Posts from 2010

God, in Christ, has Earned it For Us by Halden Doerge (1/8/2010)
...s seemed like something of an oddity. And if it mysterious to us why Jesus underwent baptism at the beginning of his ministry, we should remember that it was no less mysterious to John the Baptizer. What we do know about the Lord’s baptism, though, is that it occasions an extremely radical divine event: the Father himself speaks and the Holy Spirit is seen in physical form. This is nothing to be t...
The Joy of Not Being in Charge by Ragan Sutterfield (1/12/2010)
...st, tranquility, serenity, and peace of God.” Wirzba writes that God’s rest “when understood within a menuha context, is not simply a cessation from activity but rather the lifting up and celebration of everything. Here we see God…like a parent frolicking with a child and in his joy and play demonstrating and abiding commitment to protect, sustain, encourage, and love into health and maturity the...
Peace to God's People and Earth by Tobias Winright (1/19/2010)
... was issued last summer. If you have read Ragan Sutterfield's EP pamphlet, <a href="http://ekklesiaproject.googlegroups.com/web/GodGrandeur.pdf?gda=TcWLfEEAAABIeqarknDG3nGBEhpGCAGWROpsPXc6jCxlUApyRWQlM2HFKJs0_OLMhrFKzkXxPEdTCT_pCLcFTwcI3Sro5jAzlXFeCn-cdYleF-vtiGpWAA&gsc=UQneTAsAAAChyrb8g8CKmDe28U_TTpHS">"God's Grandeur: The Church in the Economy of Creation,"</a> you may be interested in re...
The Word Read by Janice Love (1/19/2010)
...use they may at first be sweet as honey, but later bitter to the point of making us want to try to pitch Christ off the nearest cliff. We have such rich texts to host this week in anticipation of Sunday’s liturgy. In the middle of Nehemiah, which can sometimes read like a campaign for re-election, sits this gem, chapter 8. There has been a great build up, literally, to this point. Nehemiah, ma...
Let’s Talk About Haiti by Brent Laytham (1/21/2010)
...ating in decades of ecological devastation. Things didn't first go wrong when the earth shook last week, but in the last few decades as deforestation made the soil slide down the mountains and as the best arable land was expropriated to service foreign debt. For now the earthquake is the crisis of the moment, and we must pray and care with immediacy and focus. But Haiti need...
Love and Virtue by Mark Ryan (1/25/2010)
...ll events… has on the whole chosen to base its picture of the Christian ideal not on any one of these scriptural foundations, but upon a pagan classification of virtue.” I find solace in Bishop Kirk’s ability to move beyond this paradox to discuss the cardinal virtues. He does so, however, emphasizing that, though they remain recognizable as the pagan virtues, they also undergo a transformation in...
On Becoming a Seraph by Jake Wilson (2/2/2010)
...h is gifted with a vision of God in the Temple. The vision offers relatively few details of God’s appearance. All we are told is that the Lord was sitting on a throne, high and lofty and that the hem of his robe filed the Temple. The understated nature of this vision of God (compared to Revelation 1:12-16 for example), displays the challenge of describing God’s ineffable majesty. Where Isaiah ...
And Now, Please Rise… by Ekklesia Project (2/10/2010)
... Please consider Andy’s suggested responses in the concluding update....
Unrealistic Stories and Beginning…Again by Brian Volck (2/10/2010)
...day in Ordinary Time (Catholic Lectionary): <a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=132771568">Luke 6:17, 20-26</a> On this Sunday before Lent, when Christian traditions have every reason to be on the same page (the Orthodox, too, begin the Great Lent this coming week) it seems the lectionaries are going in different directions. The Revised Common Lectionary reads Luke’s account of the Transfigura...
How Well Do We Let Scripture Claim Us? by Jenny Williams (2/15/2010)
...have good results. If he turns stones into bread, he can feed the hungry people in the whole world. If he gives his allegiance to the devil, the whole world will belong to Jesus in an instant. If he jumps from the temple pinnacle, God will perform a flashy miracle, which could show people who Jesus really is. This interpretation has served me well in the last few years, as I am person who is t...
Enduring Desire by Doug Lee (2/24/2010)
...p://bible.oremus.org/?ql=134044410">Luke 13:31-35</a> Having passed through the devil’s testing in the wilderness in last week’s lectionary text from Luke, Jesus contends next with testing that takes on a decidedly more human and communal face. Some friendly Pharisees counsel Jesus to get out of Dodge before the menacing Herod devours him. That villain has already imprisoned and executed Jes...
