“In my view, Jesus changed lives because he was able to change the way people imagined their lives. He dared them to imagine the stranger as neighbor, the child as teacher, the enemy as mirror, the deity as loving father. He helped them imagine lepers, women, and Roman centurions as exemplars of faith. He asked them to imagine that the most important person at the table was the waiter, and that the end of the line was the place to be. At the moment I cannot think of a single…

“Purpose crosses disciplines. Purpose is an essential element of you. It is the reason you are on the planet at this particular time in history. Your very existence is wrapped up in the things you are here to fulfill. Whatever you choose for a career path, remember, the struggles along the way are only meant to shape you for your purpose. When I dared to challenge the system that would relegate us to victims and stereotypes with no clear historical backgrounds, no hopes or talents, when I questioned that method…

There’s Moses, listening and talking to a tree on fire. And then comes the big question and the bigger answer. Moses: “What is your name?” God: “I AM that I AM.” Or, I will be what I will be. Or, I am who I have been and intend to be. Or, I exist and exert myself. Funny how God is intriguing and terrifying at the same time. Kind of like how God occupies past and future at the same time and works both sides of the street to accomplish God’s…

Moses became the great deliverer but who delivered Moses? There’s no Exodus without the faithfulness of women. Shiphrah and Puah remembered that God is God alone and refused Pharaoh’s order to kill all the newborn male children. Moses’ mother, Jochebed, and her daughter Miriam masterminded a plan to float Moses in a basket to the house of Pharaoh and to Pharaoh’s daughter. And Miriam arrives just as Pharaoh’s daughter lays eyes on Moses with an offer to find a wet-nurse, Jochebed, Moses’ and Miriam’s own mother! That’s how God’s most…

They sold their brother into slavery. But, by his talent and the mercy of God, Joseph rose to prominence while his siblings languished in famine. Now, after all these years, it was Joseph’s turn to wield power and to take revenge. This is the way the logic of our world goes, dog eat dog! But something interrupts this logic for Joseph. Rather than shame, guilt, condemnation or vengeance, Joseph calls his siblings close and says, “I am your brother.” That is a poetic, holy, and disruptive declaration. The best we…

Their boat was, “…battered by the waves, far from the land and the wind was against them.” This distress lasted all night. Our present battering has lasted more than four months. We are far from getting a handle on things. We are battered by the waves of breaking news and the stiff winds of grief and loss are against us. More than that, racism and COVID-19 aren’t the only pandemics swirling these days. A third pandemic is fear. Fear in general and fear in specific. Fear does its best work…

Jesus fed five thousand people, the story says…took up scraps and blessed them. All that ate were filled. This story teaches a profound lesson about the nature of God. God is lively and breaks into situations and transforms them. But there’s another lesson here. Stories like this one invite us to share and be generous and offer that generosity to our neighbor in God’s name. That’s a very good thing. But, there’s “…a more excellent way.” Walter Brueggemann reminds us charity was never supposed to be the overarching goal. “Charity…

A mother of two sons came requesting a favor from Jesus, she wanted greatness and first-ness for her sons. That’s where Jesus’ leadership lesson begins. Leadership is not actually about aspiration to a role. It can’t actually be granted. Sure, titles can be conferred but real leadership is what happens downstream of and sometimes simultaneous to a person’s quest for depth and breadth of spirit. Leadership is a set of behaviors available for anyone at any time to choose and use. And those tools are most effectively used by people…

Peter and Paul, were both beneficiaries of God’s search and rescue mission. Both were lost in their own way. Both were found by God’s locating grace, mercy, and purpose. Their spirituality comes from remembering their lostness and how God rescued them and positioned them to be alongside of other people. I ask you to remember your lostness and your foundness. Remember you’re not here because of intellect, strength, or ability. Remember there’s a holy One that has been searching for you. Remember how you ran and hid? Remember God’s pursuit….