Following Jesus in rejecting empire
Some thoughts about each of the podcast interviews
I’ve been troubled by the vitriol coming from friends I know to be serious students of Jesus. Friends who call him Lord, brother and teacher and who strive to follow his example. The last two presidents, for instance, have elicited toxic responses from many of my Christian friends. Of course, the anger and, dare I…
In the slow times. When work has dried up and I can’t go into the office. I’ve taken to working in the yard, pulling up weeds by hand. Dandelions mostly, staring up at me with hateful yellow eyes. Once you’re close to the ground, on your hands and knees, you spot the others. The ones…
The 2020 pandemic has brought to a screeching halt tourism and short-term mission trips. While the economics of this are devastating, I wonder if this provides opportunity for a reset. Mark Twain said, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.” I would like…
I’ve been startled lots of times (I have a hair-trigger startle reflex). I’ve been scared on a number of occasions. But I’ve only really experienced panic twice. Knowing people who have panic attacks regularly I feel quite lucky. Panic is different from fear. The human instinct when fear arrives is for “fight or flight,” and…
“The poor you will always have with you…” (Matthew 26:11 and Mark 14:7). As someone who holds deep convictions about God’s call to love and serve those excluded by our economic systems, I’ve thought a good bit about these words of Jesus spoken during Holy Week. They were provoked when a woman broke open an…