Hosanna!
This procession down to Jerusalem is one of those very public moments in Jesus’ ministry. It could be called his most brilliant act of political theatre. Jesus proceeds toward Jerusalem, with a crowd...
View ArticlePolitics of John 3:1-17
What does it mean to be born again? In the vernacular of this age, the language has come to suggest some sort of metaphysical transformation, a shift that promises eternal reward. Believe in Jesus and...
View ArticleBeyond Affordable Care
On June 30, 2012 the Supreme Court of the United States reasserted a long standing basic principle of the social contract: that the government has the authority and responsibility to broadly gather...
View ArticleGreed is Not Good: The Politics of 2 Samuel 12:1-7
While the abuses of power and privilege in modern banking may not be as explicit as David’s crime, they are parallel. People in power tend not to consider the cost of their self-interest in communal...
View ArticleFamily Values? The Politics of Mark 10:2-16
This teaching marks a turn to family ethics. The Pharisaic question about divorce again serves as a foundation upon which Jesus makes a larger teaching that transcends the context of their specific...
View ArticleExpecting Justice: The Politics of Jeremiah 33:14-16
It is a challenge to reflect on politics and advent together. As advent emerges and we begin to anticipate the emergence of God’s presence into the world anew, as we expect the child who taught peace...
View ArticleResurrection and Gun Control
A little over a month after the shooting at Newtown Elementary School which left twenty young children and six staff members dead, President Obama today offered bold Presidential leadership for a...
View ArticlePolitics of Epiphany
Herod was scared of a newborn baby. This basic fact of the Epiphany story bears the key to understanding its political implications. Herod’s fear reveals something of the anxiety that accompanies...
View ArticleEaster Courage: The Politics of Acts 5:27-32
The tale of doubting Thomas will be heard from pulpits around the nation this second Sunday in Easter. The memorable tale displays a powerfully human character, one who shares our doubts about the...
View ArticleEmbodied Politics: Elizabeth and Mary (Luke 1:39-57)
The story of Mary’s visit to Jesus was the text I heard read at Beverly Harrison’s memorial service in April. It is a story of two women, who meet in the midst a world, dominated by important men...
View ArticleRenewable Resources: The Politics of Manna (Exodus 16:1-18)
In the wilderness, the Israelites received manna, an abundant resource that couldn't be exploited or stored in quantities beyond people's need. Unfortunately for our planet, fossil fuel does not behave...
View ArticleThe Politics of Rupture: Daniel 3:27-30
The story of the deliverance of Daniel's three friends from persecution for their faith takes an unpleasant turn as a new form of religious oppression is set up as its immediate effect. Apparent...
View ArticleLeave Your Nets: The Politics of Matthew 4:12-23
In the context of Roman rule in Galilee in the first century CE, the abandonment of fishing was an act with political connotations. When the first disciples left their nets they were ceasing to fund...
View ArticleThe Politics of Denial: John 18:12-27
As the social dominance that Christianity once enjoyed wanes, we may find ourselves in a position similar to that of Peter in the High Priest's courtyard. Will we answer Christ's call to witness to the...
View ArticleThe Politics of Emboldening Witness—Philippians 1:1-18a
Within many criminal justice systems, deterrence is a significant element of the rationale of imprisonment. However, Paul's letter to the Philippians reveals the emboldening power of imprisonment for...
View ArticleThe Politics of Welcoming the Immigrant—Ruth 2:1-23
The United States is engaged in a public conversation about what our responsibility is to the thousands of unaccompanied migrant children who are arriving at our southern border. In the story of Ruth...
View ArticleThe Politics of Incarnation—John 1:1-18
To those familiar with a Western account of the incarnation, Native American frameworks can provide illuminating and challenging alternative perspectives. Within such perspectives, rather than the...
View ArticleThe Politics of Healing—Mark 1:29-39
Jesus' healings are not just random acts of charity on the way to the cross but are integral to the very point that his death and resurrection make: that God’s intention in this world is human...
View ArticleThe Politics of Liberation—Exodus 20:1-17
The first commandment—that Israel should have no other gods beside YHWH—is the foundation for our liberation, as it was for Israel. It delivers us from all other ideas or powers that might claim our...
View ArticleThe Politics of Resurrection and Resistance—John 20:1-18
The resurrection does not erase suffering: it teaches us to live in a world torn by injustice. It gives us hope that God is present in the ugliest violence of human life, and that God engages human...
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