Today, the Sunday after Epiphany, is when we here in the West commemorate the baptism of Jesus at the hands of John the Baptist. It’s a formative event in Jesus’ life, and functions as his ‘call to action’, marking him as special to those around him and confirming his identity. It’s also the narrative passing … Continue reading Ritual and Rebirth: A Reflection on the Baptism of Christ
For better or for worse, we humans are storied people. Not only are we shaped by our personal and national experiences, but we also tend to assume those experiences are universal. And so, St. Augustine struggled with reining in his libido and so developed a theology that linked the Fall to sex, Martin Luther struggled … Continue reading Christianity, Shadow, and Jung’s Diagnosis of Modern Europe
One of the ideas that I’ve found most revolutionary, helpful — and troubling over the past decade of my exploring different ideas is the idea of the psychological Shadow. Coming originally from Carl Jung’s reflections on human psychology, the shadow is all about the parts of us we’d prefer to ignore. As I’ve previously summarized … Continue reading The Christian Shadow: Introduction
There's no new Epiphany reflection from me this year, but here are some of my previous posts: Theme of Light God’s Shining Forth: A Reflection on Epiphany and Genesis 1.1-5 (2024) It Only Takes a Spark: A Reflection for Epiphany 2023 Arise! Shine! : A Reflection for Epiphany 2021 Theme of the Magi Wise Men … Continue reading Resources for Epiphany / Theophany
This past Summer in our study of Genesis 1-11, we saw how the Old Testament contains several different creation stories (Comparison of Creation Texts). The best-known stories, of God’s speaking the universe into existence over six days in Genesis 1 and the story of the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2-3, appear to be relatively … Continue reading A New Creation Story: A Reflection on John 1.1-18
Matthew Root 