In the most recent post in this series on Knowing God, I talked about the strange stories in the Scriptures about what it's like for humans to meet God, and how these stories all resort to playful, or even nonsensical, use of language to get across just how much of a jumbled and contradictory paradox … Continue reading Entertaining Angels (An Integral Reading of Genesis 18.1-15)
[Note: This is a very long post. If you don't want to read the whole thing, I would encourage you to read the introduction and then to scroll to the "Putting it together" section.] Part of the practice of lectio divina involves taking a passage as it is, without thinking of what comes before or … Continue reading Is it Peace? (An Integral Reading of 2 Kings 9-10)
The Hebrew Bible text assigned for today presents a curious story. Moses is leading the people from slavery in Egypt through the wilderness to the land of Canaan. The journey is hard and the people are complaining. As a result of their complaints, they are beset by venomous snakes until they cry out for help. … Continue reading Deliverance (A reflection on Numbers 21.4-9)
We have a saying in English, “He can’t see the forest for the trees.” It’s a reminder not to lose sight of the big picture in the details. Details are important — after all, the devil is in the details, as they say — but they can sometimes obscure what’s really important. To avoid this … Continue reading Perspective
As the lectionary continues its journey through Genesis, I’m continuing to spend time with some of the challenging stories of the Patriarchs, the faithful (yet wholly dysfunctional) first family of Western Religion. Two weeks ago, we saw how God stepped into the very messy situation surrounding Abraham and Sarah’s scheming to get Abraham an heir … Continue reading Seen (An Integral Reading of Genesis 32.22-32)
Matthew Root 