Sooner or Later by Kyle Childress (3/5/2010)
...full of preachers, “We must always hold before our people God’s commands to obedience. Always. But we must also always be patient with one another as we fail to heed those commands. Always.” The readings for this Sunday are all about God’s commands to obey and our failure to obey. According to Luke, Jesus found himself in a conversation about some current tragedies, the gist of which had ev...
Celebrate! by Janice Love (3/9/2010)
...h’s sculpture, “The Return of the Prodigal.” (pictured*) It has led me to contemplate not only the joy of heaven over one sinner who repents but also the suffering of God over the lost, the dead, the unrepentant. Perhaps it is parents who best glimpse this pain as we ache, grieve and pray for our children, at times tempted to shout out, as in Psalm 32, “Do not be like a horse or a mule, withou...
Insurrection Sunday by Ragan Sutterfield (3/26/2010)
...74333">Psalm 31:9-16</a>; <a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=136574358">Luke 22:14-23:56</a> “For I hear the whispering of many— terror all around!— as they scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life.” These verses from Psalm 31 are a proper preface to Palm Sunday. This is the Sunday not so much of children waving palms with hosannas as it is the beginning of a drama that...
Grounded Hope by Debra Dean Murphy (4/2/2010)
...posing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” (John 20:15) Let us not mock God with metaphor, / analogy, sidestepping transcendence; / making of the event a parable, a sign painted in the / faded credulity of earlier ages: / let us walk through the door. (<a href="http://www.edow...
Speaking Out by Mark Ryan (4/10/2010)
...essibility (John 20:19-31). To begin with the scene in Acts 5:27, the text asks us to imagine a dramatic conflict where the revelation of God comes crashing up against the conventions—ideologies, really—that hold societies in place. “Did you not hear our orders?” asks the High Priest, with the implied further query, “don’t you know it is we who are responsible for common sense and good order ar...
Struck Blind on the Damascus Road by Jake Wilson (4/16/2010)
... transformation from a persecutor of the Lord to an Apostle continues to serve as a word of hope to the sin soaked conscience of those who feel that truly their failings are too great to be forgiven. The story of Saul’s conversion gives narrative power to the concept of being “born again” from John 3 or becoming a “new creation” from 2 Corinthians 5. The power of this experience transformed th...
In Unity We Lift Our Song by Jenny Williams (4/22/2010)
...urch music. I grew up in a family who valued music and in a church that valued music. Because I was reared in a high steeple church, I was privileged to be exposed at a young age to string ensembles, handbell choirs, professional singers, and <a href="http://www.usc.edu/schools/music/private/faculty/laddthom.php">an organist</a> who is a professor of organ music in a prestigious university music ...
Apocalypse of Love by Brian Volck (4/29/2010)
...its on the throne, “I make all things new.” God dwells with humanity. Tears, pain and mourning are no more. It sounds wonderful. Sign me up. “I give you a new commandment,” says Jesus to the Eleven: “love one another...as I have loved you.” What lovely and inspiring words. Take time, though, to read the fine print: “This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another...
Courage to be Whole by Kyle Childress (5/5/2010)
... off of the street, and is surrounded by porticoes offering some shade and shelter. Legend said that on occasion an angel would trouble the waters of the pool and the first person into the water would be healed. Hence, the pool and the surrounding area had become the gathering place for anyone and everyone with some sort of sickness, but especially the blind, the lame, and the paralyzed. All gath...
Seventh Sunday of Easter by Debra Dean Murphy (5/12/2010)
... "I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one." (John 17:20-21a). It seems there’s not much talk of ecumenism these days—not in books, not on blogs, not even in and among churches. Maybe that’s because forty years of dogged efforts at dialogue and mutual understanding have borne some real frui...
Ascension Sunday by Debra Dean Murphy (5/12/2010)
...ref="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=140638867">Luke 24:44-53</a> St. Augustine considered the Feast of the Ascension the crown of all Christian festivals. Today we may give it an obligatory nod as we make our way liturgically from Easter to Pentecost, but we’re often not quite sure what to do with it exegetically, theologically, pastorally. The clunky literalism routinely inspired by the Luke-Acts...
Soldiers of Conscience by Brian Volck (5/25/2010)
...e some contemporary voices to consider</a>, voices much closer to the reality of killing than most of us. For those who wish to learn more about the documentary, visit the <a href="http://www.socfilm.com/">website</a>....
Trinity Sunday by Ragan Sutterfield (5/28/2010)
...ans 5:1-5</a>; <a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=142016340">John 16:12-15</a> I must admit, I am not very comfortable with spirits. God the Father, God the Son—these are concrete realities that show up on mountaintops, write on stone tablets, and die on wooden crosses. But the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of Wisdom? I have a hard time understanding. Thankfully I don’t hav...
