The bumper sticker on the car in the Chick-Fil-A parking lot read: “Heaven has walls, hell has open borders.” Google tells me that sometimes the slogan is more specific, noting a gate and a strict immigration policy. Often a sentence at the end admonishes the reader: “Let that sink in.” Indeed, let all of this theology sink in. I am wary of any and all theology proffered on hats, mugs, memes and the like. In my experience, God’s will, character and plans do not lend themselves to being summed up in a sentence or two, especially ones we pen. If select and beloved biblical quotes don’t move us to ways of peace and goodwill, how could anything we come up with guide us to life abundant? As brief as the Greatest Commandment and that like unto it are, they take a lifetime of practice and daily attentiveness to God, self and others in order to occasionally – and through the grace of God and the gift of the Spirit sometimes, at least partially – follow. So why would we think we could wrap up … [Read more...]
10th Sunday after Pentecost – August 18, 2019
Isaiah 5:1-7; Hebrews 11:29-12:2; Luke 12:14-56; Ordinary 20C Proper 15 Hebrews feels like an outlier this week. By faith - the litany goes - by faith the Israelites walked through the Red Sea, the walls of Jericho came tumbling down, Rahab was brave and Gideon defeated the Midianites. By faith lions' mouths shut and even flames of fire did not consume God's faithful. Therefore, we, too, ought to live by faith, remembering the witness of this pantheon of people and God's power bestowed upon and around them. Any questions? The Hebrews reading this Sunday bolsters our waning energy for working for the Lord, our creeping despondency about the way things are, our growing helplessness with each news story of hate, violence, natural disaster and human-made tragedy. Keep the faith! The writer of Hebrews shouts. Remember! Look at all God has done and know God still works, in your age and through you. Such an encouraging word is welcome, needed. But what do we do when … [Read more...]
Meet the president of the Presbyterian Outlook board: Sharon Blount
Sharon’s leadership of the board is marked by wise, gentle persistence. Sharon retired as a senior manager in the Internal Revenue Service after 31 years of federal service. She currently resides in Richmond, Virginia, with her husband Brian, who is president and professor of New Testament at Union Presbyterian Seminary. A lifelong Presbyterian, Sharon has served as an elder at Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church in Princeton, New Jersey, and at Second Presbyterian Church in Richmond, Virginia. Her commitment, hard work and passion inspire those around her to bring their very best and keep working on problems that do not have easy solutions. Sharon has the rare gift of balancing genuine collaboration with stepping out and taking bold action. Board and committee work, along with tutoring at a local elementary school, keep her busy. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, is an avid reader (she’s in three book clubs!) and loves to travel both for the … [Read more...]
9th Sunday after Pentecost — August 11, 2019
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20; Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16; Luke 12:32-40 Ordinary 19C Proper 14 Cease to do evil. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Rescue the oppressed. God, according to our reading from Isaiah this week, cares not for our religious rituals if they are uncoupled from real-life interventions on behalf of vulnerable people. Showing up on Sunday morning is not enough. In fact, showing up on Sunday morning and then leaving to exploit others any other day of the week elicits God’s anger. Consider for a moment what this might look like in our day. We get up early Sunday morning and put on our church clothes. The most pious among us reads a Bible verse and says a prayer before we leave the house. We go to Sunday school, maybe even teach the class. We sing hymns with gusto in the sanctuary and drop money in the collection plate. Then, feeling good, we head out to the local restaurant to enjoy the tasty brunch. We drive past fields of peaches, where migrant workers perform … [Read more...]
Payback time
“What do we do now?” That’s the refrain I hear after I speak or preach or teach about the long history and persistent presence of white supremacy and racism, even in the church and among Christians. While well intended, “What do we do now?” represents a rush to false resolution and a desire to dismiss our current complicity in the sin of racism. White people like me want to be assured of our goodness. We want to be commended for our desire to do something. We don’t want to sit in the painful space of recognizing the advantages we enjoy at the costly expense to non-whites. Repeatedly, white Christians say to me that the past is past and all that matters is what we do now. Embedded in that urgency is a need to deny the suffering, terror and oppression beset upon people of color not only by our white ancestors, but by our peers in this present day. Unless we white people recognize the depth and breadth of injustice and harm done, we can never advocate and participate fully in making … [Read more...]
Prayer for El Paso
Enough, Lord God, enough. Rend our hearts and restore your goodness and mercy in our land. Through you, all things are possible, and yet we fail to claim your power to transform chaos into order, war into peace, and anger into action. We pray yet again, Lord God, yet again for your children cut down in a hail of gunfire, for families devastated, communities decimated, our country reeling from self-inflicted wounds of hate. We beg your forgiveness for our unwillingness to address the soul-sickness of our nation, the idolatry of guns and our infatuation with violence and anger and hatred. Comfort those who mourn. Heal the hurting. Strengthen the helpers. Grant courage to your people that we may not just say enough, but do all we can and everything required to stop the killing in our streets. Amen. This prayer from Presbyterian Outlook editor Jill Duffield was written after news reports of a mass shooting August 3 at a shopping mall in El Paso. Congregations are free to use this … [Read more...]
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