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Monthly Archives: April 2011Jesus – Dead or Alive? Luke Timothy Johnson and the temptation to put Jesus back in the tombOne of my favorite New Testament Scholars is Luke Timothy Johnson who is the R.W. Woodruff Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins at Emory University in Atlanta. He is a former Benedictine monk and prolific scholar whose work digs deep into scripture but continues to ask very humane questions. In his 1999 book Living Jesus: Learning the Heart of the Gospels, he poses a deceptively simple yet … There’s more to read here.
Posted in Bible, Easter, Eastertide, Luke Timothy Johnson, theology
Tagged Bible, books, Easter, Jesus, Lent, Luke Timothy Johnson, theology
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Easter: Fantastic Mr. Fox, St. Augustine, Calvin and Bonhoeffer on why the Cross remainsAt the beginning of Wes Anderson’s animated film Fantastic Mr. Fox, Mr and Mrs Fox are trapped by a farmer and perceiving that this might be the end, they have the following interchange: Mrs. Fox: This story’s too predictable. There is something in the simplicity of this exchange that … There’s more to read here.
Posted in belief, Easter, faith, Gospel of John, Holy Saturday, Jesus, John Calvin, Lent, Uncategorized
Tagged All You Need Is Love, church, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Easter, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Jesus, John Calvin, John Lennon, Lent
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Holy Saturday: Following Job beyond a Heretical Praise SongPassion week thrusts us into a realm of uncertainty amidst the certainty of Christ that should unsettle us to our very core. As we sit now before both an empty cross and a tomb now filled with our Savior – is it right to wonder where this is all leading? To ask what is going to happen now? Sure, many Christians know how the story ends (SPOILER ALERT!) and the fact … There’s more to read here.
Posted in CCM, faith, Holy Saturday, How Deep The Father's Love For Us, Jesus, Lent, music, Stuart Townsend, theology, Uncategorized
Tagged Bible, CCM, Easter, Holy Saturday, How Deep The Father's Love For Us, Lent, music, Stuart Townsend, theology
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Good Friday: Poetry for reflection from Auden, Berry, Cairns and LevertovStop All The Clocks Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone
Posted in art, Denise Levertov, Georgia O'Keefe, Jesus, Lent, Poetry, theology, wendell berry, WH Auden
Tagged art, Bible, Denise Levertov, Easter, Good Friday, Jesus, Lent, Poetry for Good Friday, Scott Cairns, wendell berry, WH Auden
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Maundy Thursday – The empty cup, Annie Dillard, and stumbling into the Garden with U2The world of Scripture is a world of “limited good.” That is, everything that exists is perceived to exist in limited amounts, in amounts that cannot be augmented without depriving others. As we come to this point in Holy Week, we come against the limits of our lives and the limits of what is around us. After weeks of fasting and doing without, coming into Holy Week is often a … There’s more to read here.
Posted in Annie Dillard, Eucharist, Forgiveness, Holy Grail, Jesus, Lent, Maundy Thursday, theology, U2
Tagged Annie Dillard, Easter, eucharist, Jesus, Lent, Maundy Thursday, music, U2
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Holy Week: Ending violence, Patty Griffin, and taking steps towards the power of an invincible forgivenessIt seems strange to live on this side of Palm Sunday – so much excitement and optimism about what the world could be, how things might turn out always seems to be pointed toward the positive, affirmative, and hopeful. Yet we don’t live in an age of optimism. No, we are in the age after the possibilities of human potential, the failure of institutions that once held such promise … There’s more to read here.
Posted in belief, Forgiveness, Jesus, Lent, Miroslav Volf, Patty Griffin, theology, Uncategorized
Tagged Bible, existential musings, Jesus, Lent, Miroslav Volf, Patty Griffin
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Palm Sunday: Moulin Rouge comes to Jerusalem“Ho Sanna, Hey Sanna, Sanna, Sanna, Ho…” As today officially announces the beginning of Holy Week, Palm Sunday is a bitter sweet reminder of how quickly we can embrace passion and, for better or for worst, join the crowd. It is a day to ask ourselves why we are cheering for Jesus as he enters Jerusalem. What is our deep motivation for screaming at the top of our lungs, for … There’s more to read here.
Posted in belief, Bible, faith, Jesus, Lent, theology, Uncategorized
Tagged church, Jesus, Lent, moulin rouge, Palm Sunday, theology
6 Comments
Lenten music: Bonhoeffer, Dead Poet’s Society and the gift of being an alternative songI wanted to share a portion of a letter from Dietrich Bonhoeffer written to his friend Eberhard Bethge while Bonhoeffer was in prison. Taproot Theatre is currently showing a marvelous dramatization of Bonhoeffer’s last days called “The Beams are Creaking” and it led me to re-read his Letters and Papers from Prison. Given that I just finished a book on pop music and that I think most naturally in … There’s more to read here.
Posted in belief, cantus firmus, culture, Dead Poet's Society, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, existential musings, faith, Imagination, Lent, music, theology
Tagged art, cantus firmus, Dead Poet's Society, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, existential musings, film, Lent, Letter and Papers from Prison, music, Polyphony of Life, Your Neighbor's Hymnal
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Lenten release: (just about) everything I learned about Lent I learned from U2As I discuss in the opening chapter of my 2010 book Freedom of the Self, popular music since the late 1960’s has been replete with claims of what it means to have identity in the world. Whether our sense of identity is bound up in the longing for love, the loss of our past, or the social injustice that removes people from seeing their true beauty and worth, popular … There’s more to read here.
Posted in Bible, Bono, culture, Freedom of the Self, kenosis, Lent, theology, U2, Uncategorized
Tagged Bible, bono, Freedom of the Self, kenosis, Lent, theology, U2
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Lenten losses: Philippians 2, George Bailey, and finding the “Wonderful Life”I have had a week of world-weariness and I suppose I am not alone in this. Our government can’t seem to balance the budget, wars continue to wage around the globe, poverty and sickness takes the body, soul and spirit of thousands upon thousands of people who are created in the Imago Dei. It gets simply tiring, doesn’t it? In Lent we find a season that acknowledges that to be weary … There’s more to read here.
Posted in belief, faith, Freedom of the Self, George Bailey, It's A Wonderful Life, Lent, theology
Tagged Bible, Freedom of the Self, george bailey, it's a wonderful life, Lent, theology, U2
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© 2011 Jeff Keuss |