Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. I know that is true for me. Setting the Inner Compass is a column where I share
More
Judges 6-8 depict the Gideon cycle of judgeship over the Israelites and unlike many of the judge narratives, Gideon’s story contains large amount of detail allowing Gideon to undergo significant character development. The Gideon who is called in Judges 6 is timid and insecure, whereas the Gideon who dies in
More
Mark’s pericope of the anointing woman (Mark 14:3-9) provides a poignant model of cisgender allyship to the transgender community. The anointing woman shows extravagant care to Jesus as a demonstration of the value of his body and as an acknowledgment of the painful transition he is about to endure. Jesus’
More
Over the past 15 months, most of the world has been radically transformed by COVID-19, which has killed more than 3.7 million people worldwide. The pandemic has uncovered the inequalities inherent in current systems in the United States and throughout the world. As we reflect on these situations,
More
Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. I know that is true for me. In this monthly column, Setting the Inner Compass, I share
More
The scene of Jesus’ transfiguration in Mark 9:2-8—not only Peter’s address to Jesus as “rabbi” and his offer to build tabernacles for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah (Mark 9:2-8) but also God’s affirmation of Jesus’ identity—offers instruction of allyship. Peter’s inappropriate response to Jesus’ transformation parallels poor allyship in which a
More
Trauma is a loaded word and scary at the same time because it obscures pains from the past that we wish to forget. However, despite our efforts to forget and move on, history continues to follow us in our lived experiences. How people interact and deal with the trauma is
More
In Mark 8:27-33, on the way to Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” The disciples offer several possibilities: John the Baptist, Elijah, or one of the other prophets. Having heard all of the incorrect ways by which he is identified, Jesus turns the
More
Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. I know that is true for me. This is the first anniversary of ‘Setting the Inner Compass’,
More
As a result of a long European colonization process, indigenous people and their descendants in America have been forced to erase their identity, languages, and cultures. This identity struggle to fight for recognition has brought both trauma and pain. Indigenous people have been denied self-identification and self-determination, first under Spanish
More
Unbound Social