I was chatting with a friend recently about dating, and specifically about why dating these days is so difficult. He brought up the point that our particular cultural moment's great diversity in approaches, attitudes, and goals people have in relationships makes it difficult to know where we stand at any given time. While theoretically everyone … Continue reading The Rule of Saint Paul, or, What’s Love Got to Do with It
'Who am I?' It's one of the most fundamental questions of the human experience. As children we learn to differentiate ourselves from our parents, families, and friend groups. Through trial and error, we figure out what we're good at (and where we struggle), what we value, what we believe, and who and how we want … Continue reading A Question of Identity: A Reflection on Matthew 16.13-20 and Romans 12.1-8
The reading today from Genesis recounts what is for my money one of the most powerful stories in all of Western religion: Joseph's reconciliation with his brothers. While I have never done a deep-dive on this passage here, I have commented before on Joseph's remarkable, gracious reframing of his brothers' betrayal in terms of God's … Continue reading A Tale of Two Brothers
Poor Peter. Poor much-praised, much-maligned, brilliant, bull-headed, courageous, and fearful Peter. It's no surprise that of all the disciples in the boat in today's Gospel reading (in which Jesus walks on water during a storm), it's Peter who tests the ghostly apparition's identity. It's Peter who has the guts to get out of the boat … Continue reading It’s not the waves, it’s the wind
The story of Israel as told in the Bible is a strange one. Whereas most of us tell stories that are carefully edited to justify our choices and responses to conflicts and minimize the impacts of our mistakes, the authors and editors of what we Christians call the Old Testament didn't do this. This story … Continue reading The Fight for Faith
Matthew Root 