Touchpoints on The Gospel (Page 2)
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.
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.”
Speaking on the Level
“Yes, our world would be turned upside down if we lived the beatitudes, but perhaps God gives us the capacity to walk upside down, until our lives are right-side up. Haha, now that brings me joy! What would our lives look like if we let Jesus drop these bombs into our hearts?
Would we continue pouring energy listening to bad-news preoccupations and commentary, or would we begin advocating for others who are hurting and a new gospel of universal love contrary to today’s Christianity? If inner joy is a result, then that is a life worth living!”
See Deep Fishing
Grace and peace to you from the Mystery in whom we live and move, and have our being. Jesus’ first disciples. When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to burst. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink.” Luke 5:1-11 Jesus is choosing his first apprentices. Why didn’t he pick from the eager…
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.”
Love Before Purity
“Our rituals indeed serve a purpose, but they outlive their usefulness when it comes down to living in the reality of love and family. The demand for rituals and traditions as prerequisites can become an obstacle to intimacy with the divine—the sacred in all things, especially the intrinsic belonging of humanity to each other, the earth, and to God.”
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.”
Beyond Belief
“No wonder Jesus asked Pilate why he called him King of the Jews! Who have you been listening to, Pilate? What kingdom do you belong to? On whose behalf do you condemn?
Would we kill Jesus if we thought he was a threat to our kingdoms? The Spirit is our witness. It offers itself to us in every breath. The kingdom Jesus speaks of cannot be killed.”
Moody Blues
“Forgive me but I’m just not in the mood! I’m not in the mood to talk about the theological significance the buildings held or why Jesus sat at the Mount of Olives or the disciple’s gazing at the majesty of the building or the actual size of stones and how difficult it must have been to carry one.”