Conserving the Progress of Pentecost

We live in a deeply divided world that has severed two ideas from each other that actually require one another to be complete: conservatism and progressivism. Modern cultural and political discourse treats these two concepts as mortal enemies engaged in a zero-sum war. The conservative is caricatured as a defensive gatekeeper of a stagnant past, while the progressive is mocked as a rootless wanderer chasing every passing cultural whim. This binary is a tragic illusion. In the natural world, a tree cannot grow healthy new branches (progress) unless its roots remain firmly anchored in the deep soil (conservation). To disconnect them is to doom the tree to either stunted growth or immediate collapse.

The Feast of Pentecost is a cosmic declaration that the Community of Christ— the Ekklesia, the Church— is called to be both fundamentally conservative and essentially progressive. As with all realities in Christ: Pentecost is subversive, undermining our cultural certainties. It is radical, because it disconnects us from the dead roots of a decaying culture and reconnects us with our root— Latin "radix"— who is Christ alone, from whom all life and nourishment flows (see John 15). Pentecost deconstructs our modern political boxes by demonstrating that true preservation and true progress are two sides of the same divine coin.

Romans 9-11: An Argument Leading to Inclusion of All

One of the reasons I adore work as a school chaplain is because of the quality and commitment of the colleagues I work with. Recently, a colleague of mine who teaches English asked me to give him some insight into the importance of Romans 9:25: "I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved." He asked because it is the epigraph to a novel they are teaching: Toni Morrison's "Beloved". 

His very astute question led me to write an essay I have meant to write for a long time. This essay has Romans 9.25 at the heart of how Paul uses rhetoric in the book of Romans to lead the reader to an expansive vision of God's all-embracing Love for humanity, revealed in Jesus Christ. If I had to sum it up, here is my one-sentence summary:

Romans 9.25 is part of Paul's assurance that all humans are God's children and recipients of God's Love, despite all the rhetoric of exclusion that is raised against them.

But this summary is rather easy to write, but hard to square with some of the evidence found in the next of Romans. So to understand how Romans 9.25 functions as part of the overall argument, we need to dig in:

RIGHTEOUSNESS: Being made right with God

This is a sample chapter from my Systematic Theology project "Theology for Thriving". 📎MORE TO THE STORY notes are not part of the main text of the book, but additional resources, charts, or other materials from Biblical Theology class resources.

Galatians 2.15-16, 3.26-29, 4.4-6 [15] We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; [16] yet we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law... [26] For in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. [27] As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. [28] There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. [29] And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise... [4] But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, [5] in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. [6] And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 

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🗝️ Key Concept: Righteousness

What does it mean to be a “good person”? For most of us, the question revolves around our actions. Do we tell the truth? Do we help others? Do we follow the rules? These are important questions, but they only scratch the surface of a much deeper, more transformative idea: Righteousness. This may feel like an irrelevant "churchy" word, but it is actually a key to unlocking the kind of thriving, abundant life we were all created for.

Righteousness is not simply a list of moral behaviors; it is the state of being in a right relationship with God, with other people, and with ourselves. This restored relationship, which is a gift from God, becomes the foundation for justice, which is the work of doing what is right for others. In short, we are Made Right (Righteousness) so that we may Do Right (Justice).

This concept is rooted in the Hebrew word for righteousness tzedakah. It includes ideas of fairness and charity, but its core meaning is relational. It describes fulfilling the obligations of a covenant, a sacred partnership. A righteous person was someone who was faithful to their commitments to God and their community. Similarly, the key Greek word in the New Testament is dikaiosune. In the ancient world, this word meant behaving in a way that was respectable, upright, and just. Early Christians used this word to mean being restored to a right relationship with God through Jesus.

This is where the idea of justification comes in. To be "justified" is to be made righteous. It’s a legal term that means to be declared “not guilty,” but its theological meaning is far richer. It’s about more than just a clean slate; it’s about being welcomed back into the family. A helpful way to remember it is that to be justified is to be treated by God "just as if" I had never sinned.

The crucial point is this: We are not made right so we can stay the same. The moment of justification— when we are put in a right relationship with God— is the starting point for a lifelong process of sanctification, of growing in justice and becoming more like Christ. God makes us right with him so that, empowered by his Spirit, we can begin the work of making things right in the world.

TIKKUN OLAM: Sharing in God's Mission to Heal the World

This is a sample chapter from my Systematic Theology project "Theology for Thriving". 📎MORE TO THE STORY notes are not part of the main text of the book, but additional resources, charts, or other materials from Biblical Theology class resources.

