In Jeremiah's day Jews had to learn how to live as exiles in Babylon. The New Testament refers to the baptized as citizens of heaven who also have to learn how to live as exiles in Babylon.

When asked about the resurrection, Jesus spoke of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as being alive to God. If we think carefully about this, it has enormous theological implications on how we understand when resurrection occurs.

John the Elder tells us that the world under the sway of the evil one is driven by pride, greed, and lust. (Think of how much advertising appeals to pride, greed, or lust.) This world (prophetically called Babylon) cannot be harnessed for good—even though religious ambition for political power imagines it can. The task of the church is not to reappropriate the engines of pride, greed, and lust, but to be something altogether different—the kingdom of Jesus Christ energized by faith, hope, and love.

"The nuns taught us that there are two ways through life—the way of nature and the way of grace. You have to choose which one you will follow. Grace doesn't try to please itself, accepts being slighted, forgotten, disliked; accepts insults and injuries. Nature only wants to please itself. Get others to please it too. Likes to Lord it over them, to have its own way. It finds reasons to be unhappy when all the world is shining around it, when love is smiling through all things. They taught us the no one who loves the way of grace ever comes to a bad end. I will be true to you whatever comes."

- The Tree of Life

Job was a blameless man caught in a contest between the divine and diabolical that he knew nothing about. He lost his wealth, his health, and all ten of his children. His friends Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar come to comfort him but end up accusing him. Job defends his integrity in a series of poetic debates that lasts for 27 chapters. Then Elihu enters the story...

Job is a poetic book probably written in the fourth or fifth century BC, possibly written in Persia. The authors (there appears to be more than one) were almost certainly Israelites—but the story itself occurs outside of Israel and doesn't appear to have Jewish characters. The book is a poetic exploration of the problem of suffering and our response to it.

The prophets and psalmists of lament show us how to find faith and hold on to hope in the time of tears.

“I believe” is a powerful statement. When we express our faith in Jesus we are not saying one thing, but four things. The shape of faith is made up of four sides: belief (what we do with our minds), confidence (what we do with our hearts, trust (what we do with our bodies), and allegiance (what we do with our will). Growing as people of faith requires growing in all four areas. 

Jesus spoke of the kingdom of God primarily in parables. These parables are not folksy illustrations to help us better understand the point—quite the opposite in fact. The parables of Jesus are often deliberately disorienting. Jesus wants to throw us off balance so that we might stumble into a previously unknown world—the world of God’s grace where many of our most common assumptions are subverted.

The gospel story of the cross says this: Because of God’s love the Son of God came into the world, and despite his actions of love, healing, and mercy, the Son of God was ultimately rejected, condemned, and crucified by a sinful world built upon violent power. And yet, in that moment, when the world did its very worst, the Crucified One was not condemning the world, but saving the world.

Sweet Sounds Of Heaven

by The Rolling Stones (feat. Lady Gaga)

