We are trained early to compare ourselves to others; social media is based on this. But Christ in the Philippians hymn shows us another way. He learned to be fully human in order to identify with humanity. And he calls us to the same path of self-awareness, humility, compassion and service. Ultimately our worth comes from God not each other, from seeking God’s way, not our own. (Read More)

Sometimes when we’re honest enough with ourselves, our musings can lead to a deeper place. Arthur Paul Patterson starts with his default distrust of kindness, which can be seen as manipulative, giving to get. He allows his honesty to get behind his cynicism to his curiosity. If we listen closely to how the word evolved, and how Jesus lived it, we see it is a freely given gift without coercion. Follow Arthur’s reflections as he discovers what allows kindness, where it leads, and what it does. (Read More)

The parable of the dishonest steward teases our imagination. It seems to suggest self-interested shrewdness. But is there an anti-establishment twist? Are we to be cheats? Is there something we are missing? Eldon takes us down some of these rabbit holes and imagines how our limited cleverness could be met by the Spirit’s overflowing generosity for the sake of human flourishing. (Read More)

When we get lost in woods of our own making, we long to find home. John reminds of the expansive, extravagant love of God is always calling us home even as God makes God’s home among and within us. God’s suffering love, shown through the life and resurrection of Christ, shows us the way out of the dark woods, our patterns and predilections, our sin, to the One who calls all us prodigals home. A homecoming like no other. (Read More)

“Who do people say I am? Who do you say I am?” are indeed honest questions. Answering objectively from a historical point of view, and sincerely from a subjective point of view, is absolutely essential. For those who find their spiritual center in Jesus, allowing their lives to be rewritten by meditation on this life is even more daunting because it threatens our religious creeds, lifestyles and cultural certainties. It leads through human suffering to a global love for one another and ever-partial but authentic responses to who we are and who Jesus of Nazareth is for us today.
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In our deeply divided times, the Lord’s Prayer seems so rote and innocuous. But we have no idea how radical Jesus was to teach us to pray to “Abba”. Although undeniably anchored in the faith of Jesus of Nazareth toward his Father, the prayer is for everyone, in all times and places, despite differences of cultures or ideologies.
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Sometimes the best way to look at complex issues is the sidelong gaze, out of the corner of your eye. Sometimes a poem is the only way to express an immense sorrow, a desire for healing or the agony of the daily news. Sometimes reading poetry gets us in touch with our deeper selves. (Read More)

Climate change is so big and all-encompassing it appears that our little small responses won’t make any difference. But what if we got in touch with what we love about the world around us? What if our imaginations became formed more deeply by the threads of love and creation care in scripture and in literature? We created this blog as a little alcove of those love letters. We are wanting to get in touch with our love of creation, and hope through that love the Spirit of God can change the world by changing us. (Read More)

If perfect love casts out all fear, how can fear of the Lord be the beginning of knowledge, understanding and wisdom? Fear paralyzes where love liberates. But if we look more closely we see that rightly understood fear can have a wisdom to it. Ultimately the purpose of fear is to call us out of our self-centeredness and into the liberating love that no longer needs to fear. (Read More)

Have you ever been so swallowed up in something unfair happening to you that you couldn’t find your way out of it? The Italian poet Dante Alighieri found himself the victim of vicious politics in 13th century Florence. Eventually he would write an epic poem about it. Paul Patterson imagines what might have been going through Dante’s mind before he wrote The Divine Comedy. (Read More)

Facing ourselves honestly is a bitter pill to swallow; we hope it is also good medicine. At the end of our rope, a guide or mentor can be just what is needed to move from self-pity to wholeness. If we can learn to trust. Dante fears that the bitter but gracious truths he had learned about himself will die with him, leaving no opportunity to be translated into life. He is ready for a teacher, but the Teacher has not come. Paul Patterson continues to channel Dante’s imagination through the next part of The Divine Comedy.(Read More)