During this Lent, let us become the kind of seeker the Song of Songs tells us about. Let us seek and be open to all possibilities, no matter how remote, exotic, mundane or seemingly impossible. If we pay attention we can find what we are looking for.
Imagine if that were the priority of Christians everywhere: the pursuit of real freedom from all the substances, stereotypes, and systems that enslave us. Imagine if it weren’t acceptable to plead that we were simply “unable” to recognize the signs that someone in our sphere of responsibility, or merely in our midst, was enslaved in the ways that the Scripture warns us about. Imagine if we couldn’t claim that we simply didn’t have the right information, or that our processes were faulty.
God will find any opening in human consciousness that presents itself to God, and then God will start changing awareness and opening the soul to love. Incrementally, over the long haul, like waves on a shore where the tide is coming in, God makes God’s self known.
Our faith is challenged by a God who turns out to be more compassionate than we realized.
Mark 1: 9-15 There are times when scripture seems to run on and on to make a single point. This week’s gospel is not one
There’s an interesting theory about today’s gospel reading. Quite possibly, the author of John’s gospel crafted this passage by adding theological commentary and narrative material to what was originally a poem or hymn text familiar to Christians in his community.
At some point between two hills, transfiguration and the skull, these conniving disciples would start to understand. They’d have to give up delusions of grandeur, their secret dreams, and their own stubborn wills.
Whatever day we choose to honor these two brothers, we can also celebrate all those who, like them, took spoken languages and created a way to preserve and develop those languages and the cultures that use them. It is a gift not just to one group of people but to the whole world, helping to preserve some of the great diversity that exists among humankind all over the globe.
…don’t turn your focus toward identifying and naming other people’s misbehaviors. Instead, simply continue in what you have learned about walking the way of goodness and trust.
Mark 10:17-31 For those of us who grew up in middle class U.S. households, it is natural to imagine that we can create a good