I hear the sweet, sweet sounds of heaven

Fallin' down, fallin' down to this earth

I hear the sweet, sweetest sounds of heaven

Driftin' down, driftin' down to this earth

Bless the Father, bless the Son

Hear the sound of the drums

As it echoes through the valley

And it bursts

Let no woman or child

Go hungry tonight

Please protect us from the pain

And the hurt

I smell the sweet, sweet scents of heaven

Tumblin' down, tumblin' down

To the earth

I hear the sweet sounds, the sweet sounds of children

And they're praising

The land of their birth

No, I'm not, not going to hell

In some dusty motel

And I'm not, not going down

In the dirt

I'm gonna laugh, I'm gonna cry

Eat the bread, drink the wine

'Cause I'm finally, finally quenching

My thirst

You can't have a light without a little shadow

Always need a target for your bow and arrow

I want to be drenched in the rain of your heavenly love

Let the music, play loud

Let it burst through the clouds

And we all feel the heat

Of the sun

Let us sing, let us shout

Let us all stand up proud

Let the old still believe

That they're young

Beautiful Things

Benson Boone

For a while there, it was rough

But lately, I've been doin' better

Than the last four cold Decembers I recall

And I see my family every month

I found a girl my parents love

She'll come and stay the night

And I think I might have it all

And I thank God every day

For the girl He sent my way

But I know the things He gives me

He can take away

And I hold you every night

And that's a feelin' I wanna get used to

But there's no man as terrified

As the man who stands to lose you

Oh, I hope I don't lose you

Please stay

I want you, I need you, oh, God

Don't take

These beautiful things that I've got

Please stay

I want you, I need you, oh, God

Don't take

These beautiful things that I've got

Please don't take

I found my mind, I'm feelin' sane

It's been a while, but I'm findin' my faith

If everything's good and it's great

Why do I sit and wait 'til it's gone?

Oh, I'll tell ya, I know I've got enough

I've got peace, and I've got love

But I'm up at night thinkin'

I just might lose it all

Please stay

I want you, I need you, oh, God

Don't take

These beautiful things that I've got

Please stay

I want you, I need you, oh, God

I need

These beautiful things that I've got

Imago Interlude by nobigdyl.

Christian music or music that Christians use

To get they fix just another hit of the clicks and views

Officially I don't play by your silly rules

We independent cuz that's how I felt the Spirit move

Looked for Yeshua I didn't see him on the tube

I couldn't find him on the web or in triple letter news

I saw him on the corner begging for some drugs and food

I couldn't stop cuz I'm a little late for Sunday school

Christian music or music that Christians use

I read epistles and take a sip of the liquor too

And everyone you listen to I saw they did it too

I saw a lot of dying happenin' in livin' rooms

Is that a preacher or a wolf that's covered in the wool

Is that a fetus or human covered in the womb

We disagreeing or are we just politicians tools

Can't pledge allegiance to a system feeding off of fools

Christian music or music that Christians use

I looked for Jesus and I didn't see him on the news

Saw him in Palestine the power lines were out of juice

He was a 9-year-old her body had been battered bruised

Saw him in Zion too a missile through a tattered roof

A father clinging to his child pleading out to you

Saw him in Kyiv and Moscow

The bleeding won't stop now

The cop and the black body he shot down

Christian music or music that Christians use

Looked for Messiah I couldn't find him in interviews

Sittin' in silence I felt an ancient pull

He said to be Samaritan to every single Jew

Right then he showed me rockets over top of Tel Aviv

Colonizers shippin' people across the seven seas

Televangelist devisin' petty schemes

You don't know Jesus till you see him in your enemy

I hate the people that we became

I love the people we became

Shelter from the Storm

Bob Dylan

’Twas in another lifetime, one of toil and blood

When blackness was a virtue, the road was full of mud

I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form

“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”

And if I pass this way again, you can rest assured

I'll always do my best for her, on that I give my word

In a world of steel-eyed death, and men who are fighting to be warm

“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”

Not a word was spoke between us, there was little risk involved

Everything up to that point had been left unresolved

Try imagining a place where it’s always safe and warm

“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”

I was burned out from exhaustion, buried in the hail

Poisoned in the bushes an’ blown out on the trail

Hunted like a crocodile, ravaged in the corn

“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”

Suddenly I turned around and she was standin’ there

With silver bracelets on her wrists and flowers in her hair

She walked up to me so gracefully and took my crown of thorns

“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”

Now there’s a wall between us, somethin’ there’s been lost

I took too much for granted, I got my signals crossed

Just to think that it all began on an uneventful morn

“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”

Well, the deputy walks on hard nails and the preacher rides a mount

But nothing really matters much, it’s doom alone that counts

And the one-eyed undertaker, he blows a futile horn

“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”

I've heard newborn babies wailin’ like a mournin’ dove

And old men with broken teeth stranded without love

Do I understand your question, man, is it hopeless and forlorn?

