Why didn’t Jesus take up the sword? Why isn’t that the means by which to overcome evil? Walter Wink says something quite remarkable about Jesus’ point here: “Violent revolution fails because it is not revolutionary enough. It changes the rulers but not the rules, the ends but not the means.”
The early Methodists were known as people who died well. They had grace and assurance of God’s love and forgiveness for them, so they did not fear death. Furthermore, Wesley made it a point to share the stories of those who died and went on to glory.
Northumbria. Nether Springs. Lindisfarne. Holy Island. For years I casually entertained the hopes I might visit the Northumbrian Community that produced Celtic Daily Prayer. Inquiries to the community recommended a minimum stay of two nights and three days. Required trips to the United Kingdom for PhD residency never quite afforded the wiggle room on either end to steal away for
One of the prayers I heard a lot growing up was a simple if loaded take on, “thy will be done.” Praying, “thy will be done,” is not only biblical, Jesus himself prayed it in the Garden of Gethsemane, which is a pretty compelling model to follow. The prayer I heard repeatedly was this: “open and close doors as You
A celebration of Easter without a prior descent into the grave is dishonest and naïve, just as observing Lent without the uncompromising proclamation of the Resurrection is hopeless.
I didn’t immediately fall in love with the Psalms. I found them to be hard to understand and a little dusty. Then some hard things happened in my life and I landed on a few Psalms that became prayers when I didn’t know what to pray. When my mother died, Psalm 42 became my lifeline. Psalm 116 was my testimony in a season when
It happens to all of us. An old song or movie comes on, and somewhere, out of the depths of your dusty brain, a reflex kicks in. Before you know it, you’re singing words you didn’t know you remembered, or you’re quoting a line right before the actor says it. It’s like muscle memory, hidden deep beneath years of doctor
What damage can be done if people exercise their spiritual gifts without love?
Lent is a season of clarity. We already sit among the ashes. We already sit in cities made in our own image.
Simcha Bunim was a Jewish rabbi who lived in Poland in the 1700s. He is best known for what might be called the parable of the two pockets. The parable begins with two slips of paper. On one slip is written, “I am dust and ashes.” On the other slip is written, “For my sake the world was created.” These
A hard truth for many of us to admit is that if we would wrestle more deeply with society’s objections to our faith, as well as with our own doubts, we might be better prepared to respond with both strength and grace in these types of contexts.
Every now and then it’s important to remind ourselves of our common commitments. This is the commitment of the global Wesleyan Methodist family when it comes to relating to the Islamic world…
Life can feel like that sometimes – like a giant puzzle with all the pieces in a chaotic jumble, where the task of sorting them is overwhelming, and there’s a nagging thought that you might not have all the pieces. I believe all of us face times like that; it’s the nature of being human.
When focused inward, we are enraptured. When focused outward, we are an embodiment of love. We begin to feel so much more, all the world’s suffering and searching, and it is all beautiful and somehow a part of us.
“The part you must jettison is not only the best-written part; it is also, oddly, that part which was to have been the very point. It is the original key passage, the passage on which the rest was to hang, and from which you drew the courage to begin.” Annie Dillard, The Writing Life As I complete edits on my
This isn’t just a “Lent” thing; it’s a “regular Christian practice” thing; but Lent is a great time to begin. Our world desperately needs the healing, hope, and salvation offered in Jesus Christ. You can become part of this important movement by joining us as we fast and pray weekly for Holy Spirit power to share the good news so
We are too removed from ash. Our furnaces soil our hands only as much as a stray clump of dust falls from the filter when we wrinkle our nose and change it with another high-efficiency, allergen-reducing plane of fibers designed to keep our lives clean. Maybe there’s a stray bonfire, an occasional fireplace mess that dirties our palms or leaves
The opportunity to proclaim and exact vengeance was right there before him. But he didn’t take it. The opportunity to proclaim the day of vengeance was right there before Jesus too; he was given the scroll; he could have kept on, but he stopped…
There were two boats, but there is one gospel. The church of all nations is the hope of the world. Can the descendants of the Mayflower and the middle passage inhabit one church and, in so doing, function as witness to a world that seems intent on tearing itself apart?
I went to church on a Saturday morning to meet a group of folks who wanted me to offer communion to their group. The first person I saw was one of the leaders. She drove right up next to me in the parking lot, rolled down her window, and said, “the dog ate the communion bread.” I thought she was
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