Pardon me, Jesus
In response to recent presidential pardons, Joshua Gritter explores the tensions of justice and mercy.
More Stories from this Author
Anxiety, politics, and the lost mysticism of the church
We have replaced our faith in God with faith in a candidate or political party, writes Joshua Gritter. Why?
Prayer for Advent: To the Christ child
Christ child growing in Mary’s womb, What will you bring into this world? Will you bring hope to my despair? Will you..
Podcast review: “The Mockingcast”
A pastor's favorite podcast.
“What to do with all the mad that you feel?”
On May 1, 1969, our venerable Presbyterian saint Mr. Fred Rogers sat before Congress to plead his case for funding for children’s programming on television.
My daughter Joanna and the power of hope
One year ago, I was in a hospital room with my wife and my new daughter. She had been out of the..
My anti-Advent wreath
Our congregation has gotten in the habit of lighting the Advent wreath at the beginning of worship each Sunday in Advent. It’s..
Four leadership lessons in a era of change
Our world is covered in change. At present, it feels like the whole world is changing at once. If I am honest,..
Pulled in a million directions
Recently I was home in Michigan for a few days. My parents took me to Sluggos, an old pizza joint that has..
Podcast Church
My wife Lara’s podcast game is off the charts. At least that’s what I always tell her. I have this image of..
A Holy Saturday psalm
"Today I am dead./ With Christ in the tomb where hopes lay fallow./ What bright phoenix will yet rise from these ashes?" — Joshua Gritter
Rosalee
As I looked over the bulletin in my office, I heard the faint sound of our front doorbell ringing. I have missed..
Expecting in the unexpected: Make it beautiful
Pastor and professor Samuel Wells tells a moving story in a recent issue of the Christian Century. He recalls a time when..
Expecting in the unexpected: Learning in darkness
When did we learn to be afraid of the dark? This is the question I’ve been pondering this week as we continue..
Expecting during the unexpected: A name next to ours
I’ve gotten into the strange habit of reading the first few pages of books at the bookstore downtown. I don’t read the..
Expecting during the unexpected: Becoming a father with Joseph
My wife and I are due during Holy Week of 2021. We’re both full-time co-pastors, which means our kid isn’t just a..
Electing the elect One
Mr. Rogers had a plaque hanging in his office that read, “What is most essential is most invisible.” Of course, Fred Rogers..
Bless God for every little thing
I heard someone the other day use the phrase, “that’s so 2020.” They weren’t referencing something pleasant. 2020 has become synonymous in..
The social (gospel) dilemma
I recently watched the troubling yet necessary documentary “The Social Dilemma” on Netflix. Let me first say, if you’ve not seen it,..
Seeing the sacred: A beloved text, an outdoor vespers service
I heard on my favorite movie podcast that Brad Pitt does “three films for us and one for him.” I think about..
No more shame, no more fear
For me, middle school was a complete crapshoot. There were bullies, puberty and that sweeping awkwardness accompanying all social interactions. I..
The most wonderful, terrifying thing I’ve ever done (or: What a wife-husband co-pastor team does on vacation)
Mountains carry an immense spiritual freight in the biblical imagination. After 400 weary years of slavery in Egypt, Israel is constituted as..
Reopening is about who God is
I remember the day we canceled in-person worship. I thought to myself, “Wow, this is really hard.” But I’m sure by now..
Let the church be the church again
These past few weeks, Langston Hughes’ evocative poem “Let America be America Again” has been shaking me. (Take a moment to read..
Thanks pastor, you’re my hero
Lately I’ve seen a lot of Facebook posts written with the catchphrase “Nurses are heroes.” Nothing could be truer. There is something..