF GOD CAME,” the Christ comes to me in my denial and betrayal, and like a good shepherd pursues me in my flight away from him.”
A Different Kingdom
“resources cut. It’s present whenever the homeless are sheltered, rather than demonized. It’s there whenever children are welcomed, rather than put in cages.”
Happy Birthday!
“You see, creation never stops. Life and death and birth are a continuous reality in our lives and the life of the world. Life is a gift, not a possession, and it’s given daily.”
God’s Homecoming
“The parable of the ‘lost sheep’ isn’t about a sheep that wanders off to find God so he can slap a sticker on his bumper that says, “I Found It!” No, it’s about a Christ that comes to us—not only when we are staying safely within the fold—but one that comes searching for us even as we wander off.”
God Is a Ball Hog
Grace and peace from the Mystery in whom we live and move and have our being. Behold the days are coming when I will make a new covenant…This is the covenant I will make: I will put my law in their minds… I will write it on their hearts. I will be their God… I will forgive their wickedness… I will remember their sins no more.” Jeremiah 31:31-34 God is a ball hog. When it comes to our salvation, God…
Recognizing Jesus, Recognizing Bartimaeus
“And now I recognize that I am the blind beggar, or the blind beggar is me, just in a different condition. And the command to love my neighbor AS myself isn’t theoretical anymore.”
Being Next to Jesus!?!
“But the radical nature of Jesus death and resurrection is that he turns all this on its head, upside down. For Jesus, his death and resurrection don’t bring us to a new point of security, where we can SIT with Jesus, but a new point of servant-hood where we JOURNEY with him back into the world.”
With God, All Things are Possible
“Deprivation is not the point of this passage. Neither is it the point of the kingdom. The point of the kingdom is in the caring and the sharing of all that we are and all that we have. The point is to live in the reality that all is a gift…and NOTHING is a possession. Or should I say, NOTHING is the only possession.”
God is a Divorcée
“You see, for Jesus, life isn’t about being right or wrong. It’s about relationships. The greatest commandment isn’t, ‘Be right with all your heart soul and mind.’ No, it’s ‘Love with all your heart soul and mind.'”
Jesus Forbids Forbidding
“Jesus takes on the ultimate exclusions, murder and death. And transforms them into resurrection and life. You see, even exclusion gets taken up into the Mystery and is transformed into healing and wholeness. Jesus forbids forbidding by transforming it, not excluding it.”
Jesus is JUST KID-ing
“While your relationship with Jesus may be personal, it is not private and neither is your salvation, your healing, or your wholeness. Which, by the way is what the word ‘salvation’ means. It means ‘healing,’ ‘wholeness,’ ‘completeness.’ And none of that can you accomplish alone…in private…personally.”
Please Answer the Question. And Show Your Work.
“We have to let the actions of Jesus, the actions of the Christ, define the Christ. We can’t let our theologies and belief systems determine who God is. God is much bigger than that. It isn’t Law/Gospel. It’s Gospel/Law/Gospel.”