Writing in response to our current “constitutional crisis,” New York Times bestselling author and Christian activist Jim Wallis urges America to return to the tenets of Jesus once again as the means to save us from the polarizing bitterness and anger of our tribal nation.

For the past four years, I have prayed daily for compassion within our nation’s leadership. So it’s high time I read the only Henri Nouwen book I don’t recall reading, Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life, co-authored in 1982 with Donald P. McNeill and Douglas A. Morrison.

Let us use our moral imaginations to try to give Jesus the benefit of the doubt (just as we should do with each other in our daily lives). We all know that there are those who are poor and suffering who still side with the wealthy and healthy rather than with their own people. It is ironic, but we see such things common even in our own time.

As a fully human person, what was Jesus like?  I confess I am forever fascinated by this question.  What was it like to be Jesus of Nazareth, to have what I call this God presence in him?  And as this God presence thrived in his spirit, when did he first become aware of it? 

After reading near death experience reports, and the all-encompassing love that seems to accompany folks in a near death experience, I am wondering why we need a savior.

As the Pope writes in his message, “In some ways, the current pandemic has led us to rediscover simpler and sustainable lifestyles. The crisis, in a sense, has given us a chance to develop new ways of living. Already we can see how the earth can recover if we allow it to rest: the air becomes cleaner, the waters clearer, and animals have returned to many places from where they had previously disappeared.

            I have a musical in my computer that is sadly going nowhere. I love the central premise. Jesus comes back and appoints a gay guy to be his messenger. It was easy to make funny because the characters are zany.

Rev. Dr. Damaris D. Whittaker Sermon: Ferocious Roots:Racism – 07 12 20 Sermon
Fort Washington Church – July 12, 2020

In our society, where automation and technology threaten to put more and more of us at the end of the line, it might prove helpful to turn to Jesus’ parable in our striving to determine anew the meaning of labor and reward.

The following sermon was given for my siblings at Montview Presbyterian Church, one of the three local worshipping communities I am affiliated with here in Denver. (The other two being St John’s Episcopal Cathedral and New Beginnings, a Lutheran church that meets within the walls of the Women’s Prison.

Every so often, I put out a “musing” that is a guide to my writings and videos. It’s that time when churches make plans for their program year, so this is a good moment to share links to my materials for worship, study, and spiritual practice.  Use freely.  All I ask is attribution!

Amanda Udis-Kessler shares LBGTQ+ hymns along with the sheet music – just click on the title of the hymn to open the PDF Sheet Music.

Looking upon the sea of interpretations of the story about Jesus walking upon the waters of the Sea of Galilee, makes me feel like that young monk who continues to sink each time he tries to find his way across the lake.

The Supreme Court’s decision allowing the transgender military ban to go into effect is another reminder that the transgender community is under attack by the current administration. They are being painted as dangerous deviants whose very existence threatens our nation.

Restorative Faith is designed to push an evolution in thinking and spiritual consciousness such that humans are prepared to take responsibility for each other’s well-being and the collective future of life on our planet.

  A Life Lived and Laid Down for Friends reflects on the iconoclastic life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. From the “riches in the rags” story of the nativity to his compassion-moved sacrifice to save his disciples, …

For centuries the Church has battled to preserve its existence from threats to its dogma, creeds and influence. Those who dared to challenge its orthodoxy were sometimes treated with “extreme unction”. Ecclesiastical trials were often followed by burnings at the stake.

Wwe have to make choices to be more “human” as we care for those who are physically at risk, those who are unemployed, impoverished, and without either shelter or access to healthcare. Evolution didn’t happen once thousands of years ago, it is something that must be renewed daily or we are in danger of slipping back into more primitive if not reptilian ways of thinking.