Presence I’ll begin my first guest email for CITC with a confession of theo-biblical geekery: I love the book of Exodus.  I love it so much that I almost went for a PhD in Hebrew Bible instead of Pastoral Theology so I could stay in that story.  Maybe it’s because when I write in Hebrew I don’t ink up my left hand, but I’m more inclined to think it’s the crazy …

Dental hygienists have long been my sort of fantasy alternative profession. When things are hard in my work I wonder—why, why why am I drawn to these murky edge waters? Why do I consistently work for passionate little non-profits or churches (yes, CitC is but one in the line of funky start-ups which comprise my professional history). Why do I surround myself with people with strong opinions and intense personalities? Why can’t I just have a normal job?

Sometimes when you find yourself in exile—rather than groaning and longing for home, you do better to just plant a vineyard. Suck it up, says our prophet. Build a life where you are—even if it is not the home you thought you would have. This passage is the foundation for a local conference in which several of us participated on Saturday August 13. It was a beautiful chance to speak honestly with other souls about liminal Christianity.

I want to live in the world our Psalmist describes: one where justice and peace embrace. Actually, they are doing more than embracing. As other translations reveal: they are smooching.

Our passage this week is a prime instance of how Hebrew verbs can be vague on time and tense. So it is unclear. Have love and faithfulness just met, are they meeting, or will they meet soon? Likewise, have justice and peace kissed, or is it a kiss that they (and we) are still anticipating?

Who hasn’t passed a night wrestling and been unclear as to an adversary’s true identity? Anxiety, fear, our false self or shadow-side—these all make fierce opponents. The voices of others infect our head and trouble us. Deep yearnings for wholeness or nagging needs for changes— these are visitors easier to ignore by daylight. Demon, angel, ego, — who hasn’t prayed to God for clarity after a night like Jacob’s? Who among us has not tasted river bank grit in your mouth and pleaded for a blessing as the morning dawns— grasping for some good come out of a night of struggle.

Wednesday July 20 One of the joys of following the lectionary is that it often confronts us with difficult passages.  This week we are reading the story of Laban and Jacob, in which Jacob works for the hand of Rachel, but gets Leah instead (Genesis 29:15-28).  Unfortunately, the lectionary also sanitizes the text, presenting only a small portion of the …

This week’s lectionary text presents a pretty potent botanical analogy. And a reminder that Jesus was a naturalist.

The bearded darnel is likely the “weed” in question. The darnel penetrates and interweaves around the root ball of other plants and sucks up nutrients and scarce water, thus making it impossible to remove without damaging the other plant. Even more confusing, above ground the darnel looks identical to wheat, until it bears seed.

This passage provides me with a new favorite image for God: as holy seed propagator. Clearly this is a rare and life-giving skill.

Some mornings I can’t wake up. I move through my house in a slight fog—drinking endless cups of green tea, feeding my kids and sending them off, folding clothes, doing work emails. Yet I look at my day from a distance, as if through the thin film of gunk that coats the fishbowl when it needs to be cleaned. Words …

We have a week to go on our Heifer mission project and we are over half way there, having raised $2, 664.66 — a testimony to faith and hard work in a church of our size. Now it is time to share Iris’ vision and our story with a broader audience and to invite others to partner with us! We have one of every animal on the ark. lets see if we can get the pair! We now have a link for online donations through the secure heifer website.