It can’t have been comfortable to be John the Baptist. Camel’s hair clothes and locusts aside, it’s never pleasant to be the
Keep ReadingThroughout the book of Ezekiel, he finds himself, along with others, trying to figure their way through the exile after the Babylonians had attacked Jerusalem. The prophet Ezekiel is known to have some fantastical and vivid visions of the God’s presence in the midst of their exilic experience. These visions
MoreRecently freed from the grip of the Assyrian empire, consumed by giddy nationalism, Judah whipsawed between two competing visions of what it meant to be God’s people. The Mosaic covenant established at Sinai was clear: if the people wanted to thrive, they had to follow God’s commandments. But Judah also
MoreThe biggest challenge for this series was taking a very patriarchal and overtly heteronormative list of male prophets - and thinking of how I could even crack open the binaristic world of “us” and “them” that is typical of the prophecies about Israel. Isaiah gave me a gentler start as
MoreI wasn’t sure if I should say yes to doing this series of illustrations. The prophets of the Bible I grew up with are known for being xenophobic, nationalist, sometimes violent and often judgemental. Queering them would mean trying to look through and beyond verse upon verse of inflicting death
MoreThere are two things happening with this final piece of Mark’s good news. First, we’ve got some revisionist history happening. Scholars agree that Mark was probably the very first of the gospels written. It’s the shortest and it’s missing some key pieces that the others have (the virgin birth isn’t
MoreMark’s most horrific chapter opens with Jesus’ second interrogation. The anonymous Markan author tells of Jesus being given into the hands of Pilate who would’ve been historical Jesus’ most formidable opponent, although the author chose not to frame it according to this historical likelihood. What the author may have expressed
MoreMark 14:22-26 is a story that Christians know well, the story of the Last Supper. This is Jesus’ final meal with His twelve apostles before He is to be betrayed, tried, and executed.
Jesus’ posture in this passage is somber and serious, as He administers the bread and wine
The end isn’t what it used to be: a portent of angels and demons or a cinematic Armageddon. Sitting on the Mount of Olives where he’d retreated before for solitude and prayer, Jesus responds to his disciples’ urgent questions. They ask “when.” They ask for signs. Ever the eager students,
MoreComing out. There are many reactions to this moment that are valid and sacred but the coming out moment is one that many queer folx share. Coming out is this moment of reckoning of who you are to yourself and to others. Coming out isn’t the pinnacle, the climax if
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