Category: Spirituality

Anthropomorphosis, Part 3 Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourself that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, … Continue reading Anthropomorphosis, Part 3

Anthropomorphosis, Part 2 For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard…  Matthew 20:1 When we anthropomorphize God – attribute human characteristics to God – we not only create God in our own image, but we also mislead ourselves and others about … Continue reading Anthropomorphosis, Part 2

Anthropomorphosis But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Mortals do not know the way to it, and it is not found in the land of the living.  Job 28:12-13 When we anthropomorphize something, we attribute human qualities to it and judge it based on human values, experiences, and understandings. … Continue reading Anthropomorphosis

Savior She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. Matthew 1:21 One of life’s puzzling mysteries – on par with how Santa makes it to every house in the world in a single night – is the claim that Jesus came to … Continue reading Savior

An Extraordinary, Ordinary Christmas Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. Luke 12:6 Our challenge at Christmas, as every day, is to stop discounting the ordinary in search of the miraculous so we can see the miraculous in the ordinary. The Christmas stories of … Continue reading An Extraordinary, Ordinary Christmas

The Church vs The Christ, Part 4 No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known. John 1:18 The words in today’s epigraph close what is known as the Prologue to the Gospel of John. The verse is often mistakenly … Continue reading The Church vs the Christ, Part 4

The Church vs The Christ, Part 3 So we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members of one another. Romans 12:5 In last week’s Life Note I attempted to clarify that Jesus and the Christ are one, but not the same. This is difficult to understand and accept because … Continue reading The Church vs The Christ, Part 3

The Church vs The Christ, Part 2 “Christ is not Jesus’s last name.” Richard Rohr[1] Assuming the church to be synonymous with God has led to a deceptively limited perception and portrayal of God, both for church and non-church people. When our pastors remind us of the importance of supporting the “work of God,” it … Continue reading The Church vs the Christ, Part 2

The Church vs The Christ “In the first century in Palestine, Christianity was a community of believers. Then Christianity moved to Greece and became a philosophy. Then it moved to Rome and became an institution. Then it moved to Europe and became a culture. And then it moved to America and became a business.” Priscilla … Continue reading The Church vs the Christ

Paulianity, Part 6 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1 Corinthians 13:4,6 For all that I find bothersome about the writings of Paul, I confess that many of his writings are truly … Continue reading Paulianity, Part 6