Ronnie McBrayer: Recent Episodes
ronniemcbrayer
Podcast of author, speaker, pastor, and spiritual teacher Ronnie McBrayer. This is his collection of talks, interviews, insights from the Enneagram, and conversations with friends on the ever-changing, ever-evolving nature of faith. It is especially for those who are “burned out on religion” - to quote Eugene Peterson’s marvelous paraphrase; for spiritual exiles; and those whose faith is in transition.
"A storm is coming. You can count on it. And how I wish the coming storm was just thunderbolts and lightning, very, very frightening; just a little wind and rain. But the storm I’m talking about is more severe than that. I’m talking about personal, sometimes private storms. I’m not a pessimist. I’m not trying to make you feel bad or make you afraid; to live coiled up, waiting for the next shoe to drop is no way to live at all. I’m just an early alert system: Storms are bound to come. Most of them blow over in a day or two, and we are no more worse off for the wear. But some storms are life-altering, faith-testing, soul-crushing disasters. They break us. They lash and torment us in ways that the outside weather never could. Where do you turn in the midst of one of these land-falling hurricanes? How do you survive the darkest thundering days and the endless, sleepless nights? What do you do in a storm?" (Part 1 of 2.)
"Ezekiel’s dream of the future has come true. Not with the construction of some highly advanced cathedral for God with an artesian well, but with the construction of a people, of temples not made with human hands. God no longer lives in a temple. God doesn’t live in a church. God hasn’t been cornered by any religion. God has made a home within you and me. We have inside of us, as in Jesus’ words to the woman at the well, “springs of living water” that will never go dry. The water flowing from the presence of God is the people of God, sent out to refresh and resurrect a dead and parched world."
"Water, water, everywhere...and not a drop to drink." So cried the Ancient Mariner. "Worry, worry, everywhere" seems to be the cry today. This is Ronnie's look at Philippians 4, heeding the wisdom of the Apostle Paul who instructed early Christians to, "not worry about anything, but to pray about everything."
"You might ask, 'What is wrong with a little flag waving or a pledge to the nation of our birth?' Nothing! But to center American nationalism in the church is to marginalize the Lordship of Jesus. It demands that God share his place of supremacy with the flag. It fools us into calling this Empire, 'home.' It tricks us into worshipping the blessing of living where we live, rather than worshipping the one who has blessed us with this opportunity. Let us remove all politics and nationalism from the church; and concentrate on following the words and way of Jesus - no matter what else might happen in our community or in our nation."
Ronnie concludes his series from the Psalms (while connecting these with more contemporary songs), with this episode entitled, "Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen." Using Psalm 86, the African-American spiritual, and the insights of Viktor Frankl, this talk challenges the listener to wisely "choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.”
I know this is not the most pleasant subject for many people. But in the last words of President McKinley, "We are all going. We are all going." So long as death is way down the road, at some far and distant juncture that remains out of sight, it can remain out of mind. But we have no such promises. There are no guarantees that our end is decades or years in the future.
Allison Arieff says: “It is the awareness and acceptance of our own mortality that makes us human. And it is the impetus for living our lives to the fullest. The brevity of life leaves me determined to seize, observe and interact with the days that remain. It is the knowledge of how quickly, sometimes tragically, things can change or disappear that fuels my urgency to be in the present.”
Bob Marley...The Book of Psalms...Meister Eckhart...John Oatman Jr. What do all of these have in common? Gratitude. It's the best way to live your life.
I have no way to prove this, but I suspect that more people know the song "How Great Thou Art" than know the Psalm upon which it is based - Psalm 8. I venture to guess that more people have heard this song in the last 75 years than have read the book of Psalms. And I think that’s just fine! Because, the song - “How Great Thou Art” -, remains faithful to the text.
Times have changed. Understandings of the world have changed. Theological conclusions have changed. Modes and manners of worship have changed. Attitudes toward ecology and creation have changed. Science has changed. Technology has changed. Religion has changed. But still, there is this eternal hymn written to the glory of God, glory that is recognized in the world around us.
