The Slave's Eyes
Here I am. As bond-servant to the men known as the Wise Ones I have travelled far and wide and seen many strange things. I have seen a mountain spew fire from its belly; I have seen the spirits dance in the northern sky; I have felt the Earth growl with hunger and shake with rage. But of all of these things nothing compares in any way with the awe I feel now. I stand here in this humble house. There is a young man who looks at me and my masters apprehensively. Seated is a young woman who seems to be in as much awe as anyone here. But it is not the young couple, not my masters dressed in scarlet and gold, not even the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh that is the reason for the excitement here today. It is the small child on the lap of the woman. He is...
The Middle of Nowhere
Most of the time, when election season rolls around there is a palpable increase in the level of tension in any conversation that moves beyond the latest sporting event. These days it seems that election season has stretched itself out to enfold not only the year of the big vote, but all years in between. As such we are all faced with dealing with a near-constant level of rancor in what would otherwise be fairly placid conversations. It seems that “my team is always right and your team is always wrong” has become the mantra of every other soul around. Ironically, each ideological camp accuses the other of being the most egregious practitioners of this universally hated art. Many Christians, upon seeing the degradations born of extreme partisanship, have come...
Waiting Worries
“Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good works and glorify God on the day of visitation.” 1 Peter 2:12 Over the past several years I’ve spent most of my employed time as a waiter. Technically we’re supposed to be called “servers” now, but who’s counting? It’s been a great job for a student like me or just for anybody who needs a flexible work schedule combined with quick cash inflow. It has also afforded me an excellent opportunity for people-watching. Some of this is the passive sort available only to those in the service industry since, for the most part, my customers barely notice that I exist. It’s amazing what sorts of things you hear about if people are...
In Concert
“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.” 1 Corinthians 12:5-6 This summer makes for my first break from seminary life since the fall of 2003. In these five-plus years of being a “professional Christian” I came to realize that seminary is a lot like high school. For every “focus of ministry” there is a clique with privileges for the in-group and a semi-respectful affection for those not so fortunate to be in the club. For some of these it has been a particular pleasure to witness the dance of a given calling as it works itself out in the life of a brother or sister. For others, it has...
Hubris
“Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, ‘Are you for us or for our enemies?’ ‘Neither’ he replied.” Joshua 5:13-14a Back in the fall of 1994, some friends of mine and I had gathered to hang out one Tuesday evening. We interrupted our planned activities to check out how the mid-term congressional elections were going. I don’t think any of us was expecting anything significant to happen any more than we would expect the Yankees to get blown away by a little league team. The Democrats had controlled the Congress as long as any of us could remember and we all just assumed that this was the way things were. We were all therefore quite surprised...