Across Church Street
Morning Liturgy
Some lessons from a morning walk.
When I walk or run in the morning, I’m on the lookout for earthworms wriggling on paved surfaces. I catch them and move them to a grassy area. With this morning liturgy, I remind myself that:
God commissioned me to be a steward of his creation. Not a worshiper of it, but a good steward.
I cannot solve every problem—save every worm—but I can do what’s in front of me.
As a human, I enjoy privileges that a worm does not. I can use my privilege for a another creature’s—or another person’s—benefit.
This is something I can do when I walk or run, but not when I ride a bike or drive a car. When I move fast, I miss opportunities.
Stranded
Living in a nowhere zone. Reflecting on the movie “The Terminal”.
“The Father rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,”
I recall a movie from 2004 called “The Terminal”. Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks) is a citizen of Krakozhia, a fictional country in Eastern Europe. He travels to the United States, arriving at JFK airport. While he is in the air, there’s a coup in Krakozhia. Because of the coup, the U.S. Government no longer recognizes Krakozhia as a legitimate nation and refuses to admit Viktor. At the same time, Viktor has no country to return to. He’s stranded in JFK airport.
This is life for too many Christians. We’re taught we have been rescued from the world. We are told to be less worldly. But we’re left to wait for heaven until we die. For now, we don’t belong anywhere. We’re stranded.
This isn’t what the Bible promises. We were both rescued and transferred. We are admitted into God’s Kingdom now. We draw our life from there. We belong.
“So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. The new has come!”
We don’t have to live a lonely life, isolated from fellowship (koinōnia) until heaven. The old has passed and the new has come!
“We are proclaiming what we have seen and heard also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us. Our fellowship is with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. ”
New Life
A lens for living as a disciple of Jesus.
For those who are in Christ Jesus —
A new heart. A new spirit. A new citizenship. A new family.
A new Sovereign and Father. A new identity and culture.
Now Kingdom life is becoming more normal, less foreign.
A royal priesthood embodies the royal law.
And we receive the world as our consular assignment.
- love
- Holy Spirit
- humility
- church
- poverty & mercy
- politics & society
- mission & witness
- holiness
- parable & metaphor
- identity
- eternal life
- doubt & deconstruction
- leadership
- grace
- justice
- scripture
- spiritual life
- advent & christmas
- imagination & creativity
- technology & AI
- knowing God
- human dignity
- faith & trust
- incarnation & cross
- kingdom of God
- community
- reconciliation
- spiritual formation
- epistemology
- prayer
- gratitude
- culture
- creation & nature
- discipleship
I practice the spiritual discipline of rescuing earthworms on paved surfaces. It's a reminder to me that I can pause what I'm doing, get a little dirty, and help. Also, that I've been given the responsibility to care.