I feel compelled to give the backstory of the sermon (49:33) I preached yesterday, and to reinforce and summarize it. John Calvin famously said that our hearts are idol-factories. We want God to give us peace, tranquillity, comfort. Therefore, we shape him so. We spiritualize texts. Take for example Psalm 23, the shepherd song. We …
Ever heard anyone say it’s easy to be a Christian? I have. Many times, in the 40 plus years I’ve tried “to follow Christ.” I’ve never found it easy. What makes a Christ-follower (“disciple”) different from non-disciples? If your answer is “a disciple is confident her sins are forgiven and she’ll go to heaven when …
The government of Malaysia spends billions to build mosques. And hundreds of millions to train, deploy and support Muslim clerics and officials. The chief organ for such work is JAKIM, the Department for Development (“promotion” may be more accurate) of Islam, with a budget of RM1.4 billion in 2021. JAKIM is at the Federal level. …
The lectionary readings for Sunday include Hebrews 12:18-29. Chapter 12 is the second to last chapter. In these verses, the writer, a pastor, offers the basis for the command he issued in verse 14: Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. The goal of life …
The lectionary readings for Sunday include Hebrews 11:29 to 12:2. Verse 29 is striking. It recounts not the faith of individual persons, but of “people,” of the Hebrews, the Israelites. They are commended for exercising faith. For crossing the Red Sea, “as on dry land.” Their crossing of the Red Sea as the waters parted …
They conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises Read More »
Lectionary readings for Sunday (tomorrow). Nogalski on Hosea 11:1-11 The images in Hosea 11:1-8 depict YHWH as a tender, loving father in a way unlike any other biblical text. The passage’s form comes close to that of a soliloquy, providing the reader the ability to hear YHWH’s internal struggle over whether to punish his wayward …
God as conflicted father and the church as recalcitrant teenager Read More »
Interviewer: What would you say was religious about your mother?Greg Jenkins: Everything that she did was through Christianity. The question “What kind of woman was Annapuranee Jenkins?” has been ringing in my head. Why? Because I write about inquests, a court-centred process whose goal is to find the cause of death of a person. And …
Actually, Annapuranee Jenkins is very newsworthy Read More »
The lectionary readings for tomorrow include Hosea 1:2-10. Tomorrow, I’ll speak about it. So today, I’ll just share a short prayer written by Salim J Munayer, a Palestinian Christian, as a response to the book of Hosea. A prayer response to the book of Hosea Lord, may justice flow like a riverReaching barren lands and …
The lectionary readings for this Sunday include a wordplay vision. It’s found in the first three verses of Amos 8:1-12. It’s in the similarity in sound in the Hebrew words translated “summer fruits” and “silence” in the English Standard Version (ESV). Any student of the Bible, the Word of God, knows that there’s always mystery …
On Sunday, we heard again the text of the story popularly known as “The Good Samaritan.” It’s a story with five characters. They’re not given names like Ali, Ah Chong and Muthu. They’re given designations. The designation of one of them, “Samaritan,” instantly signals to Jesus’ audience a person who’s popularly regarded as vile, evil, …
Today’s Jericho roads, Samaritans, and religious folk Read More »