For the video referenced in the talk, go to: https://ronniemcbrayer.org/2026/06/04/how-great-thou-art/
Ronnie's continuing exploration of Psalms from the Revised Common Lectionary arrives at Psalm 104, with an ode to the Psalmists and contemporary artist, Fernando Ortega. Ronnie urges listeners to rediscover God's good creation by saying: "We are more fixated on looking through tiny digital windows on the world than living in and enjoying God’s actual, created world - a world that will remain more extraordinary than anything made by human hands or imagination."
What do Stan Jones, King David, the Apache Tribe, the Canaanites, Baal, and Yahweh have in common? You'll have to listen to find out more. My latest talk from Psalm 68.
"God protects us from death and keeps us steady. Our God, you tested us, just as silver is tested. You trapped us in a net and gave us heavy burdens. You sent war chariots to crush our skulls. We traveled through fire and through floods but you brought us to a land of plenty” (Psalm 66 8-12). This is really a mixed bag here, isn't it? Praising God for God’s protection and care; and then acknowledging God’s hand in the Psalmist’s troubles. God appears to send the writer through fire and rain - and the case can be made that God is the fire and the rain. Is God the curse or the cure? Or both?
When it comes to people who have truly suffered, who have endured so much trouble, they must have something extraordinary that sustains them. It must be something solid. Something stronger than anything else. Something that doesn’t move, that doesn’t wash away. Surely, their feet have found a rock upon which to stand, a fortress in which to retreat. Surely, there is a love that carries them, buoys them along. Surely, there is a power greater than themselves to which they have surrendered and entrusted their lives (Psalm 31)
"Take in the scope of this ancient proverb: 'A rolling stone gathers no moss.' It emerged in ancient Antioch, was rediscovered during the European Renaissance, beloved in the peat moss bogs of the Scot-Irish, and institutionalized by the royalty of blues, country, and rock and roll music. And sure as sunrise, there was no moss on the stone that covered the entrance to Jesus’ grave. It rolled away just about as quickly as it had been put into place." Listen for more pf Ronnie's Easter 2026 talk.
"Seventy percent of your body is water. Seventy percent of all you ingest is water. Seventy percent of this planet is water. Water is everywhere and in everything. Water is what each of us are made of, and water sustains us. Water sustains everything in our world. That's not hard too understand - because it is our reality. Is it then so hard to understand that Christ is in all and hold all things together?" This is part 2 of "Your God Is Too Small."
JB Phillips coined the phrase, "God-In-A-Box." What did he mean? We have tamed God. We think we own or control God. Just look how God works through the religious machinery we have built, after all. God is reduced to a wafer in the hands of a priest; a doctrinal statement; the rules and expectations of a particular denomination or church. But God is wilder and larger than any restriction humans might place on God.
Francis de Sales said, "I would rather answer to God for being too lenient than for being too severe. Is not God all love? Is not God the Father the Father of all mercy? Isn’t God the Son as a gentle Lamb? Is not God the Holy Spirit like a Dove? Can we act any different than God? It is a terrible thought, but one that is true: We love God as much as the person we love the least."
"I am the true vine," Jesus said. "Abide with me." My friends in recovery really get this concept of abiding - finding home on the way. It’s captured in Step 11 : “Seek - through prayer and meditation - to improve your conscious contact with God as you understand God, praying only for knowledge of God’s will and the power to carry it out.”
Staying connected is how you stay on the wagon. Constant, conscious, mindful contact: If you don’t stay with it, you won’t stay with it. Be daily aware - be hour-by-hour aware - sometime minute by minute aware - that the source of your wellbeing, the source of your life is God, supplying what you need.
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” Only card-carrying Christians get to go to heaven? Not so fast. This statement has nothing to do with religion. Nothing whatsoever, for Jesus did not come to start a new religion.
“Are you saying it does’t matter what people believe?” I didn’t say that. “Are you saying that all religions are the same?” I didn’t say that either. “Are you saying there are multiple ways to get to God?” Not at all. “So, what are you saying?”
It matters deeply what people believe; it matters more how people act. Religion is fine for as far as it goes, but no religion is capable of bringing us into contact with God. And yes, there is only one way to know God. It is the way of Jesus. And what is the way of Jesus?
