Culture Shock

  What does it mean for us to pray like a child? That is, after all, what is implied by the opening words of the Lord's Prayer, "Our Father..." And Jesus calls his disciples to be like children , right? I don't think it's a stretch for this to be our starting position when we pray.  Of course, it's helpful to make the distinction between being child-like and childish.  I believe Jesus is pointing to the fact that children are inevitably vulnerable. We as parents take their hands when we're on a sidewalk next to a busy street. Children tend to make mistakes, say what they think at times when it can be uncomfortable and ask for things continually. Children don't have positions of power or influence either. In sum, they have to rely on someone to guide them. I think that's the point.  Our prayer lives ought to look like we are constantly in need of someone to guide us. Because that's exactly what we need if we're followers of Jesus. Praying l...

  "Pick up your feet!" That was my grandfather's tongue-in-cheek demand everytime we would approach a toll booth somewhere in the Buffalo, NY vicinity. (Go Bills!) Of course he was referring to the buh-bump, buh-bump the tires made on the grooved pavement to pursuade drivers to slow down. The image of my own feet dangling down, causing the car to make that noise often made me laugh.  Later in life, when I had my license, whenever I inadvertantly moved toward the shoulder of the road, the highway would rumble and groan warning me to stay in my lane.  It turns out that this technology can be used not only for the purpose of safety, but also for art.  I was in northern Hungary last week, on my annual retreat , when I encountered something I had never seen before. My first inclination was to (literally) steer clear of it. But later, I drove the same road again and experienced this:  I'm not sure what speed I was supposed to drive in order to hear the tune in its id...

Loving our neighbor as ourselves is not simply something we as Christians should endeavor to do. Rather, loving our neighbor is a natural result of abiding in Christ.  Photo by  Vimal S  on  Unsplash There’s an interesting line from Leo Tolstoy ’s novel Anna Karenina in which Levin is thinking deeply about how it is that he learned to love his neighbor. His first impulse is to attribute this value to reason. But as he ponders this possibility, he realizes loving ones neighbor cannot ultimately be discovered by reason, “because it's unreasonable”. Rather, he comes to the conclusion that what he knows about loving his neighbor was revealed to him. Tolstoy here offers us a glimpse into the biblical understanding of loving our neighbor.  Throughout the Old Testament, Israel was commanded love its neighbor. In Leviticus 19:18 we see a contrast; rather than taking vengeance or bearing a grudge against their neighbor, Israel was commanded to “love your neighbor as yo...