WS Update: Lent Begins
Lent began last week on Ash Wednesday, but it’s not too late to start using this season to renew your Christian walk with Jesus. No matter who we are or what we have done, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all…
WS Update: Suffering and Hope
Yesterday we looked at a text that promises “that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). A promise only a few lines removed from an assertion that following Jesus means sharing in his suffering (Romans 8:17). Taken together it…
WS Update: Freedom from Fear
Yesterday we continued our exploration of Romans 8 in which Paul ,the author of the letter, contrasts the fear that enslaves humanity with the acceptance that comes from God’s adoption (Romans 8:14-15). The nature of this fear is best expressed by Ernest Becker in his work The Denial of Death: “I think that taking life seriously…
WS Update: Shame, Snickering and Grace
Yesterday we explored the first of four sermons in Romans 8, which begins “Therefore there is now no condemnation.” Condemnation is the complete disapproval of a person, involving the power to punish. The Bible teaches that we are born into this world with a manifestation of divine condemnation: shame. Shame is the feeling that we are not…
WS Update: Wisdom’s Arc
Yesterday, we continued our series on the Holy Spirit, reflecting on God’s wisdom – a powerful force according to which the whole universe is ordered, and in which it coheres. The Greeks termed it the Logos, in the Bible it is often characterized as that which reflects God’s attributes. Scriptural wisdom contains a moral component, reflected…
WS Update: Christmas Day
A baby is a harmless thing And wins our hearts with one accord,And Flower of Babies was their King, Jesus Christ our Lord:Lily of lilies HeUpon His Mother’s knee;Rose of roses, soon to beCrowned with thorns on leafless tree. A lamb is innocent and mild And merry on the soft green sod;And Jesus Christ, the Undefiled, Is…
WS Update: A Liturgy for the Wrapping of Christmas Gifts
A Liturgy for the Wrapping of Christmas Giftsby Wayne Garvey and Douglas McKelveyThis liturgy is taken from Every Moment Holy Volume 3 from Rabbit Room Press. I sit amongst rolls of wrapping paper,tissue, bags, and bows—presents spread beforeme, ready to be concealed in shrouds of joyfulmystery, and nestled for a time beneath the tree. Continue…
WS Update: Hope and Promise
There is no shortage of diagnoses and opinions about the state of our world, most of them pessimistic. Of course, the state of our world is an outgrowth of the state of our souls, which is why Terry Eagleton writes in his book Culture: What needs to be refashioned is not only the world but the…
WS Update: The Center Cannot Hold
William Yeats’ poem “The Second Coming,” includes the line: “Things fall apart; the center cannot hold.” (The full poem is below.) This pessimistic prophecy finds resonance in our cultural moment when it seems like there is no firm moral, social, political, or spiritual center. Instead, to channel Yeats, “The best lack all conviction, while the…
WS Update: Giving Thanks
Children teach adults all kinds of things about themselves and God. For example, you never have to teach a child to say “Mine!,” but teaching them to say “Thank you” is a never-ending process. Adults are no different, which is why God commands us to be thankful. Why is it important? I recently had a conversation with…