When God directs our eyes skyward
As I write this, I’m in Chicago, IL finishing up my summer chaplaincy internship. For the last six weeks, I’ve been serving at a detention center in Reno, NV. Now I’m here doing five weeks of hospital chaplaincy (when I get back home, I’ll be back at the detention center for another year, part time).
The last time I was physically in my home parish (Holy Trinity Lutheran in Chicago) was before the great 2020 lockdown. Now that I’m back in town, I got to step back into the building.
What a transcendent feeling. As two musicians played a Debussy…
When the attempt to balance the scales in life leads to heads on platters
[To see the video of this sermon, click here.]
You know those days where the world just grates on you? For no apparent reason, you find yourself generally annoyed at life? It’s nothing in particular. It’s not just one thing that sets you off. You can’t pinpoint it. It’s more just a mood that sets in and weighs you down like a lead blanket.
Well, that happened to me the other day. I was at the dinner table. And my wife, Alex, said something — I don’t even remember what, exactly — that I took utter…
May the church return to being the one safe place for busted people to break down and fallen people to fall down
I recently learned about a Christian icon that I’ve grown particularly drawn to. It’s a door knocker on the sanctuary door of the Durham Cathedral in Northeast England. For one, it’s in the shape of a lion, which is badass in and of itself. But the meaning of the knocker shows us the purpose of church in a Christian sense…
Those who ‘had committed a great offense’ (such as murder in self-defense or breaking out of prison) could rap the knocker and would be given 37 days of sanctuary within which they could try to reconcile with their enemies or…
Humans have always held a religious vigor for retributive justice. In other words, justice through “right-handed” means; or a means of strength, glory, and mental/physical prowess that’s intended to overcome our enemies.
John the Baptizer was hopeful that Jesus was THE Messiah who’d come and baptize by fire opening a can of holy whoop ass on all of the evils of the world (Matthew 3:11). He hoped that Jesus was the right-handed regulator to rescue him and his people from Rome’s oppressive power. …
God starts from inclusion. We start from exclusion.
If we’re honest with ourselves, we see that we usually start from a place of exclusion. I know I do. A lot of religious folks see the masses largely as people who have to earn their inclusion. In other words, they function as the rest of the world does.
If I want to be part of a local martial arts or yoga studio, I can’t just go and sit there. They’ll eventually ask me to leave (trust me, I’ve tried). I have to do the practices. I have to do the work…
A couple of weeks ago, I started the leg of my pre-ordained journey called CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education). I’ll be working at the Washoe County Detention Center out on beautiful Parr Blvd. in Reno, NV for the first half of summer and finishing up the second half of summer in Chicago at a hospital out there.
It’s already been quite a ride and I hope to have more to share when I’m done. I’ve been serving amazing people who’ve been arrested for everything from unpaid traffic tickets and urinating in public to outright murder.
Right now, I’ll just say that…
There is a difference between ‘religion’ and ‘Christianity’. Here’s the distinction…
Religion (ex: Acts 26.5) is all about you and me. It’s about what you and I do or don’t do. It prescribes things to do/not do in order to gain God’s favor.
Religion isn’t ultimately about God. It’s about… Me. It’s about my devotion, my commitment, my doingness. And when we get together in a group setting, it’s about ME VS. YOU. We can’t help but establish a pecking order to see who the priests, pillars, and heretics are.
Religion is a human impulse. We are religious in nature…
‘Personal Growth’ is a multi-gajillion (give or take a few) dollar industry. We often see the following sentiments blurted out across social media…
“I’m focused on my growth these days…”
Or…
“The growth that I’ve achieved from XYZ has been amazeballs.”
(BTW, why is ‘amazeballs’ not cool anymore?)
We get ravenous about ‘growth’. And I get it. Our intentions are good. But, like anything with good intentions, we must keep a sharp eye on them.
Most of what we do when we focus on growth is we try to climb various ladders. …
God’s focus centers on everything and everyone
Peripheral vision is a human thing. You and I tend to focus on the things we like — the things and people we deem worthy of our love.
And it’s okay. In fact, it’s the only way we can be.
A couple of God-thoughts (theology) here…
First of all, the God I’ve come to know has no peripheral vision. There are no margins to God’s field of view. Every thing and every one is at the center of God’s focus and is endlessly loved by God — not because of who they/we are or what they/we do, but because this…
The forgiveness of Christ comes, not through conscious choice, but as a thief in the night
A sermon based on Mark 3:20–35 ‘Jesus Accused by His Family and by Teachers of the Law’
When I was 17 years old, I disowned half of my family. Yes, “disown” is an awful term. I mean, I never owned them in the first place. But you get it.
Also, I won’t take you too deep into the weeds here. I’ll spare you the long backstory and nitty-gritty details. I have family. You have family. You know how it can go.
But just to give you a little bit of context to address the elephant in the room — why…
Jonas Ellison
Sierra Valley, CA | Writer. Noticer. Lutheran Pastor and Parish Poet In-Training. Girl Dad. Househusband. Werewolf Hunter. | jonasellison.com
