A number of years ago, in the course of teaching a class in Wesley Theological Seminary’s Lay School, I discovered that virtually all my students had experience in various forms of complementary and global medicine and none of them had shared this with her or his pastor. These were not back row Christians but moderators,…
I Samuel 16:1-13 Psalm 23 Ephesians 5:8-14 John 9:1-41 Today’s scriptures speak of light and darkness, and sight and blindness. They are metaphorical in nature, and must be understood in terms of the full humanity of persons of color and sight-impaired people. Darkness is not synonymous with evil: it is also the place of growth…
What do you do with Good Friday and the Cross when you’ve abandoned the doctrine of substitutionary atonement and the divine necessity of Jesus’ death? Like many progressive Christians, I grew up hearing the mantras “Jesus died for our sins,” “Jesus died so that we might have eternal life and escape God’s wrath,” “Jesus paid…
Steve Berger, pastor and author of the new book Between Heaven and Earth, is heaven-obsessed. In light of his own family’s tragedies and the imperfections of human life, he sees heaven as his true home and the hope of heaven shapes his every decision. For Berger, the hope of heaven gives him a larger perspective.…
When I recently told a colleague that I was writing a brief piece on the Seven Last Words – or Seven Sayings – of Christ, he responded: “Isn’t that a bit old school, Bruce? Why bother with something that is obviously inaccurate and outmoded in terms of current theology?” His response gave me pause, but I…
The Triumphant Entry Luke 19:28-40; Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 The Passion of Jesus Isaiah 53:4-9a; Psalm 31:9-16; Philippians 2:5-11; Luke 23:1-49 The order of the day for the first day of Holy Week, Palm Sunday, is the interplay of celebration and passion. It is the appropriate theological as well as chronological entry point for the spiritual maelstrom on the horizon…
Lectionary Reflections Third Sunday in Lent March 23, 2014 Exodus 17:1-7 Psalm 95 Romans 5:1-11 John 4:5-42 (4:5-15, 27-38) We all need living waters. We need spiritual and relational resources that refresh and transform our lives. God is willing to give us what we need for spiritual transformation in challenging times; we need to open…