Evolving Faith In 2018 two of my friends, Rachel Held Evans, and Sarah Bessey started Evolving Faith, a conference for those in the wilderness of faith; questioners, and post-Evangelicals and those for whom no convenient term applies. The next Spring, on the night our beloved friend
As a Catholic clergy and “preacher” I struggled so much with this scripture. Thanks for a reflection that speaks to the true God we believe in. “When you fire are the other gods, the God of love remains.”
Sorry for the clumsy misquote from memory of the beautiful words of Mirabai Starr. It should be “Once you know the God of love, fire all the other gods”
Beautifully expressed as ever, Nadia. I love how you make the point that "Because Christianity is not supposed to be about feeding anyone’s ego or a lifestyle in which we can know who we are better than. Christianity is not supposed to be about controlling the masses." There's such a fundamental disconnect in the world between what Christianity (or any faith really) SHOULD be and what too many people decide it is. And that to me is a humanity problem, not a faith problem.
So glad you posted this! A powerful sermon, beautifully delivered -- leaving me wanting to hear it again. Reading it was perfect! So grateful for your insights and wisdom. ♥️
I do not know any of you personally, but I have been a follower of each of you for years, finding in each a breath of fresh theology inspired by God. Nadia, from the time at a Festival of Homiletics when you answered someone's question about the current state of church Christianity and you likened it to a "phone booth," I pay attention to what you share. I was on a Spiritual Study in Phoenix, Arizona the day Rachel died, and after reading her books, I felt like I had lost one of my best friends; tears and grief were real. I preached this same passage this Sunday, and as you said, Scripture is so fascinating because no matter how many times we read it, it can be seen differently. Thank you for sharing your alternate take on the Wedding Banquet...as I am in the midst of re-reading Texts of Terror with my Bible Study Group, your interpretation sure fits. I wonder what would have changed in my sermon if I had read your thoughts first?
It cannot be said enough our GOD is ever present for the least of humanity as not stated by society at large!! I worked with refugees and struggling people (teaching) in my career! I learned so much about faith, trust and kindness from these folks! Amen
There isn't a time that you preach that a broken bone in my soul isn't somehow reset. Thank you so much for the gift of this message but also for all the hidden ways you support, love, pray, and freaking SHOW UP for your people. You're somehow even better than people hope. Thank you so much for everything you offer this community but I honestly don't know how I would have survived the past few years without you. We've been to the darkest places and you are always candlelight. Love you so much, it's ridiculous.
The picture accompanying this post drew me right in. In 1966 when I was a freshman at a Catholic high school the priest who was our homeroom moderator celebrated a Mass using a loaf of bread instead of the prescribed hosts. He immediately disappeared. It was like he was whisked away by the CIA and sent to Guantanamo Bay never to be heard from again. Over the years there has been stream of occurrences that have caused me to remove myself from Catholicism. Not least of which because I could not receive communion at my brother's funeral because my first wife divorced me. My current wife and I are members of a Lutheran Church with a very personable Pastor who sees after all of his flock and is very welcoming to everybody.
this parable has always made me choke. I think we need to dig deeper, well, actually, just read it and my faith tells me the king in this story is not our God at all! Hooray! God is not created in our image. So the message Nadia brings fits. It fits a God who created, loves and wants to bring home from the hell we have lived in this world. Thank you once again for your courage Nadia, to question and to defend God’s reputation!
Oct 16, 2023·edited Oct 16, 2023Liked by Nadia Bolz-Weber
This balances well with what I read in Sunday Musings by Diana Butler Bass. I commented on that post about love saturating grief, the 2 deepest things we know and experience. They are so opposite in their effects and yet the one thing they have in common is the depth of their experience. Thank for those words, Nadia.
Thank you Nadia! This is the first time I have heard/read a sermon on this text that made sense to my heart and gave me joy, rather than confusion and doubt. 🙏
I'm sorry. I just don't get the point of the scripture or the sermon. It makes no sense to me. Maybe I'm just stupid, or too insensitive, too selfish, too self-centered, or just too dense. Perhaps at some point I'll have an epiphany, but not now.
I often wonder if my inability to understand them is that they were originally shared in a different time and place with different life references and in a language with nuance we do not get in modern translations. But I do accept that each reading brings a new understanding as my life experience, my reading and hearing of other people's view informs a new view, something different than the last time, so I have evolved to a new perspective.
As a Catholic clergy and “preacher” I struggled so much with this scripture. Thanks for a reflection that speaks to the true God we believe in. “When you fire are the other gods, the God of love remains.”
