God judged the ruling classes of ancient Israel because mistreating the poor was a fundamental rejection of Israel’s relationship with God. God took notice (Amos 5:6-7, 10-15). When the “rich, young ruler” approached Jesus, Jesus told him to sell all he had, and give to the poor. He walked away (Mark 10:17-26). God’s Word, Jesus […]
When we welcome children, we welcome God. When we welcome the powerless and vulnerable, we welcome God. When I say welcome, I do not mean a condescending welcoming, but a true offering of friendship as equals because before God, we are all powerless and vulnerable. Jesus did not tolerate contempt toward the powerless and vulnerable. […]
Let us praise God for coming to us in Jesus Christ: Father, in the beginning you spoke your creative Word and brought order out of chaos. Again, you spoke your creative Word and it became enfleshed in Jesus of Nazareth. The Holy Spirit renews us […]
I firmly believe that God’s working through others to do good is much larger than any one person, any one group, any one congregation, or any one religion (Numbers 11:24-29; Mark 9:38-41). Yet all religions, including Christianity must confront the violence and evil done in its name and many things have been done in Christ’s […]
Let us pray that the Spirit of God be alive with us and among all people: God, you grant us the power to do mighty works but not the right to deny that power to others. We come before you confidently for we have seen your likeness in Jesus […]
Desire and ambition are positive in the sense that they propel us to fulfill our potential, but we can become so consumed with desire and ambition that we destroy trust, community, and friendship to do better than others (James 3:13-4:8). We do this on personal and social levels, and it creates a vicious environment for […]
Let us pray to God our Father who welcomes us into his kingdom through Jesus Christ: God our Father, you tenderly stoop down to us, fallible and limited people, and your preference goes to children, to the weak, and to the humble. May we accept your Good News with the receptive attitude of […]
