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Calling all with a “Grand Mother spirit”
Hi friends, This week I want to offer you two poems. (Well, one’s definitely a poem; the other is debatable, but it’s not not a poem. So I’ll just be calling them “two poems” for short.) We talked about both of them in the “God, Gender, Power” class I’ve been facilitating at my church for…
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Doubting in Community (a sermon on John 20:19-31, part 2)
Hi friends, Last week I posted the first half of a sermon on “Doubting Thomas.” This is the second half! ___ I noticed something else, too, when reflecting on this passage—something I hadn’t really thought much about before. I noticed that there’s a whole week in between when Jesus appears to the first group of…
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Permission to Doubt (a sermon on John 20:19-31, part 1)
Hi friends, I was thankful to be able to guest preach a couple weeks ago at Normandy Park United Church of Christ. I thought I’d share a written version of the sermon here, too. Because I feel like I benefited from having to think a lot about Thomas, and faith, and doubt, and “believing without…
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Peace to be fearless
Hi friends, This Easter week has me thinking about what most of Jesus’ disciples did, as recorded in John’s gospel, right after Jesus’ resurrection. Just that morning, Mary Magdalene found the tomb empty and then saw the risen Jesus (looking a lot like a gardener; John 20:11-18). And now the disciples have gone and locked…
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On Palm Sunday (a poem)
Hi friends, Reflecting on Palm Sunday, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey greeted by crowds crying “Hosanna!” (meaning “Save us!”), I wrote a poem about some of the things we might need salvation from (and for). If you connect with any of it, or have something you’d like to add, I’d love to…
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Our insecurities and Jesus’ temptations
Hi friends, Prompted by church and church small group in the last week or so, I’ve been thinking about the temptations of Jesus, as recorded in Matthew 4:1-11. I explored one angle on these temptations last year, over at Feminism and Religion, in a piece called The Gendered Temptation of Jesus (based on Luke’s version…
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Super chill book review part 2: The Will to Change (bell hooks)
This is part 2 (of 2) of some reflections on bell hooks’ The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love. Here’s part 1 if you missed it or want a refresher. The Will to Change was also very much on my mind as I was writing this essay, posted yesterday at Feminism & Religion: The…
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On wealth, poverty, and caring without being overwhelmed (reflections on Luke 16:19-31)
16:19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 16:20 And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 16:21 who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and…
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Gutsy faithfulness in a world where money fails (reflections on Luke 16:1-13)
I’ve got another church eblast reflection for you all – unabridged (read: slightly longer) version! This one’s on Luke 16:1-13: 16:1 Then Jesus said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. 16:2 So he summoned him and…
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Switch those seats (reflections on Luke 14:1,7-14)
On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely. When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do…