Tag Archives: Power
Good and Bad Power: Weekly Summary
Good and Bad Power Saturday, August 14, 2021 Week Thirty-Two Summary and Practice Sunday, August 8—Friday, August 13, 2021 Sunday Once we come into contact with the Holy Spirit, our Inner Source, we become living icons of true, humble, and confident power. Monday When we haven’t experienced or don’t trust our God-given “power within,” we… Continue Reading Good and Bad Power: Weekly Summary
No Domination in God
Good and Bad Power No Domination in God Friday, August 13, 2021 Jesus seems to recognize that it’s either a world of domination or it’s a world of love. To understand Jesus’ paradigm of love, though, we must first understand the Trinity in whose image God says “Let us create” (Genesis 1:26)! The Trinitarian God… Continue Reading No Domination in God
Letting Go of Power
Good and Bad Power Letting Go of Power Thursday, August 12, 2021 In her book The Wisdom Jesus, Cynthia Bourgeault describes how Jesus modeled the path of kenosis. Taken from the Greek word in Paul’s letter to the Philippians (2:5–9), it means to “let go” or “to empty oneself.” In Jesus, this self-emptying pattern revealed… Continue Reading Letting Go of Power
A Communion Paradigm
Good and Bad Power A Communion Paradigm Wednesday, August 11, 2021 The contemplative theologian Beatrice Bruteau explores how Jesus took his intimate experience of Trinitarian love and empowerment into his ministry. Of course, when we read the Gospels and the New Testament, we see how difficult it was for even Jesus’ earliest followers to follow… Continue Reading A Communion Paradigm
Dominating Power
Good and Bad Power Dominating Power Tuesday, August 10, 2021 Contemplative teacher Beatrice Bruteau (1930‒2014) understood domination, what I’ve referred to as “power over” others, as the cause of much of the world’s suffering. Jesus by contrast models a loving, self-giving alternative to domination power. Here is Bruteau’s description of domination: The theme that I… Continue Reading Dominating Power
Growing in Power
Good and Bad Power Growing in Power Monday, August 9, 2021 It is precisely the parts of the body that seem to be the weakest which are the indispensable ones. (1 Corinthians 12:22) How ingeniously you get around the commandment of God in order to preserve your own traditions! (Mark 7:9) The epigraphs above are… Continue Reading Growing in Power
Good Power
Good and Bad Power Good Power Sunday, August 8, 2021 Despite the many abuses of power documented throughout history, power itself cannot be inherently bad. In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is described as dynamis, which means power (Acts 10:38; 1 Corinthians 2:5). Jesus tells his disciples before his Ascension that “You will receive… Continue Reading Good Power
Healing Generational Wounds
Crisis Contemplation Healing Generational Wounds Tuesday, July 27, 2021 The wounds that we don’t know about or don’t remember are the deepest. It is through the wormhole of those wounds that we travel to arrive at the peace that surpasses all understanding. Healing is possible because we have the ability to spiritually veer from disaster,… Continue Reading Healing Generational Wounds
Samuel: Bowing to a King
Great Themes of Scripture: Hebrew Bible Samuel: Bowing to a King Wednesday, June 30, 2021 Beginning with the books of Samuel, we can see a tension starting to develop between charism and institution, between the freedom of the Spirit and the inertia of society. Israel started out as a people on the move, following God’s… Continue Reading Samuel: Bowing to a King
Breaking the Cycle of Violence
Scapegoating and the Cross Breaking the Cycle of Violence Wednesday, March 31, 2021 I doubt very much that I need to point out the many ways we practice scapegoating in our society today. We do it on both the political left and right, in our churches and community groups, by finger-pointing and punishing. We are… Continue Reading Breaking the Cycle of Violence