Sorry for the clumsy misquote from memory of the beautiful words of Mirabai Starr. It should be “Once you know the God of love, fire all the other gods”
Beautifully expressed as ever, Nadia. I love how you make the point that "Because Christianity is not supposed to be about feeding anyone’s ego or a lifestyle in which we can know who we are better than. Christianity is not supposed to be about controlling the masses." There's such a fundamental disconnect in the world between what Christianity (or any faith really) SHOULD be and what too many people decide it is. And that to me is a humanity problem, not a faith problem.
So glad you posted this! A powerful sermon, beautifully delivered -- leaving me wanting to hear it again. Reading it was perfect! So grateful for your insights and wisdom. ♥️
Yes, again.....thank you!
I do not know any of you personally, but I have been a follower of each of you for years, finding in each a breath of fresh theology inspired by God. Nadia, from the time at a Festival of Homiletics when you answered someone's question about the current state of church Christianity and you likened it to a "phone booth," I pay attention to what you share. I was on a Spiritual Study in Phoenix, Arizona the day Rachel died, and after reading her books, I felt like I had lost one of my best friends; tears and grief were real. I preached this same passage this Sunday, and as you said, Scripture is so fascinating because no matter how many times we read it, it can be seen differently. Thank you for sharing your alternate take on the Wedding Banquet...as I am in the midst of re-reading Texts of Terror with my Bible Study Group, your interpretation sure fits. I wonder what would have changed in my sermon if I had read your thoughts first?
It cannot be said enough our GOD is ever present for the least of humanity as not stated by society at large!! I worked with refugees and struggling people (teaching) in my career! I learned so much about faith, trust and kindness from these folks! Amen
Joanne
There isn't a time that you preach that a broken bone in my soul isn't somehow reset. Thank you so much for the gift of this message but also for all the hidden ways you support, love, pray, and freaking SHOW UP for your people. You're somehow even better than people hope. Thank you so much for everything you offer this community but I honestly don't know how I would have survived the past few years without you. We've been to the darkest places and you are always candlelight. Love you so much, it's ridiculous.
You do good things in this world, friend. Love you too. xo
The picture accompanying this post drew me right in. In 1966 when I was a freshman at a Catholic high school the priest who was our homeroom moderator celebrated a Mass using a loaf of bread instead of the prescribed hosts. He immediately disappeared. It was like he was whisked away by the CIA and sent to Guantanamo Bay never to be heard from again. Over the years there has been stream of occurrences that have caused me to remove myself from Catholicism. Not least of which because I could not receive communion at my brother's funeral because my first wife divorced me. My current wife and I are members of a Lutheran Church with a very personable Pastor who sees after all of his flock and is very welcoming to everybody.
this parable has always made me choke. I think we need to dig deeper, well, actually, just read it and my faith tells me the king in this story is not our God at all! Hooray! God is not created in our image. So the message Nadia brings fits. It fits a God who created, loves and wants to bring home from the hell we have lived in this world. Thank you once again for your courage Nadia, to question and to defend God’s reputation!
This balances well with what I read in Sunday Musings by Diana Butler Bass. I commented on that post about love saturating grief, the 2 deepest things we know and experience. They are so opposite in their effects and yet the one thing they have in common is the depth of their experience. Thank for those words, Nadia.
Thank you Nadia! This is the first time I have heard/read a sermon on this text that made sense to my heart and gave me joy, rather than confusion and doubt. 🙏
Thanks For this interesting and beneficial message on the Scriptures. Meaningful to me.liz
Oh that beautiful song is now in my mind today. “ Jesus is calling... softly and tenderly. Thank you for preaching such a revolutionary message.
It was a high point of the Evolving Faith conference for me to receive this message from you and join in communion. Thank you.
I'm sorry. I just don't get the point of the scripture or the sermon. It makes no sense to me. Maybe I'm just stupid, or too insensitive, too selfish, too self-centered, or just too dense. Perhaps at some point I'll have an epiphany, but not now.
It's ok. That happens!
Sometimes I wonder if that's the intent of the parables of Jesus. To make you scratch your head and mutter, "WTF!"
I often wonder if my inability to understand them is that they were originally shared in a different time and place with different life references and in a language with nuance we do not get in modern translations. But I do accept that each reading brings a new understanding as my life experience, my reading and hearing of other people's view informs a new view, something different than the last time, so I have evolved to a new perspective.
Thank you for this! So helpful!
Great to read that message after hearing you give it at the conference. Thank you.
It was excellent to be able to be there along with you and so many of the tribe who are striving, questioning, evolving!