That is the question! Vince reflects personally and intellectually on how a good, full life seems to involve BOTH a commitment to alleviating suffering AND an embrace of the inevitability of suffering. What do we do with that? How does one hold that tension? Jesus' life and ministry offer needed insights.
Read MoreHayley brings us to the provocative, beautiful suggestion from 13th century mystic Meister Eckhart that we are all called to be mothers who give birth to God -- bringing God's Spirit into the uprootedness of life, into the most unfathomable of circumstances. (Art by @osageandfern)
Read MoreVince asks questions about poverty, exploitation, and perceiving God's Spirit as we turn again to Matthew's Christmas story about the confrontation between Herod and the Magi. (Art: "Herod greeting the three magi" by Rolf Nesch, 1922)
Read MoreThrough the lens of the Nap Ministry's Tricia Hersey and her book "Rest is Resistance", Hayley continues our church's discussion of how to address societal burnout. (Illustration by Kumé Pather)
Read MoreTwo friends of Vince, in different helper professions, join us to continue our discussion of societal burnout (Cartoon by Bruce Mackinnon)
Read MoreThe most natural response to burnout in our culture, according to scholars of the Modern World, is a good response in many ways, but, alas, it can't save us from busyness. Vince explains, and point us to Jesus' alternative vision of a good life that isn't busyness.
Read MoreBurnout is not a problem with fringe individuals; burnout is a societal problem. How did we get here? And how can we, together in community, address societal burnout, rather than demand individual heroic effort to overcome it? What does Jesus have to offer us in this? And how might BLC help us stay open to that?
Read MoreIs there any wisdom that is more across-the-board applicable than forgiveness? — to both interpersonal and societal struggles? — to both small slights and major abuse? There might not be! For our part 2 on "conflict resolution", Vince explores Jesus' teaching on forgiveness, as explained by Desmond Tutu and his daughter Mbpo Tutu in "The Book of Forgiving".
Read MoreVince & Keziah tell on themselves to surface various nuggets and insights on conflict resolution that have helped them over their 15 years of marriage, and highlight what a difference-maker it is to actually living those things out when you feel seen by a God of Love. (Image by jean wimmerlin on Unsplash)
Read MoreModern life is like being under a waterfall: so many experiences and demands and thoughts and feelings tumbling down on us, leaving us in constant reactivity mode. "Getting behind the waterfall" is a contemplative prayer practice meant to get us out of reactivity mode.
Read More
