The (Lieben)GOOD LIFE

Recently I was asked to speak at the national conference for the Association for Christians in Student Development (ACSD). The organizers asked me to give a theological account for the work of student development and to show how the themes of the conference connected to the good work of student life. Here is the fifth installment of the six talks I gave on June 10-13.  Session 5          The Good Work of Hospitality   Good morning! I hope you have been encouraged as we have been reflecting upon the good work that you do and seeing how it is connected to the ongoing work of Jesus! This morning I want to talk about the good work of hospitality. I want anchor our discussion on hospitality in what will at first seem like a really strange passage, Romans 16.1-16. Bear with me for a moment. Trust me, this text will preach!   As I read Romans 16.1-16, I want to ask you to listen for hospitality language (welcome), to pay attention to...

  Recently I was asked to speak at the national conference for the Association for Christians in Student Development (ACSD). The organizers asked me to give a theological account for the work of student development and to show how the themes of the conference connected to the good work of student life. Here is the fourth  installment of the six talks I gave on June 10-13.  Session 4           The Good Work of Identity Formation   For most of my time in college, I felt totally lost. I went to San Jose State, where I was able to pursue my life-long dream of playing football. Even with success, I was totally empty.   Strangely, the most profound feeling of emptiness came after one of the best games I ever played. I remember standing on the Orange Bowl logo at the fifty yard-line, shaking hands with Gino Torretta, the Heisman trophy winner that year. I was a freshmen; I got my first start; and we played the number one...

  Reading Romans Backwards (sort of): Exploring the setting and lived theology of Romans In my course on Romans, I suggest that it is most fruitful to read Romans backwards, sort of. We will start with a exploration of Romans 16, move to the until of Romans 14-15, then look at Romans 12-13. Why do I suggest we read Romans in this way? 1.  Because Romans is a complex argument, and most readers often get lost in the forest for the trees. Reading it backwards helps us keep the purpose of the letter in view, and helps us better understand how the parts fit together. 2.    Because Romans is ultimately about lived theology—theology that makes a difference for how we share our lives together. It is ultimately about human flourishing in light of the gospel. Reading it backwards keeps this in view. 3. Because in a detailed study of Romans, often chapters 12-16 get the least amount of attention; the problem with this is that Romans 12-16 is at the heart of what Paul wants to c...

  In Chapter 16, which many people read as insignificant “shout outs”, we see not only the problem that Paul is addressing in his letter, but also the core of his message throughout the letter. He begins by asking the Roman church to “welcome” (cf. Rom 15.7) Phoebe, likely the one who was in charge of delivering and explaining the letter to the churches. It is no doubt illuminating that Paul sends a gentile convert woman to read and perhaps interpret this letter to the Roman Christians. It is easy to miss the explosive and deeply theological claim that Paul makes when he addresses Phoebe as “sister” (16.1). This gets to the heart of Paul’s message to the Romans (and us). In Christ, we have a new status; we are family members, who belong to one another. (Romans 1-8 will develop and support this foundational claim, as we will see.) In the Roman world, families were marked by loyalty, honor, love, harmony, forgiveness, and goodwill towards one another. In the culture of the day, more ...

  John M.G. Barclay. Paul and the Gift. Eerdmans, 2015. Pgs. 656; $70 hardback. Most within the Christian tradition, especially those who are the byproduct of the Reformation, have celebrated Paul as the theologian of grace who came on the scene to save us all, both Jew and Gentile, from the destructive and impossibly demanding “works-righteousness” of Judaism. In 1977 that basic framework for understanding Judaism and Paul was challenged by E.P. Sanders’ book Paul and Palestinian Judaism . Sanders’ provocative insights generated a fresh wave of research on Paul’s theology in its Jewish context, which in turn fostered a new (but not monolithic) scholarly approach to reading the apostle (and Second Temple Judaism) known as the “new perspective”. Sanders and those who followed similar lines of research, have argued that the Judaism of Paul’s day has been unfairly mischaracterized within the Christian tradition, especially in the aftermath of the Reformation. They argue that Judais...

  Romans 14.1-12;  Matthew 18.21-35   Exodus 14.19-31 ;  Psalm 114               What kind of culture is Jesus forming? Prayer of Invocation   Father, because without you we are not able to please you, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.   Prayer of Illumination   Father, you have sent your Son Jesus to deliver us from our sin and to form a new way of living together. Give us ears to hear, and eyes to see the ways in which our attitudes, postures, and practices run contrary to the gospel. We ask this because we want to be a people that bears witness to Your goodness, truth, and beauty. In Jesus’ name, we pray.    Proclamation   As we orient ourselves to the texts that we have read this morning, I...

A Homily on Romans 8.12-25 Read with Matthew 13.24-30, 36-43; Genesis 28.10-19a; and Psalm 139.1-12, 23-24   Prayer of Invocation   Father, you are the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those   things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Prayer of Illumination Father, who can discern his errors? Deliver us from our hidden faults; keep us from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over us! May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. (Adapted from Psalm 19.12-14) Proclamation The Spirit is our floodlight and our matchmaker. On our road of darkness He casts light over our shoulders ...