Greater Glory

Atonement, Forgiveness, God, Jesus, Love, Redemption 0

What would have happened if Jesus, in terrible pain on the cross, had commanded an army of angels to come and wipe out his persecutors? What would have happened if Jesus had bought into the violent response of Peter when the Romans came to arrest him? Violence, bloodshed, death, maybe even war, right? But instead, Jesus responded in the opposite way. He commanded Peter to put away his sword and he spoke words of forgiveness from the cross. In so doing, he broke the cycle of violence and reconciled us to God so that we could spend an eternity celebrating and enjoying our restored relationship with a God who loves us. Which brings God more glory – retribution or restoration? I think the answer is obvious.

–Sharon L. Baker, Executing God, p. 99

Photo: Cherry blossoms, South Riding, Virginia, March 28, 2025

The Compassionate Heart of God

Atonement, Compassion, God, Grace, Jesus, Love, Redemption 0

What do I see when I look upon Christ in death with a pierced side? I see that a soldier’s spear has opened a window into the heart of God. As I gaze into the heart of God I discover that there is no wrath, no malice, no threat, no vengeance; only compassion, mercy, and forgiveness. Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Mt 12:34). Jesus dies, not with a curse upon his lips, but with a plea for pardon. To see Christ upon the cross is to see into the very depths of the heart of God. Where once in our distant pagan past we imagined there lurked monstrous intent threatening harm, we now discover there is only tender compassion. On the cross we encounter a God who would rather die than kill his enemies. When we look through the riven side of Christ into the heart of God, we gaze upon a vast cosmos filled with galaxies of grace.

–Brian Zahnd, The Wood Between the Worlds, p. 33

Photo: Cherry blossoms in a heart shape, South Riding, Virginia, March 28, 2025

If God Can

Acceptance, God, Grace 0

We sing, Holy, Holy, Holy. We say, “Yes, yes, it is good.” We are energized by what we see. And our private darkness is no great surprise. Who cares? Who cares where I am on the ladder of perfection? That’s an egocentric question. “Where am I?” “How holy am I?” become silly questions. If God can receive me, who am I to not receive myself – warts and all?

–Richard Rohr, Everything Belongs, p. 105

Photo: Buds and blue sky, South Riding, Virginia, March 21, 2025

Bright Moments

Beauty, God, Joy 0

It’s tempting to dismiss these bright moments as merely flashes of serendipity, of coincidence. I contend that they are limited only by our response to them. We’ve already considered that hallowed moments are often found in small things and small places and that God does not have a habit of appearing to us in spectacular ways. Rather, we note God’s presence when we take time to observe the humble, everyday miracles and, now and then, the bright moments. These will not make the newspapers, but they should surely hold space in our private journals.

–Tracy Balzer, A Journey of Sea and Stone, p. 81

Photo: Sunrise, South Riding, Virginia, March 7, 2025

Living in the House of God

God, Joy 0

Recovering this sacramental ontology is the next big step toward enchanting our faith in this skeptical age. This is a one-story universe. So let’s stop going through the day living as if God doesn’t exist. God is everywhere present. God isn’t that mysterious neighbor living in the apartment above you. God is closer than you can imagine. The signs and sacraments are all around you. Christ is playing in ten thousand places. The world hums with sacred electricity. Listen for the laughter and follow your joy. You are standing at the gateway to heaven. You are living in the House of God.

–Richard Beck, Hunting Magic Eels, p. 90

Photo: Burg Grafendahn, Germany, June 18, 2024

Go High

Core Value, God, Jesus 0

If our postmodern world seems highly subject to cynicism, skepticism, and what it does not believe in, if we now live in a post-truth America, then we “believers” must take at least partial responsibility for aiming our culture in this sad direction. The best criticism of the bad is still the practice of the better. Oppositional energy only creates more of the same. All problem solving must first be guided by a positive and overarching vision.

We must reclaim the Christian project, building from the true starting point of Original Goodness. We must reclaim Jesus as an inclusive Savior instead of an exclusionary Judge, as a Christ who holds history together as the cosmic Alpha and Omega. Then, both history and the individual can live inside of a collective safety and an assured success. Some would call this the very shape of salvation.

–Richard Rohr, The Universal Christ, p. 67-68

Photo: South Riding, Virginia, February 12, 2025

Uniting

Community, Connection, God 0

Abba Daniel, wise old monk, knows that the purpose of the spiritual life is not to separate us from others. On the contrary, it is meant to unite us, but all too often it is used to divide us. Only the really spiritual, the real religious in every tradition, know that the One God wants us all to be one. We are meant to identify with the hopes and fears, and the needs and struggles, of the whole world — because the world is God’s, and we are God’s agents on earth. No, the world cannot separate us from God. Only we can do that.

— Joan Chittister, In God’s Holy Light, p. 39

Photo: View from Burg Falkenstein, Germany, June 19, 2024

God’s Unrelenting Love

Atonement, God, Jesus, Love, Redemption 0

What Paul is claiming by saying that God put forth Jesus as a hilasterion is that this is proof of God’s righteousness and forbearance (Rom 3:25-26). The cross is not the pre-condition for God’s forgiveness. Rather, it is what proves how unrelenting God’s love is, even for God’s enemies (5:10-11; 8:31-39). And, humanity is being saved, not from God, but from Sin and Death (e.g., 5:12-7:25; cf. 1 Cor 15:55-56). Paul thinks the cross is what God endures in Jesus as God forgives (Rom 4:7), overlooks (3:25-26), and does not account people’s sins (4:8; cf. 2 Cor 5:18-19). The death of Jesus is what God undergoes as he loves his enemies so as to be reconciled to them (5:6-11), which requires God to enter “enemy territory” so to speak.

Paul is essentially saying:

Look at Jesus! God is not your enemy! You are the ones at enmity with God. God is justifying you even though you are ungodly. God has put forth Jesus as a conciliatory votive gift of peace and reconciliation to demonstrate this. Be reconciled to God! God loves you! If God did not spare God’s own Son, then nothing can separate you from the love of God revealed and manifested in Jesus Christ. Jesus eternally stands in the presence of God (like votive gifts stand in temples) interceding for us all.

–Andrew Remington Rillera, Lamb of the Free, p. 268-269

Photo: Snow and frozen lake, South Riding, Virginia, January 6, 2025

Learning from Mistakes

Redemption 0

Many times, when people are told that they have caused harm, a defensive, self-protective impulse kicks in. We often deny either our actions or their impact, particularly if we have caused great harm — or if we believe that doing a harmful thing is the same thing as being a bad person. If someone interprets the statement “You said something racist” to mean “You are an irredeemably racist person,” they might well resist the critique, seeing it as a condemnation of their whole self. But walking the path of antiracism is riddled with mistakes and new learning; acknowledging the mistake of saying something racist does not mean we are irrevocably racist, doomed to this fate. It’s rather the opposite, no? Doubling down and getting defensive makes it much more likely that you’ll just keep doing the thing. If you can’t face and work to repair your mistakes, you certainly won’t learn from them.

— Danya Ruttenberg, On Repentance and Repair, p. 51-2

Photo: Bare branches and sunrise, South Riding, Virginia, February 18, 2025