The imagery of the man carrying the heavy net behind him was so resonant to me. In an era of public and private self-flagellation with public notes app apologies and private hand wringing over past wrongs, we need a different, more effective answer to our feelings of shame and guilt over who we’ve been and what we’ve done wrong. We can’t wait for other people to cut us free, we’ve already been cut free, and lugging around those heavy nets full of garbage isn’t doing us any good. It feels tricky, to allow ourselves to recognize we’re already forgiven even while people are still angry with us. There’s a paradox in there somewhere. I’ll be mulling over this one for a while. Thank you.
totally agree. that thing on-line where something someone tweeted a decade ago that didn't age well is dragged up and who they are today is judged entirely on one piece of evidence, and there is no variety of apology or explanation that would ever possibly satisfy is nothing less than performative cruelty. i have no stomach for it.
I have similar thoughts on legalism in the church. I often think of sin as something that prevents you from experiencing the fullness of God’s love and joy. Like you’ve fallen into a cactus and have a thousand needles in you. God and His family are trying to help you remove the needles so you can heal and be whole again. NOT standing over you giving you a lecture that they told you about the cactus, it’s your fault you fell in it, and here is a 1000 word essay that has instructions for removing needles buried in the middle of less than helpful tips on how to tend a cactus garden.
Thank you for your posts. They really help me navigate through the darkness
Our local Anglican church in Canada has had a Wednesday morning Zoom chat group througout the pandemic. Right now we are having a series of discussions of Pastrix. I just forwarded a link to this sermon. I think it will help to clarify the journey you are on and will help us to accompany you on it.
Thanks for bringing me back to The Mission. Now I can't get get Gabriel's Oboe, and the rest of Morricone's beautiful score, out of my mind.
I need to add to my previous comment because I just finished the Prologue to Wholehearted Faith, the just-released last published words of Rachel Held Evans, produced through the efforts of her husband Daniel with the collaboration of Jeff Chu and a beautiful Afterword by you, Nadia.
For all of those of us who hang out at The Corners, I would like to pass on my deepest thoughts.
Her introductory remarks honoured all of the women of God who brought her to live in the presence of Jesus, from the heroic prophets of the Old Testament to Mary who gave Him birth and sustenance,, to Mary who announced that He is risen, to the women in Rachel's own life who brought her from day to day in encountering and drawing new life from Him.
In the course of this, she brought to you, Nadia, the best review you could ever have received for your own work. In addition to all of her other reasons, she said:
"I am a Christian because when I had reached the point of complete spiritual burnout, when it seemed as if everything related to the church or the Bible or Christianity was one big trigger just waiting to be get pulled, I picked up a book with an intriguing title and the picture of a tattooed Lutheran preacher on the cover. It was called Pastrix. That tattooed Lutheran preacher wrote about baptism and communion and the Bible and the cross in ways that I had never experienced anyone discussing them before. In her words and in her incomparable voice, these concepts seemed real and true again - not exactly safe, but real and true. Somehow her storytelling made me believe that, as she put it "Before we do anything wrong and before we do anything right, God has named and claimed us as God's own." I am a Christian because Nadia Bolz-Weber was faithful to her call - because Nadia and so many of my other teachers said yes."
Nadia, you were so blessed to be able to minister to this remarkable woman before you even knew her and to be able to call her friend and colleague, to work with her right until her untimely end of life and to continue to carry on the unfinished work you shared with her right up to today.
Thank you Rachel; thank you Nadia; thank God for letting us work in our own small ways with you on this journey,
I found Rachel's work just after the end of her earthly life, and was able to read from it to my beloved wife, Margaret during her last year of life. I was introduced to you through her writings and your benediction at her funeral and am blessed to be joining you and all of the others at The Corners. I am blessed to be able to carry on with our own church group in ongoing consideration of all that you wrestled with in Pastrix. This journey continues.
I’m going to read that one many times as I do with most of your writings. You pack a lot in to small spaces. Thank-you for what this written work gave me on my first read.
Beautifully stated. I just want to write the “Because because because” part out on sticky notes and hand it out to all of us who have been so deeply wounded by legalism, so we can put it on our bathroom mirror and read it every.frikkin.day.
That's the part that resounded most with me, too. If...then versus the because statements. Love the idea of putting it on my mirror...I just might do that.
I’m getting into Martin Luther now because of this and other stuff you’ve written. I’m just barely starting to understand the concept of grace, I think. I wish I’d learned more about Luther growing up, but in Catholic school there wasn’t much said about him, but I do remember being given a generally negative image of him as some sort of bad guy. I admire the fact that he was ex-communicated (many good people on that list!). He must have know he was risking death in the 16th century for speaking out against the church. Thanks for posting this... so in love with your use of metaphor. 🙏🏻
The metaphor of the ratty net bag of junk really hit home! "Just let it go!" Sam pleaded with Frodo when the latter refused to throw the Ring into the fiery chasm. Makes me cry every time. Thank you so much. As to "incurvatus in se", wasn't Thomas of Aquino the source Luther relied on for that particular definition? No matter, that's it in a nutshell. God help us to let go!
“Of course God loves the lost, the disobedient, the fearful.
“Who else is there?”
