Sermons/Reflections

For Native American Heritage Month, the General Commission on Religion and Race (GCORR) asked me to write a study guide for Sarah Augustine’s powerful text, “The Land is Not Empty: Following Jesus in Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery.” I’m very happy with the collaborative outcome and wanted to share it with folks in case the book study fits with what your church, faith community, or book club is looking for this month and beyond.

Here is the link to the resource: https://www.r2hub.org/library/the-land-is-not-empty-book-study

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Love-Rooted Faith and Hope: A Message for Resisting Despair

“And now faith, hope, and love remain, these three, and the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13).

I hear much about faith and hope these days from Christians to celebrate Trump’s victory, or to silence those despairing the results. But what is meant by faith and hope in these messages? One message a proclamation of salvific victory in a deeply flawed human being, and one a bludgeon to silence those who disagree. For me, the answer is found in “the greatest of these:” Love. How must we center love to resist cheap hope and false faith? 

“We are afflicted in every way but not crushed, perplexed but not driven to despair, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed, always carrying around in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies” (2 Corinthians 8-10).

As we explore what faith and hope rooted in love means, it is first important to note that God commands us away from despair. This is the current struggle of my own heart-faith work. However, it is clear to me that I can be perplexed and mournful, but not giving into despair.

Faith and hope are critical to resisting despair.

“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).

After washing his disciples’ feet, a non-hierarchical and countercultural activity of humility and service, and also sharing a meal with his disciples, Jesus gives the commandment to love one another. This love is an action, a lifestyle, a way of being, that is observable and has a communal impact.

Washing feet as humble service; Eating together as fellowship and community building. These are the actions of love that Jesus is calling us into. And this active/communal love is the root of hope and faith.

Hope and face are not excuses to be passive and to ignore the suffering of humans and creation around us. Hope and faith that bare such fruits are cheap and fake. Hope and faith that bare fruits of harm and domination are evil and anti-Christ.

Love-rooted-Faith is the belief in God’s promise of peace and well-being for all creation.

Love-rooted-Hope is the state of being that washes over us from faith.

And Love, the very Being of God, is the source of divine strength that urges us into communal action based on faith and hope. Communal action that co-creates with God the promise of peace and well-being for all creation. God’s one day fully realized Kin-dom.

This day has not yet come. The dominating, violent, exclusionary, deceitful, and blasphemous promises of Trump will make the realization of that day harder.

But I refuse to despair. Love-rooted-Faith and Love-rooted-Hope, I must. For “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” (Romans 5:5).

I am not alone. We are not alone. God is with us. And we are called into action based on this love-rooted faith and hope to fight for the well-being of all people and creation.

May we make it so.

Amen.

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I Voted! You Should, Too!

I Voted!

I am proud to have voted for the Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz presidential ticket. While I do have policy and ethical issues with some of the tickets’ policies, there is more potential for positive change through advocacy and lobbying within the Harris/Walz ticket than with the Trump/Vance ticket.

I support the Harris/Walz ticket for three reasons. First, I believe that the policy and personal integrity of the Harris/Walz ticket better reflects the Christian faith values that I hold, especially when you take seriously Christ’s gospel ministry proclamation in Luke 4:14-21, as well as the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. I think that character matters and that the words people say matters. I respect how Harris and Walz present themselves and the ways in which they interact with others.

Second, this is a personal election. As Connor and I imagine having a family, a Trump presidency would put that into question. I take seriously the words of Trump, Clarence Thomas, Project 2025, and others when they suggest the overturning of same-sex marriage and the outlawing of same-sex couple adoption. Even if such restrictive proposals were sequestered within only certain states and we remained safe in Illinois, traveling into states that would not recognize our marriage would be dangerous. For example, if we had a car accident on our drive to visit family in other states, the hospitals in another state could keep Connor, me, and our kids apart. This is not a future that I want for any family, let alone my own, thus I eagerly support Harris/Walz who advocate for all families, including LGBTQIA+ families.

Third, Harris and Walz represent the diversity of America in a way that Trump/Vance do not. Harris and Walz exude integrity and genuineness in their relationships with their families, friends, and constituents. Furthermore, I cannot wait to vote for a fellow Nebraskan! Go big red!

For these reasons, I cast my vote for the Harris/Walz presidential ticket. I am happy to chat with folks who are unsure OR folks who disagree with me. I just ask that you please DM, text, or call me, not write in the comments. This post is a personal testimony, not an invitation for battles in the comment section.

And no matter what, please exercise your civic duty and make your voice heard: VOTE!

I will be praying for all Americans, for all candidates, for peace across the globe, and for all God’s beloved creation.

Thank you and God bless!

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Christians & Politics: A Prayer of Lament and a Prayer of Hope

Weave

Christians on political “sides” subscribe to a binary and oppositional understanding of our faith and political engagement that causes separation, harm, and idolatry.

Republicans, especially in the new Trump era, have increasingly synthesized salvific hope and politics toward a Divine King/Strong-Man Nationalism theology. This is problematic since Christ brought salvation in a way antithetical to cultural/political power, control, and exclusion. Instead, he offered preferential and tangible hope for the oppressed/marginalized. He frequently challenged, and even condemned, the power players perpetuating inequality. Ascribing divine privilege to a power-player, like Trump, toward the ends of Christian nationalist control, is idolatry.

On the flipside, Democrats often want to silence faith-led conviction in the polis, falsely believing that a true separation of faith/politics, public/private, secular/sacred is possible. This leads to an idolatry of law, legal systems, and political figures as the sites of salvation and hope.

Christians must be constantly self-reflective and challenge ourselves away from the allure of false-hopes within these camps. Our salvation is in Christ. The gospel message leads us to discern and question all powers that exist if their outcomes are not equivalent to the criteria of Christ’s ministry pronouncement of Luke 4:14-30, or the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23.

