The Jesus We Have
“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go?”* When I read that question, I am filled with tenderness towards my past self, a self so broken-hearted that I was contemplating walking away from Jesus. Like the followers in John’s gospel, I […]
Holding Opposites – July 9, 2021
“One of the most subtle ways to avoid imitating someone is to put them on a pedestal, above and apart from us. When you accept that Jesus was not merely divine but human as well, you can begin to see how you are not separate from Jesus. Open yourself to recognizing the great paradoxes within […]
Specific Love – June 7, 2021
“God’s love is very specific… God’s universal love and [God’s] great mercy for the world are ultimately known and revealed in the particularity of human beings loving each other as [siblings].” -Charles E. Moore, from “Next Door” in Called to Community: The Life Jesus Wants for His People, p. 292-293
Unpredictable Love
Jesus and his disciples are sitting around the Passover table. Yet again he has taken his closest friends by surprise, kneeling down to wash their feet. Finished, he takes his place again. “Love one another as I have loved you,” he says.* It’s hard enough to love people the established ways: to put food on […]
