Wallace Henley, former Senior Associate Pastor of 2nd Baptist Church in Houston, Texas. | Photo by Scott Belin
Against the backdrop of current events especially the increasingly frenzied preoccupation with the “reset” of the global order a sometimes puzzling statement of Jesus becomes clearer: “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has been treated violently, and violent men take it by force.” (Matthew 11:12 NASB)
The Message paraphrase brings out an important nuance: “For a long time now people have tried to force themselves into God’s Kingdom.”
We are living through an era when people under secular banners are trying to force the coming of the benefits of Christ’s Kingdom and conformity to its high values of love, equality, respect for those unlike us, and caring for the disenfranchised and victims of discrimination.
December 17, 2020 at 9:28 AM
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Toobin in the days before Zoom. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)
Hey, did you hear that Jeffrey Toobin lost his job because he took his dick out and seemingly masturbated during a work meeting? You might have missed it while the entire world was on fire this year, but it happened. In the annals of inappropriate behavior, there are worse things out there. That said, it is
still wildly inappropriate and just because he didn’t assault someone or burn the office down doesn’t make it any more acceptable. It’s sexual harassment. Full stop.
I Need the Old Testament for Christmas in 2020
Now more than ever before, we should look to the Old Testament to enrich this holiday season. Andrew Abernethy Image: Aaron Burden/Unsplash
The only constant in 2020 has been disruption. Unless you are an essential worker, most of us now work from home, wear masks, order groceries online, and attend church on our couches. Tensions are high. Fissures between minorities and those in power are expanding. Political parties have created barricades between family, friends, and neighbors. What does this mean for Advent and Christmas? All of this turmoil could just add to an already stressful holiday season and push us to the brink. There is another possibility too. What if God wants to enrich his Church during Advent and beyond as never before? What if he wants to nourish our faith in a way that can only happen amidst turmoil? I suspect this may come through the Church’s habit of breaking open the Old Testament during Advent S