Neither party does this. There is no easy-answer to the challenge of discerning and voting with our conscience based on these faith-based criteria. Consequently, no party should have our faith and devotion. No PAC or politically activated denominational or faith-based political platform should have our faith and devotion. No nation or national symbol should have our faith and devotion. No power, system, or institution of humankind should have our faith and devotion. Only the gospel message of Jesus Christ, which commands us to love God and our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:30-31), and the subsequent discernment and action of the Holy Spirit in our individual and communal lives, should have our faith and devotion. All else is idolatry. Idolatry that leads to hate and violence in our hearts (and sometimes actions) toward others not like us, or those who hold different values. God clearly warns against this in Matthew 5:43-48.

As the divisive and violent party-driven rhetoric amps up in the next few months, I pray that I, and all of us who follow Christ, remember this counter-cultural message. I pray that we strive to be presences of mediation and love during these volatile times. May the gospel message that we proclaim and live-out be good news for all, not for some. May our words, actions, and lives point to God’s peaceable kingdom on Earth now, as it is in heaven.

We CAN do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

Amen.

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‘Lakota Language I’ Final @ Sinte Gleska University

I have had the joy of taking ‘Lakota Language I’ through Sinte Gleska University on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota this semester. It has been a blast reconnecting learning Lakota language basics, philosophy of life, the power of storytelling, and the importance of decolonizing our minds. It has also been so great reconnecting with folks at Sinte!

Today I had the opportunity to present my final and it was so much fun. First I learned, sang, and translated the Lakota Bernstein Bears theme song. Check out the theme song here: https://youtu.be/LJF1BfIONhI?si=fMTli5N23G_BOV67. I also wrote a series of haikus in Lakota, their literal translation, and than an English haiku translation. You can see the song lyrics, the three haikus, and my English translations below.

Matȟó Waúŋšila Thiwáhe – Theme Song

Até iná čhúŋkš čhiŋkší – (My Father, My Mother, Daughter, Son)

Matȟó waúŋšila kiŋ – (The Kind Bear[s])

Lila ihákčhiktapi – (They feel very attached to each other)

líla oíyokiphi! – (Very Pleasant!)

Até iná čhúŋkš čhiŋkší – (My Father, My Mother, Daughter, Son)

Matȟó waúŋšila kiŋ – (The Kind Bear[s])

imáǧaǧaič’iyapi – (They enjoy themselves)

líla oíyokiphi! – (Very Pleasant!)

Até iná čhúŋkš čhiŋkší – (My Father, My Mother, Daughter, Son)

Matȟó waúŋšila kiŋ – (The Kind Bear[s])

Lila ihákčhiktapi – (They feel very attached to each other)

líla oíyokiphi! – (Very Pleasant!)

1

Lakota:

Rocky, Owauηspe

Thuŋkášila Etάηhaη

Wόuηspe Iwάču

English Literal:

Rocky, class

Creator from

Learning I receive

Haiku:

From Rocky, the Class

and the Creator – I have

received much knowledge.

2

Lakota:

Wakȟaηpi Héchapi

Wičhoni Na Wičhúηt’e

Wičhakağapi

English Literal:

Sacred they are

Life and death

They create

Haiku:

All that can create

sparks of life and final death

is wholly sacred.

3

Lakota:

Lakȟótiyapi Kiη

Waúηspekhiye

Lakȟόl-Wičhόuη Kiη

English Literal:

The Lakota language

Teaches [teacher]

The Lakota way of life

Haiku:

Lakota language

is more than words – a way of

life – philosophy

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Psalm 42 Lectio Divina Response Poem

Pour out humility on the mighty

and convict them of the evil

in superiority and domination,

oh Lord.

My heart is disquieted within

the real-word examples of suffering

caused by pride and greed.

My mind is heavy with the knowledge

of dissension, based on arguments

over the worthiness and belovedness

of those on the margins.

My soul longs for unity

based on the constant striving

to tangibly center

the imago dei

within all Creation.

Unity does not mean assimilation

but just-filled redistribution

of the resources and experiences

necessary to thrive.

May we tirelessly pursue

the unity of all creation

that translates into the

tangible flourishing

and holistic well-being

of all people

and all created things.

Amen.

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Prayer (5.14.23)

When Mother God

created the heavens and the earth,

including all of humanity,

tending to the most minute details,

and ensuring a rich tapestry

of variance and difference,

she/they looked at all of it,

all of us,

and said that everything

was “very good.”

Go forth with this knowledge

of universal goodness,

in the creative power

of the Holy Spirit,

and love courageously.

Amen.

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Review of ‘Indigenous Theology and the Western Worldview: A Decolonized Approach to Christian Doctrine’ by Dr. Randy Woodley

https://link.growkudos.com/1m8wk8nxxq8

This article I wrote for Wiley Author Services provides a brief summary of Dr. Randy Woodley’s text, ‘Indigenous Theology and the Western Worldview: A Decolonized Approach to Christian Doctrine.’ The review can be a helpful resource if you are trying to decide if you want to read this text. Dr. Woodley’s text is helpful if you are curious about the juxtaposition and mutual learnings between Indigenous Theology and a Western Worldview or decolonial approaches to Christian Doctrine.

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My Top 10 Books of 2022

I have completed my Goodreads 60 books in 2022 challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2022?ref=yyib_dec_22_yyib_eml?rto=x_gr_e_nf_yyib22&utm_medium=email&utm_source=yyib&utm_campaign=2022&utm_content=spotlight1&ref_=pe_3496280_680573190

As a result, I wanted to identify my favorite 10 books. Here they are listed in order:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Honorable Mentions

11.

12.

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