As I enter this Christmas season, I am reminded again and again of the ways in which we have co-opted the story of the birth of Jesus as another ploy to get people saved (lead people to jesus, get people to...
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Where did Jesus get his inspiration? From the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings, of course. Little of what Jesus said was original with him. His genius was not so much in the substance of his sayings as in...
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Think of a memorable scene from a favorite film. Conjure it in your imagination: characters speaking and acting, musical score playing. Now imagine it without music or with different music — it becomes a...
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As human beings, we tend to want God on our own terms. We want what we want from God when we want it. We want God to validate our assumptions, our preferences, our view of how the world works or ought to work....
[read more]In my Bible courses I learned that two Words guide us in our Christian walk: the Word of God written and the Word of God incarnate. When we are unable to agree on the interpretation of the Bible, the written...
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Like a lot of Christians, I’ve often found Jesus’ reluctance to talk about himself strange and even unsettling. This is a particular theme in the Gospel of Mark — Jesus seeming to go out of his way to...
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Jesus was a social justice hero. He boldly spoke out against inequality, helped the oppressed, condemned the oppressor and embraced the alienated. Like today, many were drawn to His causes and could identify...
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Jesus asked the man possessed, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. They begged Jesus not to order them to go back into the abyss. Now there on the hillside a large...
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One of the most popular and — at least for some of us —uncomfortable “I am” sayings is from John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Many...
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Every so often, the accumulation of paper and books and coffee cups and unopened correspondence on my desk crosses a threshold of clutter and despair that even I am no longer able to tolerate. I begin take...
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I’ve heard some buzz in Christian circles that has troubled me. It is the idea that if we reach the most influential people in the world for Jesus, then everyone else will follow. I’ve seen this philosophy...
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One of the ways ministries fund themselves is through writing grants. The process of writing these requests can be helpful and clarifying. A typical grant request includes a statement of need, measurable...
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Jokingly I told a Mennonite farmer that we should be discussing glyphosate at our denominational convention. Can a Mennonite farmer spray glyphosate, the herbicide in the common weedkiller Roundup, in light of...
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I saw him the moment I stepped outside my office, visible through the glass front doors — the man sitting beneath the church carport. He wore a beard and a ragged sweater, and beside him lay a small hiking...
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This is from a Lenten series on the seven last words of Jesus. The following is on the sixth word, John 19:30. “It is finished.” It began with a barnyard birth and a flight from a murderous king. It began...
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This book is neither a Bible commentary nor a Bible study. It is a personal reflection based on a life of pastoral ministry and social service. The author is now serving as pastor of two small Presbyterian...
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When I taught Bible at Messiah College, I often had students from fundamentalist churches. They certainly knew their fundamentals, one of which was “Jesus is God.” As we studied the Gospels, they never...
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Lent caught me flat footed this year. I was in the produce aisle at Wal-Mart, looking for onions when I noticed the heavy ash cross on the forehead of another shopper. “What? It’s Ash Wednesday already?”...
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I’m starting to think that Che Guevara and the Jesus of the gospel according to Mark have an awful lot in common. I should explain, first, that I’m in the first month of My Jesus Project, a year-long...
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The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. — Paul, Acts 17:24 It’s almost impossible to think of congregations...
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As we celebrate Christmas, people who are marginalized are living in hope of the just society that Christ’s birth promised. They are seeking Jesus to find equality and justice. Looking for Jesus is not a new...
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I grieve over torture. I grieve not only for those subjected to abuse no human being should be forced to endure. I grieve not primarily as an American citizen who feels ashamed of the morally bankrupt national...
[read more]Sarah Kehrberg (Cramer Avenue, Nov. 10) accurately portrays Jesus’ earnestness but seems to indicate he had little or no sense of humor. She writes: “He tells no jokes; his stories are not funny. And...
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“Be patient,” they say. “Be peaceful,” they say. “Just wait,” they say, “for this is how Christ behaved . . . MLK behaved . . . the truly godly behave.” But I...
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Are you tired of the hypocrisy and greed of prosperity gospel preachers? Fed up with politicians appealing to religious sentiments in order to win elections and start wars? Do you feel like there must be...
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