Today’s Old Testament reading comes from the book of Jonah. And since it’s such a short book and doesn’t come up often in the lectionary, I thought today would be a great time to give it some thought. As I read through the story again, what struck me was what this story tells us about … Continue reading Your Private Ninevah: A Reflection on the Book of Jonah
At the beginning of this series on vocation, I set some pretty lofty goals — to do nothing less than address the questions, Who am I? and Why am I here? What we’ve seen the past few weeks is that these questions of identity and meaning originate from the deepest parts of ourselves that long … Continue reading Vocation Today – Concluding Thoughts
Before ending this series on vocation, we need to look at the all-important topic of spiritual discernment. It’s all well and good for us to talk about what we believe God is calling us to do with our lives, but that kind of confidence can easily lead to delusion — with dire consequences for us … Continue reading Vocation and Discernment
The common theme in this series on vocation has been that our vocations are from God and for the community. We’ve seen both these elements in every level of vocation: The calling to bear the image and likeness of God isn’t about puffing us up, but about embodying generosity in and for the world; the … Continue reading Vocation and Community
The amazing twentieth-century Black theologian Howard Thurman tells a story of meeting with his advisor at his predominantly white seminary. The advisor lauded Thurman’s work but was concerned he was limiting himself by commenting as much as he did on the Black experience instead of “the timeless issues of the human spirit.” About this, Thurman … Continue reading Vocation in the Real World
Matthew Root 