Jesus was not a normal human baby. Unlike other human beings, Jesus chose to come into the world, even though he knew his purpose would be to suffer and die as a sacrifice.
Mighty Magnificat (Excerpt from “Advent for the Broken-Hearted”)
Whichever way they turned, the people found themselves without recourse, being bled dry by their own countrymen.
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“Passions of the Christ” by F. Scott Spencer (and Steve Chong)
Steve Chong is a pastor in Australia, and a student together with me in Portland Seminary's Doctor of Ministry program in Semiotics. In our program, we read lots of deep and heady books, then comment on them to each other in a weekly forum. Just recently, we were reading and talking about F. Scott Spencer's book, "Passion of the Christ: The Emotional Life of Jesus in the Gospels." Steve—whose posts are always creative—decided to both illustrate and summarize his response. Then, he created the same illustrated summery for his wife, Naomi Chong, and I was utterly charmed when he created one for me as well.
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“Passions of the Christ” by F. Scott Spencer
I was already intrigued by and warmly disposed to reading a book about Jesus’s emotional life. Clearly he had one, being, as it were, fully human, and though ancient texts do not spend nearly the time modern ones do on descriptive detail in this vein, still, the Gospels all portray Jesus as having a range of feelings.
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Advent For the Broken-Hearted
This devotional was adapted from a service that Mari wrote in 2023, created to honor the thrum of sorrow and loss that undulates beneath the largely cheerful Christmas songs sung throughout November and December.
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Guest Post: “Seeing Creation as Ongoing Revelation” by Trey Harris
Trey Harris is a pastor in North Carolina, and a student together with me in Portland Seminary's Doctor of Ministry program in Semiotics. In our program, we read lots of deep and heady books, then comment on them to each other in a weekly forum. In the following post, Trey offers wisdom and poetry inspired by Paul Mariani's "God and the Imagination."
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Guest Post: “Still Singing” by Matt Divens
A few months ago, a member of our church told us something of his God story. Though his story and mine are not the same, what he talked about touched a chord within me. I could hear its thrum as I listened intently not just to his words, but his heart, and his meaning. Our stories move and shape each other as we become ever more deeply a part of the one Body Jesus has drawn us into. I hope his story moves you as well
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“Van Gogh Has a Broken Heart,” by Russ Ramsey
The discussion of pain, that sharing is a precondition for dignity and hope, that we mistake suffering as failure rather than a means of grace, and that our sorrows are hallowed by God, “who enters fully into the painful stories of our own lives,” is so richly realized in the lives of the artists highlighted here (x, xi, xii).
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“Telos,” by Leonard Sweet and Len Wilson
“Telos” is a Greek word meaning “consummation,” which positions it as apposite to eschatology, which studies those things which will occur at the end of time.
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“Church Going,” by Andrew Ziminski
Early on I came to trust the order of our book selections, as each builds on the ones that come before. Church Going lives up to that trust. I found this narrative delightful, enjoyable, and informative. Again, as I read along, pieces fell into place for me.
