Paul and Religious Authority Nearly thirty years ago, when I started seminary, I read an article about the letters written by that ancient Christian leader, Paul. In it, the author quoted an ex-slave who said she never read Paul because white preachers had used his words against her and her loved ones, quoting Colossians 3:22: “Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is upon you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord” (NIV). She knew that didn’t come from God. If that was the kind of thing Paul wrote, she would have nothing to…
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Promises We Make, Break, and Renew
The First Covenant Some scholars argue that the first covenant God made was with Adam. This was not a joint covenant, like most modern marriages in Western cultures. Before my husband and I got married, for instance, we collaborated on our vows, considering together the promises we would make. God, however, did not consult with Adam before deciding on the rules of the covenant. Instead, he decreed that Adam should till the garden and keep it, and that he — and Eve, once she was created — must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Should they do so, they would die. As the story goes,…
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Robots, the Internet, and Humanity
Robots Among Us Your life might not be populated with whirring and clicking creatures motoring around your house, but all of us depend on artificial intelligence in some way, even if only tangentially. Manufacturing plants and hospitals use robotic machines. Many of us interact with Siri or Alexa. Apps manage our finances and our entertainment. If you use those self-checkout lanes at the supermarket, you’re being helped by a computer that is, essentially, a stationary robot. In the technological and business world, there’s a lot of excitement about the possibilities. Sarwant Singh expressed the hope that we’ll soon be able to “create a new breed of mobile robots that act…
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The Treasure Within
Freedom Versus Money When I was younger, I chose freedom over money. This meant I could control my life and my time. To earn a living, we must make sacrifices, but forty years ago, those sacrifices were not egregious. I could make ends meet by working part-time at a minimum-wage job. I had plenty of opportunity for rest, creativity, and friendships. These days, supporting myself is harder. I’m grateful that I was able to finish seminary and become a chaplain, for now I enjoy my work and make a decent salary, but it takes more time than work used to. Money and Work Not everyone, though, has the means to…
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The What and the Why of Love
Why Love? “What is love for?” That was the first question. It was a Sunday afternoon at the Recovery Church meeting. As is typical, we had strayed from our original topic. A phrase in the reading, a chance comment, had struck one or the other of us, and the question was asked: “What is love for?” After a pause, one of us said, “To make life tolerable.” That reminded me of what the fantasy writer, Lloyd Alexander wrote about art. “We have always needed good art to sustain us, to strengthen us, even to console us for being born human.” [1] Love does this, too. Yet love does more than…
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Letting Go of Envy
Envy Versus Jealousy Most of the authors I’ve read who write about envy start by explaining the difference between it and jealousy. In Emma Varvaloucas’ introduction to the topic in Tricycle magazine, for instance, we read that jealousy arises out of the fear of losing something we have. Envy is fueled by desire and longing, a wish to have something that is not ours. [1] When I think of envy, though, I think of more than that flicker of desire that arises when a friend receives some award I wish I could have or lives a life I want to enjoy. This is a fleeting emotion, one that passes as…
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Valuable, Not Special
To Seek Healing The woman lay unresponsive in the hospital bed. Tubes and wires connected her to machines that kept her alive. Standing at her side, her husband stroked her hand. She didn’t flinch, stir, blink. No movement at all. The man asked me to pray that his wife be healed. After all, Jesus raised up Lazarus after he had been dead four days. Surely he could cure this woman who was so beloved. So I prayed for healing, believing as I do that healing means many things. Our hearts need restoration; our spirits get wounded and need to be soothed. These are worth praying for. Rarely, though, have I…
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On Not Making Assumptions
Making An Ass of You and Me In my forties, during my chaplain training, I heard about the acronym A.S.S.U.M.E. It means that when we make an assumption, we make an ass of you and me. Now that was a new idea. Was my teacher saying I shouldn’t assume I know what someone else is thinking? I was intuitive. I could feel these things. Besides, it takes less time to jump to conclusions than to listen to what someone has to say or ask for clarification. If I was anything, I was impatient. Then I started visiting patients, and I discovered I had been fooling myself all this time. I…
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The Love that Saves
Does Love Save? During a recent sharing circle, the question of love came up. What kind of love can save the world, we wondered, and how we might learn to love in that way? Saving the world is a sweet idea. I’ve written about how joy could save the world, so why not love? Yet to think we can save an entire planet is also absurd, at least if by saving we mean that one day there will be peace and cooperation everywhere, respect, and generosity, and a deep, abiding kindness. Such values exist in pockets in every country and in every village, but so does animosity. All these and more are part…
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Martha and Mary and the “One Thing”
Martha and Mary – the Traditional Rendering You may know the story of Martha and Mary. Jesus arrives at their home, and Martha acts as hostess. She busies herself performing unnamed tasks while her sister, Mary, sits at the Lord’s feet, listening to him speak. Distracted and overwhelmed, Martha complains that she is left by herself to do everything. She beseeches Jesus to tell her sister to get up and help. As is his way, however, Jesus does not do what he is asked. Instead, he gently chides the woman, saying, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has…