Spiritual Practices
Integrating Scripture, Social Capital, and Social Reform
While there is no set and commonly agreed upon definition of social capital, common elements include the sum of the social, economic, and moral resources that accumulate through a network of mutual relationships; goodwill among the persons and organizations that make up the network to disseminate the resources within the network; and positive benefits from…
Read MoreIntegrating our Passions, Probity, and Prayers
The Spiritual Practice of Praying the Psalms and Seeking Social Justice Integrating our passions, probity, and our prayers can be accomplished by praying the psalms. These Old Testament prayers serve as examples of powerful petitions filled with passion and probity and often centered on social justice which can serve as patterns of prayers for us…
Read MoreWhat about Holy Saturday? What Should We Do?
Let this Saturday, Holy Saturday, be a time of deep spiritual reflection. The primary focus of the day before, Good Friday, is the crucifixion and death of Jesus and the primary focus of the day after, Easter Sunday, is his glorious resurrection. But what about the day in-between—Holy Saturday? Matthew wrote that Joseph of Arimathea…
Read MoreHollywood and Liberty
Last week was the 88th Oscars and the most used hashtag leading up to the event was #OscarsSoWhite. Chris Rock hosted the show amidst the controversy of a predominantly white listing of nominees using his jokes to talk about the white elephants in the room. All of this focus on Hollywood and its role in…
Read MoreCombining the External and Internal: The Work of Artist FrankyJames
FrankyJames relies heavily upon the figure as a primary icon in his compositions, choosing to work in a narrative style that combines many elements of human activities and thoughts. He has effectively combined two tendencies, external and internal, to create works of compelling psychological dimensions. While using his power of imagination, he brings to his…
Read MoreLenten “Inner” Retreats and Solving Social Struggles
Since the earliest days of the Christian Church, Lent has been associated with the 40 days that Christ spent in the desert before the beginning of his public ministry (Luke 4.14). By observing the forty days of Lent, one can imitate Jesus’ withdrawal into the wilderness for forty days and can also prepare for public…
Read MorePowerlessness of the Sick
Introduction While I was taking MD525, Poverty and Development, at Fuller Theological Seminary in 2015, I as an alternative health practitioner was so excited and at the same time amazed that the nature and goals for both poverty and chronic diseases were almost identical . First, just as poverty is fundamentally spiritual in nature (Myers,…
Read MoreLectio Divina and an Image of a Homeless Person realized in Psalm 31
“I am the scorn of all my adversaries, a horror to my neighbors, an object of dread to my acquaintances, those who see me in the street flee from me. I have passed out of mind like one who is dead; I have become like a broken vessel.” (Psalm 31.11-12) I came across this passage…
Read MoreNew Year’s Resolutions: An Oxymoron?
Oxymorons like “rush hour” and “government intelligence” make us chuckle when we stop and think about them. I propose that we add “New Year’s resolutions” to the list of such contradictions, with the accent on the word “New.” For most of us, there is nothing new about our year’s resolutions. We simply lift old goals…
Read MoreDivine Offices of Prayer
Seven prayer offices have developed over the centuries to help ensure a day-long dialogue with God. “Seven times a day I praise you” (Psalm 119.164) is stated in the Psalms with the first office of prayer traditionally beginning in the middle of the night, the second one at 6 am, and the rest follow every…
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