Pentecost and Fire

5 06 2013

by Sylvia Keesmaat

(a meditation presented at Wine Before Beer, May 21, 2013)

FireBIG

What is it about God and fire?
You may remember Moses and God
and the bush with the lights in it.
The bush on fire,
that never burns up.
Fire and not fire.
Burning and not consuming.
Out of the fire God issues to Moses
an invitation and command:
Go, lead my people out of their slavery.
And Moses begins a journey to gather a people for God,
to lead them out of Egypt,
to lead them in the wilderness,
to feed them and comfort them.
Moses learned that you want to be careful with fire.
You never know what passion it might ignite in you,
what command it will give you,
what fire it will light in your belly. Read the rest of this entry »


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Betrayal and Resurrection

30 03 2013

by Sylvia Keesmaat

(A Sermon Preached at the Easter Vigil, March 30, 2013, at Christchurch, Coboconk on Genesis 1.1-2.4a; Genesis 3; Exodus 14.10-31, 15.20-21; Ezekiel 36.24-28; Romans 6.3-11; Luke 24.1-12.

Imagine it, if you will.
God had such high hopes.
God had hovered over the darkness,
breathed over it
and gathered all the creative energies of life.

God hoped,
and out of the darkness flowered light.

And not only light:
sky and earth,
dry land and seas,
fruit and flowers,
leaves and grasses.

Animals that walked
and animals that flew,
animals that crept
and animals that swam.

The skies, the seas, the earth,
all of it teeming with the creative hopes of God.

But there was more:
the earth creatures,
woman and man,
to care for and rejoice
in the earth,
to be company and friends with God.

God had hope for enjoyment and conversation,
hope for praise and delight.
God would be with them and nothing could go wrong. Read the rest of this entry »


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Why Did Jesus Die?

6 04 2012

by Sylvia Keesmaat

Originally published in The Banner – the official magazine of the Christian Reformed Church

Was it because of the chief priests and the officers of the temple police and the elders? They were the ones who came out with swords into the dark of the garden. They were the ones who provided the thirty pieces of silver, who plotted day by day as Jesus spoke in the temple. They were full of fear: fear of a revolt by the people, fear of losing their own privileged positions in the Jerusalem hierarchy, fear of God’s kingdom of righteousness and justice and peace breaking in. Did Jesus die because of their fear and jealousy and ambition?

Why did Jesus die?

Was it because of Judas, the keeper of the money, who had followed Jesus almost from the beginning? Judas had heard him teach, seen him bring healing and hope, and watched forgiveness flow from his fingertips. Judas had been full of hopes for Jesus, keyed up on the walk to Jerusalem, waiting for the revolution to come. Was he disappointed that Jesus did not start gathering an army? Was he disappointed that this great leader was ignoring the only sure path to power? Is that why he slipped away in the night to whisper Jesus’ whereabouts to the officers of the temple for 30 pieces of silver? Is that why he betrayed his master with a kiss? Did Jesus die because of Judas’s disappointed hopes?

Why did Jesus die? Read the rest of this entry »


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On “Not Getting It” and the Virtue of Humility

6 02 2009

by Brian Walsh

I am always amazed and deeply gratified by how many people take the time to write to me emails and letters of gratitude for my books. And they often come at just the right time for me. You know, when you’re feeling a little empty or discouraged and out of the blue comes a word of encouragement.

But there is also a theme that seems to recur in a lot of this correspondence. Here is what someone wrote to me recently:

“We are VERY happy at our church, and they are great in many respects (strong on trade justice, social issues etc) and a real family to us in many ways; but they just don’t get it! I asked recently why, in light of the current economic crisis, no politician has said that perhaps it is the system itself that is wrong. The blank looks were legion! We are trying to work out where to go next – and are unsure how we put into practice (in a way that just won’t overwhelm and cause us to fail) all the things we are and have discussed.”

“They just don’t get it.” Read the rest of this entry »


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Evolving Church – Amidst the Powers

22 01 2009

Yesterday we posted a piece from Sylvia Keesmaat in response to questions from Rob & Kirsten Vander Geissen-Reitsma who are teaching an interim course at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI (where they also coordinate the fabulous Festival of Faith and Music).

Strangely enough over here at ER, we talk about Empire from time to time, and we think it important to work our way through the questions of our own implication in the evil and oppression we see in the world. In that same vein, we’re excited to be participating in the upcoming Evolving Church Conference in Oakville, Ontario.

Brian Walsh and Sylvia Keesmaat will both be presenting workshops, and the entire Empire Remixed crew has something cooking to close out the conference with a bang.

It’s not often that you get to hear from Marva Dawn, Stanley Hauerwas and Walter Wink all at the same place, and it will be great to see what fires are ignited here in Canada as a result of this gathering. We’re pretty stoked about the conference, and hope that you’ll be able to join us on March 21, 2009, to challenge and to be challenged by speakers, workshops, and (perhaps most importantly), engaging in conversations that matter with one another.

You can register for the conference through their website, and let others know you’re attending through their facebook group. See you in March!


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On EMPIRE and Empire

21 01 2009

 by Sylvia Keesmaat

Our friends over at culture is not optional (*cino), Rob and Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma are teaching a course this semester at Calvin College on pop culture and empire. They sent a couple of questions to Brian Walsh and Sylvia Keesmaat that they were struggling with.

We thought that Sylvia’s response was insightful, so we present here Kirstin’s questions and Sylvia’s reply.

Kirstin: Would you talk about a capital-e Empire as the archetype to the anti-Kingdom? (Empire=evil, Kingdom=good, both manifesting themselves in human culture to varying degrees) Alternately, is there no Empire, but only small-e empire–a collection of manifestations throughout time and place (including within the human heart) that need to be sorted out for what’s good and evil? Read the rest of this entry »


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A Letter From New York

29 04 2008

by Sue Erickson

Five months ago, I moved from Toronto to live in New York. I work for a church called Origins Church New York, a two-year-old community in Manhattan. It’s the only church I’ve ever worked for, and I love it; it is home.

I was educated as an engineer, but an intense longing for something made me leave engineering. I left, and went…nowhere. I knew I was not an engineer; I knew there was something else I could or wanted to or needed to be; and that was the end of my knowledge.

The blind, grasping feeling for something I knew was there but couldn’t see or take hold of or touch was so frustrating! So, at the advice of a friend, I started to see a spiritual director in the hope that we could search together for my vocation. Read the rest of this entry »


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Romans Disarmed :: Tickets Now Available

21 04 2008

Tickets for our upcoming Romans Disarmed Salon Discussion featuring Marva Dawn and Sylvia Keesmaat are now available for $12 through Crux Books in Toronto. Drop by or give them a call to reserve yours today:

Crux Books
5 Hoskin Avenue
Toronto Ontario
416.599.2749


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Romans Disarmed :: A Salon Discussion

2 04 2008

So we’ve been running a series on Romans over here at empire.remixed. Did you know? Many of the pieces published here on the blog were originally delivered in sermon format throughout last year at Wine Before Breakfast.

WBB is a eucharistic community that meets weekly on Tuesday mornings at 7.30 am during the school year in Wycliffe College’s chapel, and sponsored by the CRC Campus Ministry.

Some of our favourite posts from that series include We’re All in This Together on Romans 3, Creation’s Groan on Romans 8, To Hell With Romans 13 on (you guessed it) Romans 13  and Letters From the Future on Romans 14.

And now, we’re happy to announce our second in a series of Salon Discussions, this time featuring two prominent biblical scholars with expertise in Pauline Theology and the book of Romans. Behold: Read the rest of this entry »


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