Leonard Cohen, Psalmist Has Leonard strained to hear that voice whispering through all of creation? Has he had an ear for that voice without words? Might he have the gift of translating such creational glossalia?
From Trust to Lament to Trust Again We must be a community in which such songs of lament, such abrasive crying out to God, such pain at the depths of our souls, can have free voice. You see, without such lament, without such wrestling with God, individually and communally, we can never sing praise with integrity.
Psalm 137, Exile and Rocket Launchers Songs of home, songs of hope, songs that keep a faith alive, are defiled and profaned when they become the trivial entertainment of voyeuristic oppressors.
Exile, song and rage “By the rivers of Babylon – there we sat down and there we wept.” There, by those Babylonian rivers, we hung up our guitars, put away the drums, packed up the keyboard, and refused to sing. Except for this one blues tune.
James, ‘the Rich,’ and the Complexity Argument (A meditation at on James 4.13-5.20 presented at Wine Before Beer on August 26, 2014.)
Dogged Faith Great is the faith of the woman who dares to talk back; the one who dares to question; the one who dares lean in.
You talkin’ to me? James and the Church Some thirty five years ago I published my first article. It came out in a Berkeley, California based magazine of radical discipleship, appropriately named Radix.
Misogyny, Feminism, Children and the Church When I was in my mid-twenties I applied for an office job at my church. During my interview, the committee asked if I wouldn't be having children soon:
A Community of the Word (A meditation on James 3.1-18 at Wine Before Beer on July 22, 2014) We are a community of the word.
Christian Expletives and Public Discourse The question was a test. So it wasn’t a real question at all.
Daddy’s Little Feminist At Bible college, despite having the highest grades, I was made the butt of dumb blonde jokes by my male Bible professor in front of the class.
From Grace’s to James (A meditation on James 2.1-26 presented at Wine Before Beer, June, 17, 2014) It takes less than two bars for everyone to know what’s up.
St. James and Regenerative Eroticism I have been re-reading Barbara Kingsolver’s wonderful novel Prodigal Summer over the last few weeks.
Desire of the Rich and Doers of the Word :: A Sermon on James 1.1-27 For James, theology preoccupied with getting your doctrine right, devoid of lives of generous discipleship, is bullshit, no matter how orthodox it may be.
An Epistle of Straw? Might it be that James is just too in your face? Might it be that James is just so damn uncompromising that he makes it all too uncomfortable? Might it be that an ‘established church’ that has made its peace with the empire simply cannot countenance such a radical call to discipleship?