Touchpoints (Page 3)
Touchpoint is a reflection on where God’s story touches our life story. It is a short homily based on a biblical story of people in the Old and New Testaments and their relationship with God. Our spiritual ancestors’ experience of God’s grace connects with our lives in the present and our relationship with the Divine.
The Choice
Luke 19:28-40 After telling a parable to the crowd at Jericho, Jesus went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying…
Dinner Party
John 12:1-8 Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the…
Prodigal Sons
From now on, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat
you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
I am Because I am
Exodus 3:3-15New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness and came to Mount Horeb,[a] the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight and see why the bush is…
Kingdom of Foxes and Hens
Luke 13: 31 – 35 “At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.”He said to them, “Go and tell that fox for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside…
God in a Box Seat
“Many of our days are spent worrying about what other people think and do. It’s natural for us to want to control the narrative. At the same time, we seek affirmation and validation for our feelings, opinions, and work. Naturally, this desire to be heard and seen seeps into spiritual piety. Peterson translates this public piety by asking, “You think God is sitting in a box seat?” Ouch! I often give God the best seat in my house for my egoistic performances.”
Awoke in Glory
“We can awaken to the truth we cannot be separated from God by man-made doctrines, imaginary borders or stone-hearted officials. Love prevails.”
Jesus Cliff Notes
“This is the story we have to tell. The story of a God who is bigger than we can imagine. The story of One who embraces more than we can embrace. One who is beyond our limits.”
Do That Thing You Do
“It may seem unorthodox according to temple rules, but maybe it wasn’t so unorthodox after all. Maybe it was simply the truth—that there was no more need for ceremonial washing water. All was becoming new—not just the joining of two people in marriage but the joining together of the embodied Christ and new wine.”
The Powerlessness of Jesus
“I’m not saying Jesus was or wasn’t God. I’m saying what we know is that Jesus was a man who saw deeply into the mystical oceans of connection and Divine love without ever claiming to be anything other than human, yet still one with God. Jesus was a man who acknowledged the frailty and resilience of humanity, yet embodied hope for us all, a man whose voice cried, “You belong” to the adulteress, the leper, the thief, and the Pharisee. His love and compassion unmasked their false identities and declared, “You belong.” Undeserved, unearned and seemingly out of nowhere, “You belong.” You belong, and have always belonged, and will always belong to the Divine Oneness of the Mystery we call God. What you’re seeking is knowing this and waking up to it – as it always was, and is and always will be. Even when you didn’t know it, you belonged.”
Magic, Miracles or Mystery?
“The unconditional presence of Spirit midwifed my own inner birth. The One who awakens me in the mornings of my distress with the anointing of compassion. In me, the power of pride is brought down and my soul is grateful.”
The Good Bad News
“Am I more disturbed that John’s words predict a God of love cutting fruitless trees down and burning them then the suffering of those around me? What weighs heavier on me, the threat to my theology concerning John’s image of a punishing God, or those mentioned who are cold and hungry?”