Isaiah 11.1-9 [1] A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. [2] The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. [3] His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.  He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; [4] but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. [5] Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins. [6] The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. [7] The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. [8] The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. [9] They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

Why does Veggie Tales not picture Christ or salvation?

Many of us grew up watching Veggie Tales, or raised kids who grew up watching Veggie Tales. To this day I still sing "Where is my Hairbrush" on a regular basis (due to the fact that I, like Larry the Cucumber, do not have any hair). It was a source of memorable "Silly Songs", very enjoyable retellings of Biblical stories (even if over-simplified and sanitized), relatable moral lessons, and even occasional wry commentary about living in a Consumer Society (check out "Sport Utility Vehicle" sometime). Veggie Tales has inspired people to love them, despise them, and parody them.

But there is one surprising thing about this staple of Christian childhood formation: It never pictures Jesus, or any of the characters entering into a saving relationship with God!

Evil and things that go Bump in the Night

A Sermon for Halloween based on Ephesians 6.10-18

[10] Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. [11] Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. [12] For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the forces of evil in the spiritual realms. 

[13] Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. [14] Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of justice in place, [15] and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the good news of peace. 

[16] In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. [17] Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. [18] And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 

Rejecting the Reconquista for Christ's Mission of Inclusion

Earlier this week I found the Reconquista movement, with its Episcopal version, which details a plan to "re-conquer" historic denominations and take over their property, resources, and reputation with a form of exclusionary Christian faith. In these pages, we find "95 Theses" which are a syncretistic mixture of three strands of incompatible ideas: 

First, there are ancient Creedal beliefs about the Triune God, incarnate in the Lord Jesus Christ, who works through the Holy Spirit to extend the mission and incarnation of Christ through the sacramental community of the Church. 

Second, there are explicitly Reformed or Calvinist or "Evangelical" framings of the Nature of God and of salvation which are historically rejected by most non-Reformed Christians (such as Catholics, Orthodox, and non-Reformed Protestants). 

Third, there are modernist exclusionary stances to reject certain social/racial critiques, political-economic ideas, and gender/sexual identities, while at the same time implicitly or explicitly affirming other modern categories of race, social structure, politics, economics, gender, and sexuality. 

This is to say they do precisely what they accuse others of doing: They use reformed and modern categories to view and mold the Ancient Creedal Faith, rather than interpreting theology and culture through the lens of the Ancient Creeds. 

The Particular Exclusiveness of Generic Deism

As a chaplain, there is a view I often run across among non-religious, college-educated folks in postmodern western culture that Christianity is scandalous in its particularity, and particularly offensive to non-Christian people. In particular, the Name of Jesus, the idea of the Trinity, and especially the cross and blood of Jesus are all stumbling blocks. Instead, it is often suggested that we omit or underplay language that includes Jesus, or the Trinity, or the cross, or other uniquely particular expressions of access to God through distinctly Christian means (such as the Eucharistic Prayer or the Lord's Prayer). 

Instead it is often preferred to substitute generic addresses to "The Divine", or simply "God", or even Western philosophical concepts such as "Ground of Being". This may be suggested with the idea that a more Generic Deist language will make God more "accessible": A general prayer to a general God or Divine, who has no particular story, nor any particular name or way of access, but which is accessible in a generic way by all methods and all names, as well as no methods and no names.

Should Holy Communion be open or closed?

One of the hottest debates of the Episcopal General Convention this year is the subject of “Open” versus “Closed” Communion. The battle lines have been drawn. On one side are those who want communion open to “all people” as “God’s people”. They feel that closed communion is “theological insider baseball” used as an excuse for “gatekeeping” by a hierarchy which implicitly denies God’s Love for all. On the other side are those who fear lack of adequate preparation for reception of the sacrament for those who are not baptized into the Covenant People of the Church. For these people, it isn’t gatekeeping, but maintaining the vital link between the “sacrament of new birth” into the Covenant Family in Baptism, and the “family meal” which is served in the Eucharist. 

Let's explore this issue, shall we...

A Prayer for Juneteenth

I wrote this as a private devotion as I reflected on Juneteenth. Perhaps it might help you or your faith community. 

Another Prayer for Pride Month

A Prayer for my friends and family who celebrate Pride Month:

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Scripture

At the school I serve as chaplain, I was recently asked to provide some Scriptural reflections on our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Earlier, I did an essay for my previous school on how these values are rooted in Episcopal Identity and the foundational beliefs and prayers of the Episcopal Church. Not only that, but the Christian vision of God leads us to these values, because the very idea of God as the Trinity leads us to embrace diversity, and the Incarnation of God in Christ leads us to embrace inclusion. These ideas of God are, in turn, rooted in the self-revelation of God which is recorded in Scripture. So now it is time to dig into the foundational texts of the whole Christian Faith, and the founding stories of Jesus and his Apostles, to understand how they inspire us to create communities of diversity, inclusion, equity, and justice. 

