Living life with steps of faith

I was just reading the "Likings and Loves for the Sub-Human" chapter of C.S. Lewis' "The Four Loves" and was struck by his definition of what patriotism is and is not.  Lewis explains patriotism as caring for your home country despite of its weaknesses.  He warns that when patriotism becomes based upon the value or worth of your home in comparison to that of others it becomes diseased. It isn't because your home is "good" that you are patriotic, but it is because it is your home. This was really insightful for me, as I've struggled with the whole concept of patriotism since 9/11.  In fact I think many have struggled with this idea, because it has become so closely linked with "righteousness."  But what is righteous about the war in Afghanistan, Pakistan, or Iraq? And this is where Lewis' words really spoke to me and have made me reconsider my own generations' response to war.  He writes: Where the sentiment of patrioti...

Sometimes a person can be oversensitive as a result of legitimate past hurt, but that doesn't mean their sensitivity is accurate. What do you think of this statement? Sometimes I wonder if one of the consequences of systemic injustice against a group of people who share a feature in common is that some individuals within such a group become ultra-sensitive which heightens the injustice. I've seen this in fellow women clergy. Where comments and events not at all related to their experience all of a sudden become related to their experience. I've seen this in peers who are of a minority race. Someone's kindness is discredited even though the person is genuinely kind to stranger and friend alike. I've seen this in people who have faced injustices in the criminal justice system. A police officer pulls him over for speeding and he thinks all cops are out to get him, even though the speed trap was set up before anyone knew he'd be driving down that ...

The Jahi McMath case has troubled me over the last few weeks.   How can I pray and ask God to heal this little girl when so many other families have made the heartwrenching choice to let go and remove life support.   If she were to be healed, wouldn’t this be harmful to those families who accepted the doctors’ prognosis and let go?   Wouldn’t it be cruel of God to heal her when others weren’t “given that opportunity” to be healed? Today, as I sat down to read my daily devotional, I reflected upon the story of the deceased child found in chapter five of Mark.   The community declared and mourned the death of twelve-year-old Tabitha.   Yet Jesus said, “This child is not dead but asleep.”     This statement of Jesus makes me wonder two things.   Was there something Jesus knew about death that the culture of the time didn’t know?   Was she really, truly still alive, yet only asleep?   Or, was this Jesus speaking a...