The (Lieben)GOOD LIFE

First Loved. A Message for Biblical Studies, Theology, and Christian Ministry Majors Academic Chapel September 5, 2025 Kelly D. Liebengood, Ph.D. Dean, School of Theology and Vocation Scripture Reading “Beloved,...”  (Pet 2:11; 4:12; 2 Pet 3:1, 8, 14, 3:17; 1 John 2:7; 3:2, 21; 4:1, 7, 11; Jude 1, 3, 17, 20; see also Heb 6;9; Eph 1:6; 5:1; Col 3:2; 2 Thess 2:13.) Proclamation  There’s a word in the New Testament that is too often treated as a throwaway, a pleasantry that serves to fill the awkward space as the author transitions from one idea to another. The word, as you may have guessed from our Scripture reading, is beloved.  The word is particularly prominent in key rhetorical moments in the Catholic Epistles (James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John, Jude; see references in note 1). And at the center of the Catholic Epistles is a reminder that Jesus is the beloved, the one who has always been loved, and who in turn loves as an extension of his belovedness (2 Pet 1:16-21). We learn...

For me, one of the unexpected benefits of studying the history of the development of the doctrine of the Trinity is that it reminds me how to study the Bible. In his Spirit of Early Christian Thought , Robert Wilken captures the lesson with this profound observation: "We are accustomed to think of exegesis as an enterprise of drawing out the meaning of a text by determining what the words signify. The interpreter begins with the words, that is, the signs, and seeks to discover the res, the subject matter about which the text speaks. But if the interpreter has no knowledge of the reality to which they refer, the meaning will always be elusive...Only as the biblical texts [about] the Holy Spirit were read in context of the church's life and worship did they disclose their meaning." (104)

* A Reflection on Jesus' encounter with two men on their way to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-27) Lent is usually the time of year that could be described as "confrontational." We roll up our sleeves and ask God "to search us and know our hearts; too try us and know our thoughts; to see if there is any idolatrous way in us; and to lead us in the right way (adapted from Psalm 139:23-24)." We are more intentional about setting aside time in our days to consider the ways in which our lives do not conform to the words of Jesus and the revelation he brings to us in the Epiphany. We are more deliberate about self-examination, seeking to pay closer attention to what we have heard so that we do not drift away (Heb 2:1). And over the course of those 40 plus days of auditing, we become acutely aware of all the ways we "fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23)."  Easter is a welcome relief! Yes, we fall short, but God has bridged the gap, defeating the one who has the powe...

  Practicing the True Life in the Midst of the False One 1 John 3:16-24        Acts 4:5-12        Psalm 23        John 10:11-18 Prayer of Invocation Our Father, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people; Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Prayer of Illumination Father, through your Son Jesus, we have passed from death to life. Enable us to practice a life of love that both demonstrates that we belong to You, and that also destroys the works of the devil. In the name of Jesus.  Proclamation Back in the day, just after they transitioned from leather to plastic helmets, I played football at San Jose St. (And yes, the older I get, the better I was!) My first two years, we ran a unique defense (The Buddy Ryan 46) th...

  Rillera, Andrew R.  Lamb of the Free: Recovering the Varied Sacrificial Understandings of Jesus's Death . Eugene, Oregon: Cascade Books, 2024.   Reviewed b y Kelly D. Liebengood Jesus saves. But how ? And in particular, what did Jesus accomplish in his death? Historically, most Protestant traditions have replied that he died to offer himself as an atoning sacrifice. That is, in his death, Jesus stood in the place of sinners (substitution) and took upon himself the punishment for sins (penal) that they committed in order to appease God’s wrath, to satisfy his justice, and to secure forgiveness of sins (atonement). In Lamb of the Free , Rillera disassembles the building blocks for this prominent interpretation of Jesus’s death (often referred to as penal substitutionary atonement [henceforth, PSA]), and replaces them with an account of the saving significance of Jesus’s death that is coherently aligned with the logic of Old Testament sacrifice and the prophetic expectations t...