We're at the point in the liturgical year when the calendar is moving very quickly. Over just the past ten weeks or so we've zoomed through the seasons of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany, and we're now just three days before the start of Lent. And, in those churches which follow the common lectionary, that means … Continue reading Hearts Unveiled
Sometimes the Scriptures are a goad, a spur that drives us to the work we are called to do. We've had a lot of that the past few months: a consistent message to wake up and do the work of justice and love. Other times, however, the Scriptures are a balm to soothe to soul. … Continue reading …To Those Who Wait (A Reflection on Isaiah 40.21-31)
There's a great scene in a classic episode of The Simpsons in which Homer, having been chosen to go into space as an 'every-man', breaks an ant farm, sending the ants everywhere in the zero-gravity environment. One of the ants, panicking, screams, "Freedom! Horrible horrible freedom!" It's a line that comes to my mind often, … Continue reading The Freedom to Love: A Reflection on 1 Corinthians 8.1-13
One of the major themes that comes out in the Sunday readings for Epiphany season this year is that of calling, or vocation. In fact, it is the theme of the readings from the Hebrew Bible and Gospels both last week and this week. Because vocation is something I think about a lot, I thought … Continue reading According to God’s Purpose: Four Calling Narratives
Today's Epistle contains what I think is probably one of the most surprising and helpful things the Apostle Paul says in his writings: A new grounding of morality and ethics that doesn't just do away with the Law, but rejects the binary of 'permitted' and 'forbidden', or 'lawful' and 'illegal' altogether. In the sixth chapter … Continue reading Everything is Permissible
Matthew Root 