Home sweet home. Have you ever uttered that phrase at some point in your life? You walk through the door after a long vacation or road trip—exhausted, relieved, thankful to have finally arrived—and you say, “Home sweet home.” You’ve been away at college, and after a long semester of homesickness, you pull into the driveway and that wave of nostalgia washes over you, and you say, “Home sweet home.” At the end of a long day at the office, or a long stay in a hospital, or a long two … [Read more...]
A Politics of Compassion: Delight
If you’re anything like me, you want so badly to believe that you’re standing on the right side of an issue, and on the right side of history, and on the right side of God—and most of the time you’re pretty sure you are—that you can quickly turn penultimate things into ultimate things and personal conversations into moral crusades, until suddenly you discover that you’ve turned a stranger or even a friend into an enemy. One of our problems is that we think in terms of binary categories: … [Read more...]
A Politics of Compassion: Kenosis
In my forthcoming book, I explore how, as people of faith, we are called to practice a politics of compassion in our broken world. What core commitments might inform how Christians respond to the most contentious issues of our day, such as health care, climate change, immigration, racism? How do we transcend the politics of division that dominates our divides our country? Is it possible that, despite our ideological differences, we can still find enough common ground to work together for the … [Read more...]
The Politics of Compassion: Kinship
With 91 days until the November 2020 Presidential Election, U.S. Americans are about to enter one of the most contentious political seasons in recent memory. How do we transcend the politics of contempt that dominates our country and turns friends into adversaries based solely on partisan loyalties? Despite our differences, can we find enough common ground that we can work together for the common good? Last year I preached a sermon series on … [Read more...]
Mental Illness and the Christian Faith
Be Well Luke 8:26-39 “How are you?” It’s the most common question in all the world, in every culture. “How are you?” “Como esta?” “Comment allez-vous?” “Come Va?” In my household, it's ‘Wutz poppin’?” “Wutz buzzin cousin?” “How’s your gravy?” “ Wassabi?” How are you? It’s both the most commonly asked question and the most halfheartedly, guardedly, disingenuously answered question, too. We rarely answer it truthfully. Instead, we turn to one of our standard, innocuous responses. … [Read more...]