Resurrecting the Matrix: An Ideological Review

I just saw Matrix Resurrections. Here are my responses in no particular order:

Diversity, Inclusion, Equity, and Episcopal Identity

In the media and in education it seems we hear a great deal lately about words such as "diversity", "inclusion", "equity", and "social justice". These are often conflicted and politicized terms, but they are also terms which are deeply rooted in the Christian Story and Episcopal Identity. I would like to offer a brief reflection on diversity, inclusion, equity, and justice as a chaplain dealing with diverse groups and cultures in the context of Episcopal schools and churches. But I must begin by saying I am not an expert by any means, and there is a vast literature to help our understanding from pastors and prophets, practitioners and professors, and many others who speak to equity and inclusion issues that affect different cultures, ethnicities, identities, and abilities.

Since I cannot effectively speak directly to all these experiences and concerns, due to my lived experience, I feel that the best way I can help move this conversation forward is by talking about how these issues are expressed in Scripture, in the history of the Episcopal and Anglican traditions, and in how we pray and worship together. Because, at the heart of Episcopal identity is the idea of "Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi, Lex Agendi", which means that "How we pray shapes how we believe and how we live". And it turns out that Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice have been at the heart of how we believe and pray and worship for decades and even centuries. With this in mind, what I want to do is take the everyday definitions for these terms as found in Merriam-Webster, and look at how they unfold in the Bible and in the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer [BCP].

Is Social Justice merely a Leftist Talking Point?

We've heard a lot about Social Justice lately. When used in a positive way, it is often connected with the move toward public recognition and equal treatment for historically disenfranchised peoples, including Blacks, Latinx, and Queer persons. When used in a negative way, Social Justice is portrayed as a kind of Leftist "trojan horse" to inflict good hearted people with guilt and shame and even debt because of historic policies and events they had nothing directly to do with. So, is "social justice" just some kind of newly devised left-wing catch phrase designed to browbeat Americans into policies which are at odds with the foundational principles of our civilization?

Sam Harris’ Monstrous Moral Landscape

I recently picked up Michael Brooks’ book about the “Intellectual Dark Web” in which he critiques the views of several “renegade” intellectuals, including the famous secular crusader Sam Harris. This was one of those instances where I was reminded of something I intended to write, but never got around to. In particular, around 2013 I read through Harris’ 2010 book entitled “The Moral Landscape”. In it, Harris advocates the idea that Moral Values can be derived from empirical observation alone. While this thesis is problematic on its own, what makes it especially problematic for Harris is an incendiary moral claim that he made six years prior in an earlier book: 

Social Collapse and Divine Judgment

The LORD says: Are you not like the Ethiopians to me, O children of Israel? Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir? (Amos 9:7)

The history of Israel is given as a Pattern of how God works with all people groups through all time. From the oppression and enslavement that led to the liberation of God’s people in the the Exodus, to the idolatry and injustice that led to the discipline of God’s people in the Exile: It reveals the Pattern God follows in dealing with peoples and nations. What God has done in the history of Israel, God has also done in the history of the Ethiopians and the Egyptians and the Philistines and the Arameans. And what God has done in those nations, God also does in all other nations and peoples and cultures. 

Here's how that works out...

Flawed Biblical Heroes and Racist Monuments

Recently the WSJ published a deeply flawed argument for keeping racist monuments in public spaces. Basically, the argument is that since churches celebrate flawed saints, then public land should be used to celebrate racist heroes of a racist rebel cause (and if we don't, we are forsaking our "history"). Some points of contradiction:

Privatize Racist Monuments: A Modest Proposal

In the wake of the George Floyd protests, we are seeing protesters around the world, from every tribe and tongue, rise up and dismantle monuments to human oppression. Monuments to slave holders are being defaced and beheaded, toppled onto the ground, and thrown into the water. Just as we cheered when the Berlin Wall came down, and when statues of Fascists and Dictators around the world have been torn down, so now people are cheering the forcible removal of racist monuments from public lands. What should we do about this?

Twin Pandemics

The Twin Pandemics of 

Silent Disease and Systemic Inequity 

Have laid bare 

The emptiness of our cultural values

The incessant jangling of our moral superiority

The hollow clang of our promises 

Of liberty and justice for all.

We are witnessing the implosion of a culture 

Whose moral imagination is 

So atrophied 

So impoverished 

It cannot hold together any more.