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A Time to Lament
I look around and see rancor, ignorance, division, tribalism, nationalism, dishonesty, and sin in the midst of many crises—racial injustice and a pandemic that has sidelined the sick and resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths and economic loss leaving millions unemployed. Hurricane season is on top of us, and apparently the forecast suggests a busy year. And last year’s issues haven’t gone away—#metoo, #churchtoo, the future for Dreamers (DACA) and the treatment of asylum seekers at the southern border. I believe that God wants our attention. You may be like me—troubled by groups of hurting people, appalled by the lack of moral leadership in government and even the church,…
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The Trinity—A Glorious Reality
“I love the Father. I love His Holy Son. I love the Spirit. I love the three in One. For He created me, redeemed and set me free. Praise Him, praise Him, praise Him." I was unaware, while singing this catchy song in the form of a “round” growing up, that I was singing some very important words about a deep theological reality. Nor did I know that many years later this profound, but simple song would surface as an opening sentence for a blog on The Trinity. In considering the historical development of the Trinity the word trinity is not found in the Bible, but is a theological word…
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Baby Steps toward Racial Reconciliation
Racial injustice. Color blindness. White privilege. Reparations. Christian unity. Woke up. Systemic racism. A few years ago these were terms that I as a white woman knew little about and rarely even considered, much less understood. I grew up in the Jim Crow South surrounded by people who looked just like me. Although Brown vs. The Board of Education had demanded an end to school segregation years before, the reality was that my schools were as segregated as ever until high school. My parents were strong Christians who had been taught that white people were superior. But I noticed the inconsistency of their faith and actions and wondered. After the…
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Six Ways to Grow in Unity
I’ve been disturbed by the trend to disagree without unity within the body of Christ, not only in this putrid political climate but also within churches. Belittling Christians who don’t agree with us or treating them as enemies is undermining our unity, which Jesus clearly identified as the way the world would see the reality of who he is (John 17:20-23). So it’s no small thing! We are divided by our backgrounds, life experiences, the biases of the teaching and preaching that we hear, and the people we hang with. (And yes, we all have biases because of pride and the preconceived ideas that we fail to recognize.) Is it…
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Holy Week – Jesus Praying in the Garden
After sharing the Passover meal Jesus and his disciples begin walking toward the Garden of Gethsemane. Anticipating what was going to happen to him in a matter of hours, Jesus goes ahead to a place to pray asking Peter, James and John to wait with Him while he prays. He was deeply distressed and troubled (Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14: 32-41; Luke 22:40-46). He falls to the ground burdened with excessive sorrow. He prays to the Father for Himself, for His disciples and for all who would ever believe – for you and for me. Can you imagine what it would have been like to overhear the prayer conversation between…
