Let's talk about good news...

Why did Jesus choose to be baptized into John's baptism of repentance from sin? What if it's because he felt compelled to be with us, to stand alongside us in our need for repentance, for forgiveness? Drawn near by his love for us...

The very curvy journey of the magi reminds me just how unfettered is our God, how much God exists outside the straight lines and the grid patterns that we create. We worship (or, we fail to worship!) a God who is clothed in the vast of curvatures of the heavens AND coiled in the minute curvature of a baby's spine. That, for me, is good news!

The Christian story proclaims that God chose to be born as one of us because we are worth the risk, no matter how messy our stories are. Our sacred stories are full of God showing up—but in the story of Jesus' birth, God chose to show up in the riskiest of ways and in the riskiest of birth stories: born to a single teenage girl from a marginalized people group living under the violent thumb of an empire in a geographical place full of conflict. Lean with us into this, and into what Mary, too, accepted and believed, despite the risk, for herself and for her child...

We may think, “I'm just one person. What can I do?” Yet, as followers of Jesus, we’re invited to consider a different question, one rooted in hope and action: “What is mine to do?”

What did it look like for Ruth and Naomi to "gather up the pieces" and begin again?

We are starting a new year in the Christian calendar—here, in Advent, in the dark, as we long for the light. And in our advent series “Gathering the Pieces” Christie Goode starts us off today by acknowledging that YOU are a blessing, that we are a blessing…  (Isaiah 43; 1-7, Luke 1: 26-38). 

It is possible to keep our eyes open to the work of darkness—to be present to it and look it in the eye. And to be present to beauty,  goodness, mystery, and awe. To be present to Presence.

Authentic God-Talk seeks to liberate, advocating for systems and structures that uphold human dignity, alleviate suffering, and protect life on this planet.  As Job challenged orthodoxy when it deepened his suffering, authentic God-Talk will challenge theological perspectives when they invalidate those who suffer or justify oppression.

The central question in the book of Job is not about the nature of God, but about the nature of human beings. "Are human beings capable, in the midst of unjust suffering, of continuing to assert their faith in God and speak of God without expecting a return?” (—Gustavo Gutiérrez, On Job: God-Talk and the Suffering of the Innocent)