Everything That Rises

"Yom Kippur." It's a funny sounding phrase that literally means in Hebrew "Day of Atonement." In the Hebrew Bible it is a day in which the sins of Israel are atoned for through animal sacrifice and the breaching of the Most Holy Place by the High Priest. This past Sunday I preached from Hebrews and how the author of that epistle must have reflected on where Christ fit in the grand priestly machinery of a religious society dominated my temple practices; I also reflected on how we fit into a religious system not that much unlike the temple system of the first and second centuries. I thought it was a fair effort (but what does my opinion matter?). Today, on Yom Kippur, I stop again to reflect on the words of the author of Hebrews, and I stop to ask myself "Where DO I fit in this thing called religion?" After all, religion is a horribly awkward creature that attempts to occupy our lives in a way that binds us to habitual practice rather than relate us to a...

Hope is a wonderful thing. It pushes us on though life may be tumultuous and depressing. It allows us to live in the present, longing for a better, fuller future. It calls our hearts and minds forward, giving us motivation to change the present. But... Hope can also be a dangerous thing. It keeps us stuck in a rut, unwilling to let go of inevitablity in order to deal with what's here and now. It lets the ideal linger in the midst of a world that is anything but ideal. It keeps us frozen, unwilling to move forward with the rest. Above all though... Hope is a powerful thing. It gives strength to the weak, Health to the sick, Days to the dying, Salvation for the lost, Heaven for the damned. It is indeed a powerful thing, for even though it may be lynched on a cross, it is still alive. Hope, Thy name is Christ. CPT