“No one wants you”
Many groups and individuals classify as the “Least of These” that Jesus talks about, but are we actually loving and ministering to and with these folks?
Jesus
What will be our response?
“The hammer of criminal justice is the preferred tool of a society that has run out of ideas.” — Ta-Nehisi Coates This is Part 4 of a 5-part series. Read Part 1, Part 2, or Part 3. As part of my weeklong immersion experience through Memphis Theological Seminary’s class “Jesus, Jails, and Justice,” we were … [Read more…]
Definition of Justice
Sometimes the best thing we can do is to define the very thing we are after, and in doing so, find out our value isn’t the truth of the Gospel.
Withholding Grace
Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done, says social justice activist Bryan Stevenson. Why is it so hard to believe that?
What I learned in prison
“I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and … [Read more…]
Each of us is worth so much more
Bryan Stevenson is famous for this quote that sears my brain: “Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve done.” Stevenson, an attorney, is the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative that fights injustice and discrimination among the poor, incarcerated and condemned. You can read more about him and his … [Read more…]
A Lesson on Love and Forgiveness
Yesterday’s Youth Sunday School lesson was a quick hitter, inspired by a slide we went over in my Christian Heritage class last week as we concluded a lecture on social justice and the Church. The slide: “If the Church mediates the struggles of its people, then… What are the struggles of its people? What is the … [Read more…]
Witches, Wizards and Measly Weasleys
Jesus has just called Matthew the tax collector as the final member of his somewhat cantankerous band of 12 disciples when Jesus took a break. He relaxed at a table in Matthew’s home, presumably with some of Matthew’s most notorious and skeezy friends – sinners. Louses. Leeches. Low-lifes, every one of them. The Messiah didn’t … [Read more…]
Squirrels and Scripture
I’m not sure what my dad had against squirrels, but maybe he was applying divine wisdom when I was a youth. You did not want to be considered a squirrel in the Luthy household. When I was in high school and college, and would mention a potential male suitor I was admiring, my dad would … [Read more…]
Easter People
My alarm went off yesterday at 5 a.m. At 5:20 a.m., I was still in bed, sending Snapchat messages to friends with the words “got to go check the tomb” and feeling pretty snarky. I eventually got up, pulled on some clothes, brushed my teeth and shuffled into my car to head to church for … [Read more…]