The jury’s still out for me
After all of these years on social media, I’m trying to figure out how to… Exist there.
I wrote an essay a couple of weeks ago about why I slapped an “auto-responder” of sorts on my Facebook wall and walked away.
I haven’t deleted my account yet. I haven’t even deleted the app from my phone. So much of life is tied into that little blue app. Plus, I like to check notifications to make sure I don’t miss anything life-threatening or urgent (haven’t so far).
People seem to show up as their worst selves on Facebook (some people say…
Our idol-making selves must come to their end in order for God’s love to break in and make us anew. To make us… Human again.
This is the sermon that I preached on the third Sunday after the Epiphany in 2021 at Truckee Lutheran Presbyterian Church. Click here to view it on YouTube (sermon starts at the 5:50 mark).
Ponder with me for a moment… Reflecting back to a year ago… So many people thought 2020 was going to be epic. A new decade. A “new vision,” as some (including myself) posited.
And then, spring happened. And the wheels started coming off. And we were all proved right. It was epic, for sure. Just not in the direction that we’d wanted. …
Bringing humanity back to our published words
I wish there were an ‘autoresponder’ option on Facebook like you would set on your email were you to go on vacation or leave. But there isn’t. So, I had to post this the other day…
Facebook Auto-Responder: Hey all. Happy belated New Year. Just a heads up that I’m gonna try to stay away from this website as much as possible for the next year and see how it goes. If you need/want to get in touch, FB Messenger is a good way. Also, I’ll be somewhat active on Instagram and my bloggy wog. Peace.
I’ve been noticing something…
And how faith enables me to be honest as a writer
“Usually, it’s the worst thing you can admit about yourself that most people can relate to.”
— David Sedaris
It’s so easy to fall prey to glorified sentimentality when we write about things like faith and spirituality. The human ego holds tight to glory. And in the religious realm, moral/ethical ‘goodness’ is the idol.
American Christianity has ventured into these dangerous waters.
But it’s not real. It’s not true. Sentimentality connects with no one. It sucks humor dry and creates a fake version of humanity. The world doesn’t need more faux sentimentality or righteous performative moral/civil posturing. We need realness.
…
What to do with the condemnation that we (and all humans) feel
Condemnation is a real felt experience from a human standpoint. It’s what happens when flawed humans (‘sinners’ aka all of us) bump into ‘the law’.
Now… ‘The law’ in a theological sense doesn’t just mean the 10 commandments or the 613 Levitical laws. It means ‘anything that accuses.’ You don’t have to be religious to ram up against the law. We can hear the rustling of leaves as pure magic while the man walking next to us through the park hears it as sheer condemnation.
In an ethical sense, the law is “written on our hearts” (Romans 2:12–16). This is…
A Sermon on the First Sunday of Christmas
This is the sermon that I preached on the First Sunday of Christmas at Truckee Lutheran Presbyterian Church. For the video, click here (sermon starts at 9:15, but it helps to watch the readings first or just read the ones below)…
Luke 2:22–40
Galatians 4:4–7
I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty Christmassed out. I’m typically a pretty staunch practitioner of Advent, or at least I want to be. Looking back at last Christmas, I recall thinking, “You know, next year, we should really DO Advent. You know, wait until Christmas Eve to decorate — even to start playing…
There’s a meme going around that I’ve seen that says this…
“Mathematical law is the only true God.”
Let’s see, where do I start?…
I like smart people. I’m so glad there are people way smarter than me doing things that solve complicated problems for humanity. So, in this regard, I totally get it and can get behind God-as-mathematical-law. A God that’s logical. That figures things out and shows up in rational ways.
I particularly like this God when I’m in a comfortable place. I don’t need a God of faith, I just need a God who solves problems (or…
Not the most Christian; but the most biblical, for sure
One thing about Donald Trump is that he’s way more of a Biblical president than any other president in my memory…
I’m not saying here what many fundamentalist conservative Christians say about him. I’m not saying that he’s the most God-inspired president. Or the most Christian president (God, no…). I’m not justifying anything he’s personally said or done (or not said/done) in the way that he would want to read in the press.
But I do know that, in the Good Book, God doesn’t do much through boring, “good” leaders. You don’t see any narratives that say, “[Leader X] came…
When motivation is actually damnation
If you plan on being anything less than you are capable of being, you will probably be unhappy all the days of your life.
— Abraham Maslow
I saw the quote above memed on Instagram by a really great alternative school that I follow online. I’m familiar with the school and respect what they’re doing. So what I’m about to say is no direct smear on them.
As a cultural theologian, I’m being trained to notice signals like this, pluck them out, and toss them down on the examination table for all to gather around and look at. …
Life really starts when we become derailed
We seem to be born on a track of sorts. Maybe we aren’t so aware of it when we’re really young. But when we reach a certain point in human development, we become aware of a “track” that we’re on.
This track is like a juicy steak for the human ego. It can take many forms. Maybe you’re hell-bent on destruction (hey, I’ve been there). In that case, well, destruction is your track. Maybe you want to graduate law school or seminary (ahem). That’s your track.
Our track becomes the preoccupation of our lives. …
Essays by Jonas Ellison
Longer perusings about faith, life, and work by Jonas Ellison