—Street, quoted in The Epistle to the Arkansans
The imagery of the man carrying the heavy net behind him was so resonant to me. In an era of public and private self-flagellation with public notes app apologies and private hand wringing over past wrongs, we need a different, more effective answer to our feelings of shame and guilt over who we’ve been and what we’ve done wrong. We can’t wait for other people to cut us free, we’ve already been cut free, and lugging around those heavy nets full of garbage isn’t doing us any good. It feels tricky, to allow ourselves to recognize we’re already forgiven even while people are still angry with us. There’s a paradox in there somewhere. I’ll be mulling over this one for a while. Thank you.
totally agree. that thing on-line where something someone tweeted a decade ago that didn't age well is dragged up and who they are today is judged entirely on one piece of evidence, and there is no variety of apology or explanation that would ever possibly satisfy is nothing less than performative cruelty. i have no stomach for it.
I have similar thoughts on legalism in the church. I often think of sin as something that prevents you from experiencing the fullness of God’s love and joy. Like you’ve fallen into a cactus and have a thousand needles in you. God and His family are trying to help you remove the needles so you can heal and be whole again. NOT standing over you giving you a lecture that they told you about the cactus, it’s your fault you fell in it, and here is a 1000 word essay that has instructions for removing needles buried in the middle of less than helpful tips on how to tend a cactus garden.
Thank you for your posts. They really help me navigate through the darkness
Thanks, Nadia.
Our local Anglican church in Canada has had a Wednesday morning Zoom chat group througout the pandemic. Right now we are having a series of discussions of Pastrix. I just forwarded a link to this sermon. I think it will help to clarify the journey you are on and will help us to accompany you on it.
Thanks for bringing me back to The Mission. Now I can't get get Gabriel's Oboe, and the rest of Morricone's beautiful score, out of my mind.
Blessings.
I need to add to my previous comment because I just finished the Prologue to Wholehearted Faith, the just-released last published words of Rachel Held Evans, produced through the efforts of her husband Daniel with the collaboration of Jeff Chu and a beautiful Afterword by you, Nadia.
For all of those of us who hang out at The Corners, I would like to pass on my deepest thoughts.
Her introductory remarks honoured all of the women of God who brought her to live in the presence of Jesus, from the heroic prophets of the Old Testament to Mary who gave Him birth and sustenance,, to Mary who announced that He is risen, to the women in Rachel's own life who brought her from day to day in encountering and drawing new life from Him.
In the course of this, she brought to you, Nadia, the best review you could ever have received for your own work. In addition to all of her other reasons, she said:
"I am a Christian because when I had reached the point of complete spiritual burnout, when it seemed as if everything related to the church or the Bible or Christianity was one big trigger just waiting to be get pulled, I picked up a book with an intriguing title and the picture of a tattooed Lutheran preacher on the cover. It was called Pastrix. That tattooed Lutheran preacher wrote about baptism and communion and the Bible and the cross in ways that I had never experienced anyone discussing them before. In her words and in her incomparable voice, these concepts seemed real and true again - not exactly safe, but real and true. Somehow her storytelling made me believe that, as she put it "Before we do anything wrong and before we do anything right, God has named and claimed us as God's own." I am a Christian because Nadia Bolz-Weber was faithful to her call - because Nadia and so many of my other teachers said yes."
Nadia, you were so blessed to be able to minister to this remarkable woman before you even knew her and to be able to call her friend and colleague, to work with her right until her untimely end of life and to continue to carry on the unfinished work you shared with her right up to today.
Thank you Rachel; thank you Nadia; thank God for letting us work in our own small ways with you on this journey,
I found Rachel's work just after the end of her earthly life, and was able to read from it to my beloved wife, Margaret during her last year of life. I was introduced to you through her writings and your benediction at her funeral and am blessed to be joining you and all of the others at The Corners. I am blessed to be able to carry on with our own church group in ongoing consideration of all that you wrestled with in Pastrix. This journey continues.
I miss her dearly.
I’m going to read that one many times as I do with most of your writings. You pack a lot in to small spaces. Thank-you for what this written work gave me on my first read.
Wonderful. Thank you.
Beautifully stated. I just want to write the “Because because because” part out on sticky notes and hand it out to all of us who have been so deeply wounded by legalism, so we can put it on our bathroom mirror and read it every.frikkin.day.
That's the part that resounded most with me, too. If...then versus the because statements. Love the idea of putting it on my mirror...I just might do that.
I’m getting into Martin Luther now because of this and other stuff you’ve written. I’m just barely starting to understand the concept of grace, I think. I wish I’d learned more about Luther growing up, but in Catholic school there wasn’t much said about him, but I do remember being given a generally negative image of him as some sort of bad guy. I admire the fact that he was ex-communicated (many good people on that list!). He must have know he was risking death in the 16th century for speaking out against the church. Thanks for posting this... so in love with your use of metaphor. 🙏🏻
As always, well done.
Beautifully written as always.
Thank you. I needed to hear and be reminded. Because. Because. ❤️
This is beautiful! God has certainly given you a gift - and I am touched & uplifted by every message you share! Grateful to my core. ❤️
You write wonderfully. Your thought and beliefs are always a welcome read. Thank you.
Awesome. Thank you for this.
The metaphor of the ratty net bag of junk really hit home! "Just let it go!" Sam pleaded with Frodo when the latter refused to throw the Ring into the fiery chasm. Makes me cry every time. Thank you so much. As to "incurvatus in se", wasn't Thomas of Aquino the source Luther relied on for that particular definition? No matter, that's it in a nutshell. God help us to let go!