This piece initiates a series for this column – Christ’s Good News. The Gospel is allegedly good news, yet to so many it feels oppressive. Over the course of this series, I intend to explore what makes Christ’s news good for us. The series will include reflections on forgiveness, belovedness, freedom, eternal life, nature, and revolutionary hope. To all who feel shame dragging at their hearts, To the shameless folk who toil to overpower it, To the shame-filled folk who... Read more
To all celebrating Christmas this year, To those overwhelmed with preparations and gifts and travel and anything and everything else, To those for whom joy feels impossible right now, Christmas is an idealized time of year – maybe even an over-idealized one. We build up all sorts of assumptions and desires around the season. The tree, the music, the eggnog, the holly. The friends and the family. And then pandemics and winter storms have to come in and smash it... Read more
To everyone who has been hurt by the church, To everyone who has become ashamed of and distant from Christ because of the wrongdoings of those who represent Him, To every queer person, every abuse victim, every church-scarred bearer of the sacred image of the Creator, From one whose heart is decorated with many of the same scars. They have told us, at many times and in many ways, that Christ is off-limits to us. This is a lie, and... Read more
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