May 17 is International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOBIT*). Started in 1990 and adapted to advocate for protection of the larger community over the years, this is a day that calls LGBTQIA+ people and their allies to action. Commit some time today to learning about the issues facing the community where you are,…
When I was assigned to write the response to the John 11:25-26 passage, I didn’t know that the day before Easter we’d be burying my grandmother. Reading the words that Rev. Katherine Lee Baker shared with us yesterday brings forth such a mixture of feelings, both peaceful and painful. “What better news to receive than…
“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”‘ John 11:25-26 The beautiful theme of this ridiculously complex and nearly inconceivable passage in John’s gospel is that…
When I was growing up I went to a Christian sleep-away camp that I still hold very fond memories of. Every summer was not complete without my week long stay of bunk beds, camp fires, and endless singing. One of the more popular songs was “Blind Man”. The chorus would repeat “I am the way,…
I love the “I am” statements of Jesus not only because of the metaphors we get for God, but also those we get for ourselves. We are the branches of Jesus. Connected to one another through the ultimate source of love, we offer shade, support, and nourishment. Rooted in a secure foundation, we reach up…
At one of the churches my mother served, when I would visit, I used to wander and look at all the portrayals of Jesus that were displayed in various spaces. When I think of the good shepherd, these images come to mind: Jesus holding (often cuddling) a lamb in a pastoral scene of reunion with…
For LGBTQ+ Christians, this passage can be difficult to hear, and may have even been used against us. We have been told that we are the wolves in sheep’s clothing, seeking to harm the flock, and Jesus is the gate keeping us out. Yet, this passage (John 10) says that Jesus, the good shepherd, calls…
I know what it means to live in the Darkness far away from the God of friends, family, and loved ones. I am under no illusion that I am far from God, but the God we worship is a God of lunar softness as much as solar power. The Christ that walks triumphantly into Jerusalem…
When I was first out on my own, I was hungry in every sense of the word. Stubbornly determined on independence, I didn’t know what I believed. In college there was a dining hall and a chosen family who made dinner together at least once a week. Now, degree in hand, I used what little…
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”’ John 14:6 When I was younger, this verse meant that Jesus was the only way. I was assured by my pastor that Christians had the inside track to heaven because we knew…