Self-righteousness is a funny form of sin: It is pretty much universally loathed, yet also pervasive, and it is among the easiest sins for us to spot in others, yet one of the hardest to spot in ourselves. This very problem, however, says something important about what self-righteousness actually is: an inversion of repentance so … Continue reading The Pharisee and the Tax Collector: A Reflection on Luke 18.9-14
As I’ve been reading about different Indigenous wisdom traditions from across North America, searching for areas of common ground and essential difference between them and my own Christian tradition, I’ve been particularly curious to see how the idea of vocation, which I wrote a lot about at the start of the summer, might manifest itself … Continue reading Wisdom and Generativity: Personal Vocation in Indigenous Traditions
As a general rule, Christians are considered to be a rather severe bunch, people who tend to take ourselves and world pretty seriously. While there is definitely a positive aspect to this — we do only get one chance to live this life so it’s important to make the most of it — it has … Continue reading Subverting Expectation: Humour, Tricksters, and Transformation
One of the most-quoted literary works of the twentieth-century is not a novel, a poem, or a play, but something that wasn’t supposed to be ‘literature’ at all. I'm talking about the collection of personal letters written by the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, published in 1929 as Letters to a Young Poet. In these letters, … Continue reading Sound Advice: A Reflection on 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson (2017) has described her Anishinaabe culture as “nationhood based on a series of radiating responsibilities.”* It’s hard to imagine any Western person describing our own culture in such terms, especially today. While traditional Western society was very community-focused, to the point of an often extreme anti-individualism, and Western liberal (i.e., constitutional, rights-based) … Continue reading Responsibility
Matthew Root 