Through Earthly Forms and Folds

Baptism of the Lord

January 8, 2023 • Christine V. Hides • Matthew 3:13–17

It is persistent, persuasive grace that sustains our baptismal identities as beloved children of God, called to new life in the divine flow, becoming part of God’s living, liberating, life sustaining work in the world. On our best days, we behave as though we know the truth that we are beloved. Other days, the never ending hustle leads us to three wrong and harmful conclusions about who we are.

Theologian Henri Nouwen names them:[1] I am what I have. I am what I do. I am what other people say or think about me.

Every new calendar year we are faced with the same pressures. We pledge to save more, achieve that work goal or school award, read more books, get more followers, and organize our messy homes and lives. All of these things can be good and helpful. But they are not who we are. We are more than the schools we went to, the teams we will cheer for during tomorrow night's NCAA football final, more than the job title we hold, more than our GPA and we are more than our bank account balance. Thank God for that.

[1] Nouwen, Henri. Spiritual Direction, 25.

What's Saving Your Life Right Now? I: The Practice of Waking Up to God: Vision

April 7, 2024 • Squire Prince • Genesis 28:10–19

Two Quiet Josephs

March 31, 2024 • William A. Evertsberg • Matthew 27:57–61, Matthew 28:1–10

When you come to the end of all four Gospels, no matter what Gospel you’re reading, you’re going to see an obscure, minor actor with a walk-on part who appears out of nowhere, disappears just as quickly, and is never heard from again. His name is Joseph of Arimathea, and he is the guy who talked Pilate into handing over Jesus’ bruised, beaten, battered, bloodied body from the cross and then loaned him his own personal grave so that Jesus could have a proper burial. I say ‘loaned’ rather than ‘gave’ because as it turns out, Jesus wouldn’t need his borrowed grave for long. Now who is this Joseph of Arimathea and what makes him more important in all four Gospels than the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son, the Magi, the Shepherds, and Zacchaeus? Joseph appears quadruple the number of times as those other events. Who is he and where did he come from? Where is Arimathea? But that’s just the point—no one knows. There are some educated guesses, but no one’s sure. This cryptic character comes out of nowhere and is never heard from again.

God's Odd Benedictions VI: The Unalloyed

March 17, 2024 • William A. Evertsberg • Matthew 5:1–8

The word for ‘pure’ that Jesus uses here in the sixth beatitude means in Greek just what it means in English, as when we say, “Her heart was pure gold.” We mean that her essence is unalloyed, not contaminated with traces of zinc, iron, lead, or whatever it is that makes gold less than 24-karat. Her heart is unadulterated, free from any hint of other color or substance, untarnished by any fleck of stain. There is only one thing in there, and nothing else, nothing else at all. No alloys, additives, preservatives, contaminants; nothing shameful, nothing false, nothing unclean. She is like Dany Targaryen’s troops: The Unsullied.