Touchpoints on The Church Year (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?”
Luther and Copernicus
“[My boys] would cry out, “You can’t do that! You’re not the boss of me!” And I would be more amused than angry, because well… they were living in a space I created for them. They were eating food I provided for them. They were enjoying the world I created for them, as well as the fact that I had literally created them. Which sounds a lot like all the things God has done for us.”
God is Unsettling
Grace and peace from the Mystery in whom we live and move and have our being. Blessed to be a blessing. Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house … and I will bless you … so that you will be a blessing.’” Genesis 12:1-4a This is one of those bible passages that summarizes the life of faith for me as well or better than any others. And there are two…
It’s Tempting
“Now, I’m not against Jesus being a role model. I actually wish people had taken seriously those WWJD bracelets they wore. There would be a lot less hunger and homelessness in the world. I never did see one of them go and sell all they had and give it to the poor. Oh well!”
Breathtakingly Normal
“It’s like when you say “I love you” to somebody. That isn’t the only moment that you love them. No, you say it because you want them to see that every moment that takes place between the two of you is filled with your love for them. Or at least, that is your hope.”
God With Us
“And so the AT-ONE-MENT is begun in the manger. “It is finished” on the cross. God sacrifices Godself to be one with us. This is fully symbolized in holy communion: “…my body, my blood, broken and shed for you.” God sacrifices Godself as a “wholly other” to break down and become a “God with us.” The sacrifice of God is begun in the manger.”
WAY Better
“I can’t imagine the words that came back to John were easy to hear. John had always felt he knew who God was and how God acted. And that the world had better change. In the end, it was John who ended up being changed. And the answer he received only raised more questions.”
Stumped
“In a strange way, my two favorite seasons of the church year are Advent and Lent. I’m not sure what that says about me, but I think I like them because, for me, they are the most honest. They ask me to take a hard look at my life and my world. They don’t let me skim over or pass by the pain in my life or the lives of others. They call me to an honest accounting of myself and my society. And they call me to get back to the source, the root of life. And bear life-giving fruit.”
Father, Forgive US, For WE Know Not What WE Do
“What if we, as a Church, as Christians, focused not on saving ourselves and others, what if we focused on our being forgiven and forgiving others? Do you think the world might see us differently?”
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.”