Touchpoints on Spiritual Growth (Page 8)
Complain, Complain, Complain!
“Our problems are God’s problems. Prayer is in part a way of speaking to God that involves God in our daily lives. And in prayer, we remind God that God has promised to be faithful to being ‘Immanuel’ (God with us).”
Listen Up
Grace and peace from the Mystery in whom we live and move and have our being. Listen to God’s beloved Son. This is my Son, my chosen … Listen to him. This is my Son, my chosen … Listen to him. This is my Son, my chosen … LISTEN to him. Luke 9:28-36 OK, let’s talk about this. Seriously, what am I supposed to do with a passage which has as its primary message ‘listening?’ What do I do with…
Give Credit Where Credit is Due
Grace and Peace from the Mystery in whom we live and move and have our being. I know I read from “The Message” interpretation by Eugene Peterson for our passage today, and I did so because it is such a good one. But I am going to use the NRSV (New Revised Standard Version) translation for this Touchpoint, because I think it shows how we have used and misused this passage. Love your enemies, do good to those who hate…
Two Women
“On the one hand, I am fully aware that I am not among the 1% and so I kind of like the idea of bringing the mighty and powerful down, but I don’t have to drive more than a few minutes from here to realize that to a great many people, I am the proud, the powerful, and the rich.”
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.”
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.”
The Great Divide
Grace and Peace to you from the mystery in whom we live and move, and have our being. “First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” Mark 7: 24-37 Let’s get one thing perfectly clear before we begin this Touchpoint… I am not a theologian. I am not Jim Hanson, Sheri Brown, Conrad Braaten, Henry Rojas, or any of the many educated and…
Breaking Point
“Like [the Pharisees], we might be a little disappointed to learn, at this late stage in life and after this long trek, that some of the biblical formulas we’ve clung to are wearing thin.”
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.”
Shake It Off
To shake off the dust you’ve picked up following Jesus is to leave something holy behind. Dare we hope – as we leave a place where we are not welcome – to leave behind a little peace, a little joy, to leave a tinge of compassion hanging in the air?