Theology

One spring I participated in a two and a half day silent retreat where I picked up two books by Scot McKnight, The Blue Parakeet and The Jesus Creed. In my reading and reflection times, I learned some principles of applying the stories of the Bible to my story and I reflected on possible God moments in my life that I was missing. As the Bible tells stories about who God is and what he has done, it can also help us learn how he is present in our lives, every day and into the future.

"God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” (Genesis 1:27-28)

“Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because he first loved us.

It’s been quite the year! Thanks for reading and learning along with us, as we wrestled with faith with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other (Karl Barth).

Here are the top Do Justice articles (ranked by top pageviews) that got you thinking and acting in 2017: 

Rest can be an act of defiance against our culture of consumption, disconnection, and manufactured dissatisfaction. The idols of individualism, consumption, and achievement tell us: buy more! Be more! Do it all! They are unrelenting masters.

But the God who calls us to seek justice, the God who walks with us through the valley of the shadow of death, also makes us lie down in green pastures. The God who calls us is good.

This is the season of the “good news of great joy” in the church. We talk a lot about the good news for us. The good news that we get to live in. We talk about the good news of great joy for all people, announced in the words of the angels: “a child is born to you, in the town of Bethlehem, he is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11) It’s great news.

We really like good news, but I find we’re less good at the “to all people.” This Christmas season I’ve been wondering about whether or not this good news really is for us.

In the dark and dirt of a stable, Mary gave birth. Nativity scenes don’t often reflect the grit of that scene—any woman who has given birth knows that birth is not a picture-perfect experience. Our writer today points out that the Bible says that God too is described with a very feminine metaphor in Isaiah: God gives birth. As we wait with Mary for the birth of the Christ child, Rebecca challenges us to wait actively, like a woman in labour, with God and with all those who are struggling against injustice.

“He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; 
     he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. 
He has brought down rulers from their thrones 
     but has lifted up the humble. 
He has filled the hungry with good things 
     but has sent the rich away empty. 
He has helped his servant Israel,
     remembering to be merciful 
to Abraham and his descendants forever, 
     just as he promised our ancestors.”
                                                                           —Luke 1:51-55

Interpreting Scripture can be messy. But I’ve become almost certain of at least two things: Scripture can be twisted and abused to justify hateful and unholy ends; and a good interpretation of Scripture builds up the twin loves of God and neighbor.

On Do Justice, we’re all about creating space.

Space to ask hard questions. Space to wrestle with the implications of the Church’s call to do justice in the places where we live, today. Space to struggle with what it means to be the Body of Christ, where the eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you” and where the foot cannot say to the head, “I don’t need you.”