Touchpoints on John (Page 2)
No Stopping God
“Listen to the Passion story once again. Once in history, God took on flesh and walked on this earth proclaiming love and forgiveness to all he met. And we didn’t just reject him. We didn’t just ‘not believe’ him. We killed him. We crucified him. And do you know what he said as he hung from the cross? Father, forgive them.'”
Ollie, Ollie, Oxen Free
“My belief is not in my own belief, and my faith is not in my own faith. My belief and faith are in God. Everything else is idolatry. Idolatry in my ability to believe. Idolatry in my own faith. With this kind of idolatry, I end up worshipping my belief. I end up worshipping my faith. Rather than the one who is Resurrection and who is Life.”
Our Blinding Vision
“Let me give you a far-out hypothetical – let’s just say there was a deadly virus running rampant across the world. We wouldn’t be focused on where it came from, naming it after the city or country it started in, seeking to blame someone… How barbaric would that be? NO, we would be focused on stopping its spreading, testing for it, curing it… Right?!? Isn’t it nice to know how far we’ve evolved?”
A World of Forgiveness
“God isn’t just content to take sin away, as we might understand it. Sin isn’t just removed. That which is broken is healed. That which is wayward is sought out and found. This is much more than a bookkeeping, scorekeeping adjustment. The Spirit is at work healing, restoring, uniting.”
The Ongoing Story
“And so, Pentecost is the story of a Christianity that doesn’t end with me and Jesus, and my worship of him, but a story that continues on in you and me. A story of us continuing on and doing the works of Jesus, and even greater things, as he has promised.”
Where God Spends Eternity
“The gospel isn’t asking us where we want to spend eternity, the gospel is telling us where God is spending eternity. And God is spending it with us. In life and death, in fear and doubt, in joy and sorrow. From cradle to the grave, and beyond. And so, if I spend all my time preparing for the heavenly after-life, and miss the heavenly this-life, the heavenly now-life, I’ve missed out on a lot.”
Wounded Touch
“You see, the problem may not be that people don’t want to belong to the church. The problem may just be that the church doesn’t want to belong to the Christ. Perhaps we’ve been so busy worshipping Jesus we’ve forgotten to follow him.”
God’s Wedding Reception
“This miracle story isn’t about celebrating the marriage of two people. It is a celebration of the marriage of God, the Divine, the Mystery, with humanity, with you and me. There are no roads that lead to God because God has come to be with us. God has come to marry us. Unite with us. Become one with us.”
The Light
“You know, we think that it is on Good Friday, on the cross, that God sacrifices God’s self. But actually, it’s at Christmas, in the incarnation, that the Divine is sacrificed. Think of the words we most often use to describe God. All-knowing, All-powerful, All-present. But here, at Christmas, in the incarnation, God sacrifices all of that to be at-one with us. God sacrifices it all to live and dwell amongst us. God sacrifices it all to bring the light to us.”
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.”
Which Disciple Are You?
Which kind of disciple am I? I am all of them. Sometimes I walk away from the Christ, and the flesh and blood the Christ inhabits. “Lord, when did I see you hungry, or thirsty, or in prison?” Sometimes I declare as well, “Lord, to whom shall we go? This is where I experience life at its deepest level.” And sometimes I betray it all.
Feast on Life
Maybe all of existence is part of “I Am.” And so when we eat, we eat “I Am.” And when we breathe, we breathe “I Am.” And when we open our eyes in the morning we see “I Am.” And when we touch, and listen and take in the whole world, we are taking in “I Am.”