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What does God have to do with us?

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The prophet Isaiah assures the bereft of Zion that God will not – indeed, cannot – forget them. “Can a woman forget her nursing child?” the prophet asks rhetorically on behalf of the Lord. I assure you, a woman cannot. Her body refuses her such amnesia. While she may want to go out with friends, chaperone the older children’s field trip, make a boardroom presentation or preach while her nursing child is cared for by others, she cannot forget about that progeny no matter how much geography is between them. Before birthing and nursing children I read this verse from Isaiah sentimentally. How lovely, I thought. God, like a mother, remembers us, thinks of us, indeed loves us. How sweet, beautiful, warm and fuzzy. Then I had a baby. I learned what engorgement is. I got closely acquainted with cabbage leaves. Forget the baby I nourished with my own body? Impossible. Painful. At times agonizing. A woman, it turns out, really cannot forget her nursing child. I had another baby. This one got … [Read more...]

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Student meeting is dropped (60 years ago)

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60 years ago — April 25, 1960 “Presbyterian students in Alabama have a feeling that they have been encouraged to bear courageous Christian witness and have failed to get needed support from some of their leaders. They are saying this in view of cancellation of a scheduled meeting on the campus of Stillman College.” Stillman is a historically black Presbyterian-related college in Tuscaloosa. These students planned an interracial meeting on the campus of the University of Alabama, but were refused and moved it to Stillman College.  “The Alabama Westminster Fellowship has been holding integrated meetings for several years. The 1959 meeting of the Synod of Alabama was featured by an attack upon phases of this program and the Synod rejected critics.” Despite threats and warnings from the Ku Klux Klan and White Citizens Council, the planned meeting at Stillman had not been deterred. As pressure mounted to the synod’s committee, they ultimately gave in and canceled the interracial meeting. … [Read more...]

Discussion questions: What does God have to do with us?

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This issue is the third in a series of four exploring basic theological questions in ways designed to engender further discussion in your context. To that end, here are discussion questions that can be used with each of the feature articles. We hope these provide a catalyst for robust conversations that help us live our faith in the world. God is with us — read the article David Johnson writes, “God is close, but God remains Other.” He goes on to say, “God is utterly near, yet utterly transcendent.” Why are these tensions important in understanding who we are, who God is and what God has to do with us? How have you experienced both God’s nearness and God’s transcendence? Did you experience these divine characteristics simultaneously? Do you struggle with believing that God is close or that God is Other? Johnson argues that creation is on purpose, good and ongoing. Which of these descriptors is most meaningful or important to you and why? How do you see God’s creation ongoing … [Read more...]

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Won’t Jesus miss us?

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While I was leading a church-sponsored trip, the father of a parishioner told me a family story. His two daughters had left the nest. His adult son, who was intellectually challenged, remained at home. Every Sunday, he, his wife and their son worshipped in their Lutheran congregation. One week, for some reason, it seemed prudent to stay home, and the father told his son that they would not be going to church that day. The young man was silent for a time, and then asked, “Won’t Jesus miss us?” It was a touching question, one that highlighted the simplicity of the young man and the charm of what seemed to be his naiveté. Although I have described this scene in print more than once, the passing of time has led me to revisit it with an ever-increasing sense that it reveals something profoundly important. His unguarded description of how he experienced the church at worship is a reminder of what has dimmed for many of us in a secular age, or even been lost. The whole of Western … [Read more...]

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