This past week, I was invited to teach a Sunday School class that has been making their way through Luke’s gospel. I was asked to cover the “Rejection of Nazareth” narrative in Luke 4. Although I was familiar with the passage, I wanted to take extra time to observe something about the text that IContinue reading “The Spooky Jesus”
Category Archives: Quotations
Exposure to the Unconditional
For me religion means living in constant exposure to the unconditional, open to something excessive, exceptional, unforeseeable, unprogramable, something slightly mad relative to the rationality of means-and-end thinking. To lack the religion of which I speak is to allow the series of conditions to surround and submerge us. We would see no further than ourContinue reading “Exposure to the Unconditional”
Icon or Idol
“An icon is an image for contemplating a reality that transcends the specific image; the image leads the mind, through the senses, to direct communion with the intelligibles. An idol is an image to which we are attached for the sake of the image per se. Obviously one and the same object can be anContinue reading “Icon or Idol”
Marriage
“Your partner is not a god or goddess, but rather, as Tolkein says, a companion in shipwreck. If you think that falling in love will bring you ultimate fulfillment, you will be disappointed, and end up hurting more than just yourself. And the fault for that will be your own.” – Rod Dreher, How DanteContinue reading “Marriage “
Sin and Gravity
“The Bible calls Lucifer the ‘morning star’ and tells of his rebellion against God, his fall from heaven, and exile into hell. Think of pride as a spiritual form of gravity. With Lucifer, the first rebel – that is, the first created being to choose his own will over God’s – his immense pride collapsedContinue reading “Sin and Gravity”
Story and Transformation
NT Wright says it this way: “Tell someone to do something, and you can change their life – for a day. Tell someone a story, and you change their life.”
Jean Vanier Healing in Community Quotation
There was a great quotation from Common Prayer on 7/21 that I wanted to capture, here. “My experience has shown that when we welcome people from this world of anguish, brokenness and depression, and when they gradually discover that they are wanted and loved as they are and that they have a place, then weContinue reading “Jean Vanier Healing in Community Quotation”
Downward
“The Spirit of God leads downward. Downward in humility. Downward in service. Downward in solidarity. Downward in risk and grace. You used to strive to be cool, but the Spirit makes you warm. You used to strive to climb over others, but the Spirit leads you to wash their feet. You used to strive toContinue reading “Downward”
Wesley and the Vocation of Ministry
I’m reading a book called The Recovery of a Contagious Methodist Movement by George G. Hunter III, a book that my friend and colleague Len Wilson helped to publish while at Abingdon. There were a couple of good snapshots from John Wesley’s ministry framework that I wanted to capture. Wesley told his leaders regularly, “YouContinue reading “Wesley and the Vocation of Ministry”
Rohr’s Everything Belongs Coda
I enjoyed Richard Rohr’s Everything Belongs and his Conclusion chapter. He put a few bullet points together to summarize the main points. I’m putting them down, here, so I can keep them handy. Read further if you are interested: – God is to be found in all things, even and most especially in the painful,Continue reading “Rohr’s Everything Belongs Coda”
Joe Skillen 