All Things Shining by Brian Volck (6/2/2010)
...emus.org/?ql=142440446">Luke 7:11-17 </a> / Catholic Lectionary, Feast of Corpus Christi: <a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=142440332">Genesis 14:18-20</a>, <a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=142440360">Luke 9:11-17 </a> Ordinary time. Words not crafted to stir the soul. “Ordinary” here, of course, refers to the numbering of Sundays outside of festal and penitential seasons, but that’s far...
Wrath and Mercy, Law and Grace by Debra Dean Murphy (6/8/2010)
..."http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=142974483">Galatians 2:15-21</a>; <a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=142974502">Luke 7:36-8:3</a> (Revised Common Lectionary) The readings for this Sunday, taken all together, create some unsettling tensions. The passage from 1 Kings recounts the refusal of Naboth the Jezreelite to sell his vineyard to his neighbor, King Ahab. When the king goes home to sulk ab...
Zealous for the Lord by Janice Love (6/16/2010)
...rg/?ql=143658627">Galatians 3:23-29</a>, <a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=143658660">Luke 8:26-39</a></div> I admit to admiration for Elijah’s zeal for the LORD, though perhaps not always for his methods. His dedication to Yahweh is absolute. He is on the run for his life now because of it, feeling alone and exhausted; tired of the compromises with idols, evil and the powers that be which Isr...
Freedom and Obedience by Jake Wilson (6/24/2010)
...lesiology, Ethics, and Ecumenism Reinhard Hütter notes that speech about freedom often confuses different types of freedom. The freedom of autonomy differs from political freedom which differs still from Christian freedom. Hütter structures his book around three different modes of being free: free to be Church, free to live with God, and free to speak ecumenically. This week, as the congre...
Three Funerals and a Wedding by Doug Lee (6/30/2010)
...and spicy don’t belong together. It’s a violation of the natural order of things. This was my settled culinary worldview until something unexpected happened on a visit to Mexico City. At the mercado, my family ordered a heaping cup of sweet, succulent mango. But because we had crossed the border, the mango slices came with a liberal dusting of chili powder. Mango with chili sounded lik...
Whose Word is It Anyway? by Jenny Williams (7/11/2010)
...nd she did not know me, she exclaimed, “I thought you would be honored to do it!” Truth be told, I faced the prospect with dread. The maternity issues were only part of my concerns. I knew I would have to speak the truth.  The Ekklesia Project has spent a lot of time in the past week considering the importance of words. Words matter. Our life begins with a divine Word w...
Knowing the One Thing by Kyle Childress (7/15/2010)
...me and Martha gets busy doing the many things a good hostess does: preparing food, setting the table, straightening the room, picking up the newspapers that have piled up, and on and on. Meanwhile sister Mary sits in front of Jesus listening to what he has to say. Martha, understandably frustrated says, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister just sits there while I do all the work? Tell her to ge...
Ask And It Will Be Given by Ragan Sutterfield (7/22/2010)
...5</a>; <a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=146768382">Luke 11:1-13</a> I heard a lecture by the philosopher Dallas Willard once in which he said that he believes that God wants to fulfill all of our desires and give us everything we want. Of course, he said, there must be much work of transformation on the wanter before this can happen. I am reminded of this as I read the Gospel for this wee...
Supporting the Troops? by Craig Watts (7/27/2010)
...e. But you’re a pacifist. Even in the best of circumstances you don’t support the troops. You may support the soldiers as men and women but not as troops.” I had to concede his point. I don’t support the troops as troops. Since I oppose, not just the war in Iraq but war altogether, I oppose the very purpose of the troops. While I do believe they are being a...
What Are You Afraid Of? by Debra Dean Murphy (8/4/2010)
...he gospel writer, Luke, has a habit of prefacing good news with the exhortation “Do not be afraid.” This seems a bit odd since we’re more likely to think that it’s the delivery of bad news which requires a little no-fear pep talk. But over and over Luke’s pronouncements about God’s generous ways of working in the world—about the good news of the kingdom—are preceded by the words ...
Embodying the Word by Tobias Winright (8/12/2010)
...://bible.oremus.org/?ql=148583467">Ps 45:10-16</a>; <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=148583490">1 Cor 15:20-27</a>; <a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=148583511">Lk 1:39-56</a> Moral theology, which is also known today as Christian or theological ethics, seeks to help Christians answer two fundamental questions: 1) Who ought we as a community and as individual Ch...
