The Story of Lucifer In the beginning, God created the angels, and none was more beloved to Him than Lucifer. He was Venus, that morning star that shone brighter than any other. He was the light bringer, and the light he shed made everything beautiful. God was most pleased with his creation. But children grow up. Vassals long for power and property of their own. So it was with this shining star, though he was a favorite. Maybe the problem was that God had favorites at all. The golden child can be most cruel. Charismatic, intelligent, successful, but also lustful, devious, manipulative, and most importantly, full of pride, Lucifer wanted…
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Being that Leads to Doing
No Thing There’s a story told of a Bodhisattva who went to the mountains to meditate and teach. He had special powers, such as flying and hearing people’s thoughts. He built a Sangha, and five hundred holy men came to there. One day, when the chief follower brought half the community into the woods to gather food, the Bodhisattva lay down to die. As was the tradition, those who had remained behind sat with him, and as the end came near, they asked him, “What was the greatest thing you achieved in your lifetime?” “No thing,” their teacher said. Then he died. Nothing? Their teacher accomplished nothing? He must have…
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Evil, Idolatry, and Life
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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Waiting for the Messiah
Waiting for the Messiah This Sunday marks the beginning of Advent. The word “advent” means that something has come into being or into view. Something happens; something arrives. The season of Advent is about the arrival of Jesus, through his birth, yet Christians continue to wait for the Messiah to come again, to save the world from its evil and misery, and make creation new again. Christians are not the only ones awaiting a Messiah. Jews anticipate the Messiah’s first coming. Muslims wait for the Mahdi who will prepare the way for Jesus. Kalki, the 10th incarnation of Vishnu will destroy the world and birth a new universe. We long…
