“...This week as I read our Gospel text I started to wonder what we lose when we think we already know things. What do we lose when we think we already know what’s possible and what’s not possible? What do we lose when we think we already know the nature and value of the members of our family? What do we lose when we think we already know who we are and what we are capable of? What do we lose when we think we know who God is, how God shows up in the world and where God is obviously absent.”
August 8, 2016 After my sermon last week about mutual submission as the ideal for marriage friendships, there was a question about whether I intentionally avoided Ephesians 5:23-24 because it seeme…
“If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition and then admit that we just don't want to do it.”
― Stephen Colbert
In the wake of terror attacks in Paris and Beirut, the response from Americans has been as strong as it is divided. Many have called for the nation to follow its nobler impulses and respond in compassion by welcoming refugees; others have voiced their strong disapproval for accepting any.
...As Christians, we may disagree about what’s best for America to do in this situation. But as Christians, we also recognize that this is not ultimately as important as the gospel opportunity represented in the refugee crisis.
One morning, when I was 10 years old, I woke up to find my normally sleepy suburban town covered in swastikas . They were on mailboxes, they were on businesses, they were in front of the home of our local rabbi. The perpetrators, as if to remove even the slightest whiff of ambiguity from their message, scrawled slogans like “Final Solution” and “Hitler’s Children” alongside their work. It was the day before Yom Kippur—the holiest day of the year for Jews.
Reformed Margins is proud to introduce its first white guest contributor, James Duguid. James recently graduated with a Masters degree from Westminster Theological Seminary, and is currently working on a PhD in Semitic and Egyptian languages and literature at Catholic University of America. James loves carne asada burritos from San Diego, is an ENTP, and likes his Reformed theology 17th-century scholastic. We are honored that he’s been reading RM, and even happier that he was willing to contribute with a response to Andrew Ong’s “4x I wished I was white”. For the record, RM doesn’t hate white people! We welcome […]
“White people don’t conceptualize themselves as white: they simply don’t habitually view themselves through racial categories. The categories are there, of course, and they subconsciously influence their behavior towards people of other ethnicities, but they do not usually engage consciously unless someone else brings it to their attention. For the person who is different, that difference is a constant part of their awareness, but the person who fits in is not aware of their sameness, and can usually only become aware of that sameness when confronted with the difference in some way.“
On white people and faith. #whitepeople #race #privilege
Muslims are bringing hope to Christian communities in the South after a recent spate of fires devastated black church buildings. Three Muslim organizations have teamed up to raise money to rebuild
“As Muslims we know the importance of protecting the vulnerable and respecting people who call on God in their various tongues. We want for others what we want for ourselves: the right to worship without intimidation, the right to safety, and the right to property. We must always keep in mind that the Muslim community and the black community are not different communities. We are profoundly integrated in many ways, in our overlapping identities and in our relationship to this great and complicated country. We are connected to Black churches through our extended families, our friends and teachers, and our intertwined histories and convergent present. Too often cowards inflict us with a crippling fear, but with encouragement and support from likely and unlikely places fear cannot stop us."
This floored me. Especially since most times the church responds in silence when hate crimes happen to the Islamic community.
Admitting that I’m gay doesn’t mean I’m embracing sin. It means I’m being honest.
Coming to terms with my sexuality does not mean I am embracing sin. It does mean that I am being honest about my experience. Regardless of what we believe about what I should do with that experience (the morality question), that honesty should be fostered and celebrated.
May we be people who create these spaces. //Matthias Roberts
Rocky start on my high school guitar, but i kinda like this one - even with all the twangs and weird parts. Thinking about a lot lately. Must be the clouds today
A barbaric act like Wednesday's massacre of nine strangers by a white gunman at the historic black Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, shocks the conscience and makes it uncomfortable to
“The politicians, including some 2016 presidential candidates, offered condolences to the victims, but resisted ascribing racial motivations to the gunman, even as information about suspected killer Dylann Roof mounts.“
This is disturbing. As Jon Stewart put it, this is, at its core, a black and white issue.
We’re not looking for upscale coffee and pastors in skinny jeans.
“If young people are looking for congregations that authentically practice the teachings of Jesus in an open and inclusive way, then the good news is the church already knows how to do that. The trick isn’t to make church cool; it’s to keep worship weird.
You can get a cup of coffee with your friends anywhere, but church is the only place you can get ashes smudged on your forehead as a reminder of your mortality. You can be dazzled by a light show at a concert on any given weekend, but church is the only place that fills a sanctuary with candlelight and hymns on Christmas Eve. You can snag all sorts of free swag for brand loyalty online, but church is the only place where you are named a beloved child of God with a cold plunge into the water. You can share food with the hungry at any homeless shelter, but only the church teaches that a shared meal brings us into the very presence of God.
What finally brought me back, after years of running away, wasn’t lattes or skinny jeans; it was the sacraments. Baptism, confession, Communion, preaching the Word, anointing the sick — you know, those strange rituals and traditions Christians have been practicing for the past 2,000 years. The sacraments are what make the church relevant, no matter the culture or era. They don’t need to be repackaged or rebranded; they just need to be practiced, offered and explained in the context of a loving, authentic and inclusive community.
My search has led me to the Episcopal Church, where every week I find myself, at age 33, kneeling next to a gray-haired lady to my left and a gay couple to my right as I confess my sins and recite the Lord’s Prayer. No one’s trying to sell me anything. No one’s desperately trying to make the Gospel hip or relevant or cool. They’re just joining me in proclaiming the great mystery of the faith — that Christ has died, Christ has risen, and Christ will come again — which, in spite of my persistent doubts and knee-jerk cynicism, I still believe most days.”
Its interesting listening to all the news pundits and government officials condemn the so-called riots in Baltimore. The mayor referred to citizens upset…