“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”

In a little hilltop village, they gambled for my clothes

I bargained for salvation an’ she gave me a lethal dose

I offered up my innocence and got repaid with scorn

“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”

Well, I’m livin’ in a foreign country but I’m bound to cross the line

Beauty walks a razor’s edge, someday I'll make it mine

If I could only turn back the clock to when God and her were born

“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”

I woke up this morning with the blues all around my head

I woke up this morning with the blues all around my head

I felt like someone in my family was dead

I jumped up like a rabbit and fell down to my knees

I jumped up like a rabbit and fell down to my knees

I called all around me,

Have mercy on me, please

Then over by the window, a voice came low and hollow

Over by the window a voice came low and hollow

It s poke into my pain, into my yearning sorrow

Spoke into my pain

Who was it? I cried

What wild ghost has come in agitation?

Who is it? I cried

What wild ghost has come in agitation?

It's half past midnight

Oh, why you disturb me so late?

Then I saw a movement around my narrow bed

I saw a movement around my narrow bed

A ghost in giant sneakers, laughing stars around his head

Who sat on a narrow bed, this flaming boy

Who sat on a narrow bed, this flaming boy

Said, "We've all had too much sorrow

Now is the time for joy"

All across the world they shout out their angry words

All across the world they shout out their angry words

About the end of love

Yet the stars stand above the earth

Bright, triumphant metaphors of love

Bright, triumphant metaphors of love

That blind us all who care to stand and look beyond

That dare to stand and look beyond, above

And I jumped up like a rabbit and fell down to my knees

I jumped up like a rabbit and fell down to my knees

I called all around me

Have mercy on me, please

Good Old Days

The Revivalists

Changes come, I watch them grow

In your eyes, an ancient glow

I caught a glimpse, a dangerous smile

Oh, my God, she's a wild child

I've been dreaming, I've been pushing through

I'm not the star of the story

I've been hurting, I've been missing you

I'm that special kind of lonely

These are the good old days, they're ahead and behind

These are the good old days, I have to keep that in mind

These are the good old days, they're ahead and behind

These are the good old days...

I came of age, tempting fate

Growing up, had to wait

In my dreams, I miss someone

Love is blind, deaf, and dumb

I've been dreaming, I've been pushing through

I'm not the star of the story

And I've been hurting, I've been missing you

I'm that special kind of lonely

These are the good old days, they're ahead and behind

Passing through, passing out

Dancing in the kitchen while the neighbors shout

Feeling up, getting down

Gotta show love while we're still around

So don't stop, just let it out

Don't quit, don't let me down

Don't stop, just let it out

Don't quit, don't let me down

'Cause I've been dreaming, I've been paying dues

I'm not one for the glory

And I've been falling, won't be landing soon

It's not the end of the story

These are the good old days, they're ahead and behind...

Crazy Train

Ozzy Osbourne

Crazy, but that’s how it goes

Millions of people living as foes

Maybe, it’s not too late

To learn how to love, and forget how to hate

Mental wounds not healing

Life’s a bitter shame

I’m goin’ off the rails on a crazy train

I’m goin’ off the rails on a crazy train

Heirs of a cold war,

that’s what we’ve become

Inheriting troubles,

I’m mentally numb

Crazy, I just cannot bear

I’m living with something that just isn’t fair

Mental wounds not healing

Who and what’s to blame

I’m goin’ off the rails on a crazy train

I’m goin’ off the rails on a crazy train

The present tends to seem more distressing to us than the past, for the simple reason that we are not obliged to live in the past. Nevertheless the distress of our present age is real and therein lies the temptation to despair. We see senseless wars and war crimes; we see Machiavellian politics and political corruption; we see growing inequality and flagrant injustice; in the words of the psalmist, the arrogant prosper and the wicked have no pain. And so we are tempted to despair. But we do not have to despair.

Jesus is the teacher who in the parable of the Good Samaritan calls us to show mercy. 

Jesus is the Good Samaritan who comes to us and saves us after we're are left for dead. 

Jesus is the one beaten by robbers who we are to be a neighbor to by showing mercy. 

Jesus is the innocent one crucified with the robbers, so that he can save them too.

We are all familiar with this theological problem: If God is all-loving, all-knowing, all-powerful, why is there is so much evil and suffering in the world? Theodicy is the attempt to reconcile these realities and thus justify God. But is a Christian theodicy possible?