BCNE News
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The good shepherd
Throughout Scripture, the metaphor of sheep and shepherd are used to paint a vivid picture of God and His people. Psalm 23 begins with the line, “The Lord is my Shepherd,” and Jesus affirms this in John 10. While few of us today know the intricacies of agrarian labor, we have read stories, watched films, and driven past enough farms that the realities of these statements are within the realm of imaginative meditation. Let us dust off the redeemed imagination so that the goodness may hit us afresh, so that we may ingest the treasures of truth to be found within the living Word.
Advent is for the weary
In New England, the season of Advent creeps into the literal darkness of December. As the days shorten, the holiday season ramps up, it’s frenzied and bright. The loudest messages speak of exuberance and abundance and assume a constant state of exhaustive cheer. And while joy is central to the coming of Christ, the season of Advent also presses back with a counter-cultural invitation into a stillness of soul as we watch for the coming light.
Have mercy on those who doubt
Over the past few years, as churches and the names of leaders and Christian organizations have been strewn across news headlines fraught with scandal, many people are doubting their faith or rejecting it altogether. For some, they are questioning the veracity of Christianity for the first time, wondering if it is right or good, wondering if it is simply a set of ancient (irrelevant) moral principles enforced by power-mongering hypocrites. Honestly, they are right to wonder.
The idol of efficiency
There is a cultural preoccupation with efficiency within the modern Western world. It is so prevalent that at times we – even as Christians – do not question whether it is good or bad, it just is. We can get so caught up in the madness along with the rest of the secular world. But is this healthy? And beyond that, is it always godly? Is this obsession with efficiency yet another way to pay homage to ourselves, adding to the illusion of our capacity to control within our spheres of influence? Does God approve, or does He define productivity in a different way?
The price of redemption
In an age where we are inundated with headlines of suffering, evil, fear, and death – where there is simultaneously an ease to remaining comfortable with ignorance, distance, or avoidance – the Confessions of Saint Augustine and the signposts of the Old Testament guide Christians towards a more robust understanding of the gravity of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Within modern western culture, death is often dealt with behind closed doors. The sick and elderly rarely die at home, intimately cared for by their loved ones throughout the process of dying. Instead they are shipped off, making death seem less intrusive, more remote, palatable, forgettable.
Walking with those who weep
In the age of social media, it is easy to believe that only what is clean cut and manicured is worth sharing. We like to celebrate in public and mourn in private. In a culture obsessed with perfection, grief and lament feel awkward and out of place. Grievers can feel isolated under their burdens when others do not know how to make space for their sorrows. Those who are supporting sufferers can feel overwhelmed and uncertain of how to best love and serve in the tension. Even within the church, grief can be lonely and strange.
Stewarding the senses: Redeeming sensuality
I’m making tacos tonight: pork shoulder slow cooked until it’s falling off the bone, fresh lime and cilantro, a bit of arugula, some fried plantains and homemade guacamole on the side. The many flavors give me a window into the vibrancy of God the Creator. Yes, tacos can be an entry way into worship. And they should be. The senses – hearing, sight, smell, taste, touch – are incredible gifts from God, given to His beloved creation as avenues by which to know Him better, by which we know His love, and through which we learn to long for Him more and more. They are designed to point us to a Creator who is even bigger than what we can know, taste, or touch.
When spiritual leaders hurt others
Looking at humanity, I tend to expect bad news. I know I’m a mess; I’m capable of absolute darkness. But when I look at the church I expect unity, humility, righteousness. In light of the #metoo movement, the #churchtoo movement, and recent allegations of hidden sexual abuse and scandal from large Christian organizations and respected leaders, it is clear that the church is not above the same corrupting evil that is in the world. Power and money talk, and out of fear or disbelief people listen.
The cocoon or the cross
“We cultivate indifference as a cocoon.” These words from James K.A. Smiths’ book “On the Road with St Augustine” leapt off the page and landed so viscerally that I let out a gasp, closing both the book and my eyes under the piercing accuracy of this one weighty sentence. Regardless of the rest of Smith’s book, this sentence had my attention. My pastor often says that “the opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s indifference.” I wholeheartedly agree. I see this insidiousness go undetected within myself, and I see it applauded in the world around me, masquerading synonymously as the secular virtue of tolerance.