The Reward of Doubt

Bertram Johnson, the Interfaith Minister at Union Theological Seminary, rightly observed during our online worship last Sunday that there is a “reward to doubt.” That reward, as witnessed through a moment in Thomas’ life, was an invitation to a place of vulnerability, intimacy, and grace. If faith allows us to see the renewing that the resurrection promises, doubt allows us to touch and experience the wounds that the renewing emerges from. While the process might be painful and agonizing, the reward is precious and holy. May we not stifle doubt or be threatened by it, for doubt might just be a locus for a faith deeply rooted in the flesh wounds of Jesus.

Think You’re Average? Celebrate It!

Averageness is not a weakness; it does not point to the lack of something. It is not mediocrity. If anything, I see averageness as a resistance to the capitalist notion of greatness, the need to be “the best.” I am not and I will not be. I don’t desire to be the market’s best. By saying this, I don’t mean to say that I or anyone should stop pursuing knowledge and remain stagnant. No! We ought to be the best WE can be—we set the standard for ourselves, not the market.

Music, Interdependence, and the Entangled Self

Music, just like the world made up of interconnected organisms, is deeply relational: it mysteriously connects us with people—young and old, earthbound and departed, intimate and distanced, gained and lost­—leaving us wanting more of a presence that cannot be grasped nor controlled.

The Cross of Discipleship

Ever since Jesus took his place on it, the cross has gone on to function as the cultic symbol of Christianity. It is, as Black Liberation Theologian James Cone says, “[a] great symbol of the Christian narrative of salvation.” Yet, we stumble when the cross is presented to us as the crux of Christian discipleship.…

Confronting Entitlement: Jesus and the Guests in Luke 14

One could feel entitled to something because of one’s gender, skin pigmentation, economic status, occupation, sexual orientation and so on. Entitlement is sign of privilege and at worse pride. It functions as a mechanism of exercising control. The more wealth, (access to) power, privilege one has the more likely one feels entitled to something. It creates a feeling of superiority over the other, potentially leading to narcissism.