Category Archives: Coherence

. . . notes on the nonviolence of Jesus In my post on itinerancy I wrote that Jesus’s directive was clear: we are to live in such a way that makes clear our unconditional acceptance of our total dependence on God. He did not limit that directive to the practice of sharing (of not possessingContinue reading “A Stranger to Fear”

Notes on the Itinerancy of Jesus Jesus was itinerant. I don’t think many historians seriously dispute this; I don’t think many theologians do either. It’s right there in the text. See also Matthew 10:10 (Take no bag for the road, or second tunic, or sandals, or staff) and Mark 6:8-9 (Take nothing for the journeyContinue reading “Everything Belongs to God”

Christmas has to do with children. After all of this, given all of this, is that not clear? We are here for the little onesThe wind speaks to the lamb, and the lamb speaks to the shepherd and the shepherd speaks to all of us. The answer to all our problems is a gift, oneContinue reading “Advent Journal: It’s Okay to Love and Be Lifted”

Suddenly the way narrows. It’s okay – I asked for it. The Upanishads say that only once in a thousand times a thousand years does a soul awaken. But something is happening now that doesn’t neatly map to traditional religious expression. Jesus would not recognize the man on the cross in our churches. Nor whyContinue reading “Advent Journal: The Way Narrows”

Holiness undoes the stranglehold of identity. It shifts the locus of identity from the body to the collective, and from the collective to God, Whom Jesus knew as a Father. For me – maybe for you, too – holiness is mostly an invitation to tell a different story and, in doing so, to realize whoContinue reading “Advent Journal: Hinterlands Full of Apostles and Prophets”

The moon was impossibly bright this morning, a few fingers above Arunah Hill. The clarity was shocking in the still-dark kitchen; I brewed coffee with the lights off, finding my way, in order to keep the moon and its uncompromising light in focus. There are moments when the confusion subsides and identity settles and anContinue reading “Advent Journal: Together We are Briefly Heavenly”