Today is International Women’s Day, and while there is a lot to celebrate, it is also a reminder that there is still so much work to do to promote women’s full and robust participation in all aspects of human society. So, to that end, I’d like to invite you to reflect today on a very…… Continue reading Supporting Women & Girls, Now.
Lament, Caste, and Racism
The faculty at Wartburg Seminary is reading Caste: the Origins of our Discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson. It is a very interesting book in which she uses the concept of caste, as well as several vivid metaphors, very creatively as a way to invite people into thinking about racism with new categories and fresh eyes. (The…… Continue reading Lament, Caste, and Racism
Reflections on “After Whiteness”
I want to share some reflections about a book I just read, After Whiteness: an Education in Belonging, by Willie James Jennings. I don’t know exactly what I was expecting, but it turned out to be something even better than I thought—something really thought-provoking and important. I read it with the other ELCA seminary leaders…… Continue reading Reflections on “After Whiteness”
What does Authority Look Like?
What does authority look like? Answer: it depends. If you are a white man, you don’t have to ask what authority looks like, you just have to look in the mirror; it looks like you. When someone says CEO, Fortune 500 business leader, Chief Operating Officer, President, more often than not, people assume a white…… Continue reading What does Authority Look Like?
Mitch McConnell and the Importance of Timing
Today, Mitch McConnell learned the importance of timing. As shocking, horrific images of insurrection in the Capitol building fill the news, my thoughts keep turning to Mitch McConnell, and I wonder if he regrets his actions in the weeks following the election–actions, which, I believe, have contributed to the rioting that took place in Washington…… Continue reading Mitch McConnell and the Importance of Timing
Being Good in 2021
What is your reaction when someone tells you to “be good”? If you are like me, you sort of recoil a little bit and have a visceral negative response. Often, an external exhortation to goodness comes across as a demand for obedience, or adherence to someone else’s standards of morality, or a veiled accusation that…… Continue reading Being Good in 2021
Making Room at Christmastime
I am squeezing in one more Advent reflection with just a few hours to go! I have been thinking about a passage from Dorothy Day, titled “Room for Christ.” It was the reflection in my Advent devotional from December 19th. She begins her reflection this way: “It is no use saying that we are born…… Continue reading Making Room at Christmastime
A Sign of Good News
This morning, when I got back from my run, John had the news on, and I walked into the room just in time to see a nurse in NYC receive one of the first Corona virus vaccines. And, I’m not going lie, I choked up a bit. There it was: undeniable and irrefutable–a tangible sign…… Continue reading A Sign of Good News
A Good Time to Wait
This year, more than usual, I have been looking forward to the season of Advent. I love Advent every year, mostly because of how much I love Christmas, and so I take great delight in the anticipation of the joy of the incarnation and the celebration of Emmanuel, God-with-us. Christmas is a season of love,…… Continue reading A Good Time to Wait
The Cost of Demonization
Perhaps you are familiar with one of Shakespeare’s more famous sonnets, “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun.” In that sonnet, he repeatedly violates our expectations of love poetry by rejecting traditional–and exaggerated–claims of loveliness in describing his beloved: “If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; if hairs be wires, black…… Continue reading The Cost of Demonization
Happy Lutheran 