Like many of us, I took time to reflect during the 9/11 quarter-century commemoration. That horrible moment understandably became a critical inflection point for U.S. politics and culture. Yet it is estimated that a third of the current U.S. population was born after that fateful day, and so do not carry its existential weight (right,…
     Elaine and I take an annual summer sojourn to Saskatchewan to visit with friends, family and colleagues. We write this blog from her home-town of Saskatoon, and share below two highlights from this year’s adventure. Hosting a Canadian Debut of Cynthia Welik-Salgado’s “Beyond Borders”     Central to our time in SK was curating an…
“Why do you stand looking into heaven?” (Acts 1:11) – Commemorating Nakba Day through the Lens of Taybeh Today (May 14) is Ascension Day, a Christian Feast Day not widely appreciated or understood. Readers of HARP can find a brief engagement with Luke’s account (p. 206), but I’d recommend a longer reflection from last year’s…
    Elaine and I returned a few days ago from a week back east, where we visited beloved elders in New England, then participated in a Public Theology & Public Policy Conference hosted by our friends Bishop William Barber and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove at Yale Divinity School. It was good to catch up with colleagues we…
Friends: Much of our attention has rightly been focused on ICE assaults in Minneapolis, as well as the amazing popular resistance there (including faith communities and many of our friends there, such as folks at Calvary Baptist Church, right). Please continue to pray and protest, that we might keep building momentum into a turning point…
 Last Friday was the Feast of La Virgen de Guadalupe. At right is a retablo, a hybrid style of indigenous artistry, centuries of Catholic iconography, and Spanish culture. Retablos are small oil paintings on tin, zinc, wood, or copper which were used in home altars to honor saints.  This one has hung in our…
22nd Week after Pentecost, 2025 As we near the end of lectionary Year C and our journey through Luke, we are happy to announce that the Center and Library for the Bible and Social Justice will host a conversation between Chuck Collins’ and me on Thursday, Nov 13, from 7:30-9 pm EST. Chuck’s Burned by…
And Re-introducing Two Timely BCM Publications18th Sunday after Pentecost This Sunday’s RCL gospel reading (Lk 17:11-19) is a straightforward object lesson about gratitude for gifts of healing. It is an important reminder for those of us trying to face and heal deep wounds past and present, not least in this fraught historical moment. As we…
This reflection on the Lord’s Prayer highlights its transformative significance in teaching believers persistent prayer for divine justice and community cooperation. It stresses understanding its biblical roots beyond mere recitation, connecting sin and debt, and emphasizes the call for mutual aid under God’s covenant. The Prayer serves as a vital directive for ongoing discipleship.
3rd Sunday after Pentecost, 2025 The demons of war: Last Sunday’s gospel spoke poignantly to the moment, Trump having joined the bombing of Iran the day before. In Luke’s story of Gerasa, Jesus names and “banishes” the many demons of imperial militarism that were possessing the man of Gerasa and occupying his land. These demons…