And the Wind Began to Howl by Brian Volck (8/12/2010)
... no longer dutifully excusing the violence of power politics, the church can at long last resume the serious business of being the church. Playing church is, of course, far easier than being it. But, barring a powerfully rejuvenated alliance of accommodated Christianity and American nationalism, reasons to pretend should grow increasingly rare. The benefits of claiming default Christian identit...
Consecrated by Janice Love (8/18/2010)
...49132335">Hebrews 12: 18-29</a>, <a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=149132358">Luke 13: 10-17</a> God is on the move in the texts for this coming Sunday. In Jeremiah we find God calling, commanding, reassuring. In Hebrews there is a whole lot of shaking going on, “so that what cannot be shaken may remain.” Luke finds Jesus healing and shaming. We are about half way through the longest sea...
Gather Us In by Tobias Winright (8/20/2010)
...a favorite for my wife and me. “Gather us in, the lost and forsaken; gather us in, the blind and the lame.” E pluribus unum (“out of many, one”) originally was a central theme of the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian New Testament. According to scholar Gerhard Lohfink, the “gathering” of the scattered is a key biblical term for the event of salvation. As Depaul University theologian ...
Being Grounded by Tobias Winright (8/24/2010)
...ef="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=149624849">Lk 14:1-14</a> When I was a child, getting “grounded” was a form of discipline imposed on me by my parents. From my perspective then, it was something to try to avoid. However, both the book of Sirach (which Jesus, son of Eleazar, says was written by his grandfather Jesus Ben Sira) and the Gospel of Luke emphasize the importance of being “grounded,” th...
Jeremiah and Park 51 by Ekklesia Project (8/27/2010)
...">Psalm 81</a> Over the last few weeks, the media has been abuzz with the news of Park 51, a proposed Muslim cultural center and mosque just a few blocks from ‘Ground Zero’ the site of the national catastrophe of September 11, 2001. The planned mosque has been met with a firestorm of opposition. Demonstrators have gathered along the proposed site to guard the memory of a national tragedy. Th...
Buckle Your Seatbelt by Jenny Williams (9/3/2010)
... leading cause of acquired disability nationwide. The risks of traveling by automobile are tremendous, and yet most people drive or ride daily. Why would we do such a thing? We have decided to get in the car because we have more important things to do than live in fear of the road. We have to shop for groceries. We have to take the kids to school. We have to get to work. In...
Signs, Sheep, and Shepherds by Kyle Childress (9/8/2010)
...rd of John 10. We’ve had this shepherd’s staff with our congregation’s name written beside it out front on our sign since 1979 and it is on our letterhead, Sunday order of worship, and website. This shepherd’s staff is a constant reminder to us and to others of our vocation – who we hope to be and are called to be. More than that, it always reminds us who God is. Our congregation began in 196...
Redeeming Shrewdness by Doug Lee (9/16/2010)
...o in a story where cheating goes unpunished and cunning is seemingly commended? Are we to use money to buy friends the way we buy objects for consumption? Can Jesus truly be recommending such scandalous behavior? But the scandal we hate in this story is precisely the scandal we love in the immediately preceding parable. Artificially separated by a chapter divide, the parable of the dishonest...
Dives’ Sin of Omission by Tobias Winright (9/23/2010)
...le.oremus.org/?ql=152213899">Ps 146</a>; <a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=152213924">1 Tim 6:11-16</a>; <a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=152213951">Lk 16:19-31</a>) In my “Poverty, Wealth, and Justice” course, students still read Jonathan Kozol’s 1995 bestseller, Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation, which includes the author’s interviews with chi...
Proper 21: Not Enough For Everyone’s Greed by Ragan Sutterfield (9/23/2010)
...remus.org/?ql=152213924">1 Tim 6:11-16</a>; <a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=152213951">Lk 16:19-31</a> When I read passages like those in this week’s lectionary I find myself saying, not unlike the Pharisee in Luke 18, “God, I am thankful I’m not wealthy.” Of course, not withstanding the fact that I am quite comfortable and generally don’t go wanting for what I need, these scripture passa...
Unchained Word by Brian Volck (10/7/2010)
... Samaria. One might as well spout nonsense about a “good Samaritan,” or a “good Al Qaeda.” This week, the border also divides clean from unclean. Unlike the encounter in Luke 5, this text doesn’t mention Jesus touching lepers, but the precedent’s set, he’s in unclean territory already, and now there are ten of them. When they beg for mercy, Jesus says, “Go and show yourselves to the priests....
Learning, Knowing, Doing, Being by Debra Dean Murphy (10/15/2010)
....oremus.org/?ql=154103678">Luke 18:1-8</a> Last week the <a href="http://pewforum.org/uploadedFiles/Topics/Belief_and_Practices/religious-knowledge-full-report.pdf">Pew Research Center</a> made big news when its latest poll revealed that religious people don't know much about religion. (Atheists, though, according to the survey, are pretty savvy). Over the weekend, New York Times colum...
Humble Pie* by Janice Love (10/20/2010)
...http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=154616618">16-18</a>, <a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=154616639">Luke 18: 9-14</a> About 15 years ago my husband and I began to notice a disturbing trend in the denomination in which we were both raised – the practice of eliminating the prayer of confession from the worship service, essentially making confession a non-practice. The reasons seemed to be caught up...
In Memory of Saint Marcellus by Tobias Winright (10/30/2010)
...S soldiers talking about conscience in the military. Pacifist and just war Christians respectively should support both conscientious objection and selective conscientious objection. While the former is legally recognized in the US at this time, the latter ought to be also, especially if such a stance is rooted in deeply held theological and philosophical beliefs and practices, too. Thinking abo...
All the Saints by Jake Wilson (11/4/2010)
...the Church understood the importance of remembering and celebrating those who had departed to be with the Lord. However, over her two thousand year history, the Church has gathered far too many saints to give each their own feast day. Thus, while we still celebrate the most exemplary of the departed, we also set aside All Saints Day to remember the faithfulness of those every day saints who have g...
Got Conflict? by Jenny Williams (11/11/2010)
...bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WO3S9XWpzQs/TNvkDuW3MCI/AAAAAAAABEc/4EdBOuU23q0/s1600/164_PreachingToJews.jpg"></a>Tired of congregational conflict? Recently I had to work with a utility company on behalf of a woman whom our church was assisting financially. The woman was getting nowhere with the company, so I tried to help her with the process. It took eight ...
Oscar Romero on Christ’s Kingship by Tobias Winright (11/17/2010)
...f the twentieth century has climbed to the moon, has uncovered the secret of the atom, and what else may it not discover? The Lord’s command is fulfilled: Subdue the earth! But the absolute human dominion over the earth Will be what is proclaimed today: bringing all things of heaven and earth together in Christ. Then humanity hallowed will put under God’s reign this world...
The Crucified King by Brian Volck (11/18/2010)
...rst inaugural in New York City (following an election in which he received every electoral vote), some in the audience wondered if the former colonies had simply exchanged George III for George the First. President Washington, however, had no truck with domestic monarchists. Throughout his presidency, he maintained a careful balance of pomp and the common touch, willingly leaving office after his ...
The Son of Man Is Coming by Janice Love (11/28/2010)
...?ql=157909641">Romans 13: 11-14</a>, <a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=157909707">Matthew 24: 36-44</a> And so we begin the waiting…again. Paul writes, “For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near.” We are two thousand years nearer now and still we wait, surrounded yet by too much night. My husband likes to take the time to talk ...
The Politics of Hope: American and Apocalyptic by Doug Lee (12/1/2010)
...orners of the country far less blue than this Left Coast City. Not since the 1960s had both Virginia and North Carolina gone Democratic. No matter one’s view of Obama then or now, the fact of his election revealed a welling up of desire for the healing of centuries-old divides in race and politics. It highlighted the longing of many Americans for someone who could transcend the politics of entr...
Advent Outdoors by Debra Dean Murphy (12/9/2010)
...s.org/?ql=158860033">Luke 1:47-55</a>; <a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=158860011">James 5:7-10</a>; <a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=158859986">Matthew 11:2-11</a> The haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. Isaiah 35:7b Wendell Berry <a href="http://www.crosscurrents.org/berry.htm">observes</a> that it’s not enough appreciated how mu...
A Small Part in a Great Story by Jake Wilson (12/17/2010)
...eral times. Indeed, Matthew’s genealogy is constructed to show that the son of Joseph and Mary is also the Messiah. Reading the birth narrative in light of the genealogy helps us remember that what we encounter in this particular birth is the continuing of the story of God’s covenantal love for his chosen people, and indeed all the world. The birth of the Messiah comes as the fulfillment of God’s ...
Herod Rules by Brian Volck (12/23/2010)
...to execute his own children when politics demanded. An Idumaean rather than ethnically Jewish, he was nonetheless named “King of the Jews” by the Roman Senate while in exile. After reclaiming his throne – with help from his Roman connections – Herod settled down to the business of governance. He built cities and fortresses, including the famous Masada, improved water supply to Jerusale...
God Made Visible by Ragan Sutterfield (12/31/2010)
...is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.” This comes after we are told of the light coming into the world, a light that makes God visible by dwelling with us and making us children of the light with “grace upon grace.”  In Matthew 2:1-12 we read about the wise men from the East who are guided by a star, a sign that leads them to the light of th...