“This is my commandment that you love one another…Love each other in the same way I have loved you…Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength; and love your neighbor as yourself…Those who live in God live their lives as Jesus did.” Anyone walking the way of humble, sacrificial, love for others is on their way to knowing God.
"I am the resurrection and the life." - Jesus in John 11:25
Martha says to Jesus as he arrives too late to save her brother Lazarus, "Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died." Mary says the same thing to Jesus. Jesus had let them down. More so, God’s chosen one had let them down. Thus, God had let them down. But who has not been disappointed with God? Who hasn’t wanted - at least once in their life - a good old fashioned reckoning, an explanation from the Almighty?
If you’re never had questions, never demanded proper answers, never wondered why God seems so God-forsaken slow to respond to a crisis or an injustice - then you must check your pulse. To live in this world - under these rules - whatever they are, is to experience divine disappointment at the subterranean level of your soul. Yet...some disappointments are not forever.
Maybe the cowboy is the consummate American. Driven. All in with big, thunderous, stampeding noise. Armed to the teeth, fighting, pushing, and eating everything from the head to the hoof on the promise of big payday.
“I am the good cowboy.” Jesus wouldn’t say that. He couldn’t! Not in the stereotypical way. But he could say, “I am the good shepherd.” The cowboy consumes. The shepherd cares. The cowboy wants his pay. The shepherd wants his sheep. The cowboy’s trail ends in death. The shepherd’s trail ends with life - the only death he invokes is his own - in protection of his sheep.
Jesus said, "I am the gate." He didn’t speak of religion, sacraments, denominations, rituals, or even the Bible . He spoke of himself. If we take Jesus at his word, and if he is the living in-the-flesh representation of all that God is, then Jesus is enough. I am not anti-religion or anti-establishment, per se. I am simply pro-Jesus, and believe that our universe of faith revolves around the living Christ.
Consider the sun: It protects us, orders out time and the seasons. It provides what is needed for plants to grow, thus giving us air to breathe. It warms the oceans and keep the water currents moving. It is the basis of all agriculture. It disinfects our water. It provides renewable, abundant energy for life. It creates the gravity that keeps us grounded.
When Jesus says, “I am the light of the world,” he is inviting us into an ecosystem in which we can thrive. Come in from the cold. Come out of the darkness. Enter into a way of living that has meaning, purpose, and a future. It is an invitation to grow, to become, to rise and shine.
In this second part of the Ronnie's series on the gospel of John and Jesus' "I Am" statements, he turns to John 6 where Jesus says, "I Am the bread of life." Jesus offered his listeners, and his readers today, a fulfillment beyond their shallow or misguided desires.
This is an introduction to the Gospel of John, Part 1 of 8: Of all the books in the New Testament, the Gospel of John sits unto itself. There is nothing else quite like it in the Christian Scriptures. Its most unique feature is its focus. From John 6:29: “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.” AndvJohn 20:31: This book was written “so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.” More than any other author in all the canon, John writes to induce belief in the reader; he invites the reader to put his or her faith in Jesus - in the One.
This is my motivational talk for 2026. “You cannot possibly make a difference,” will be whispered into your year, shouted at your face, and felt within the deepest part of your heart this coming year. But you can make a difference for "one little starfish." For one little classroom of school children; in one little corner of the community; with your one and only family.
Lasting differences are hardly ever made by some hero or heroine who shows up on a white stallion or wearing a mask and a cape. Lasting change comes through those who keep showing up, doing what they do. Nobody changes the world by setting out to change the world. Just do what you do - as good, as faithful, and as certain as you can do it. The world-changing results will take care of themselves.
In A World Where You Can Be Anything...Be Kind. This is Ronnie's take on the Bethlehem Innkeeper, with assistance from Frederick Buechner.
In this conclusion to Ronnie's 9-Part series on The Serenity Prayer, the last word is happiness. "So that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with him forever and ever in the next:" Is the last line of the prayer. And this prayer shows us this way, if we are willing to surrender our wills to that Power greater than ourselves.
"I really thought I had come up with something a few years ago. But it wasn’t me. It wasn’t John Lennon either, no matter what you read on the Internet. It was Brazilian writer and journalist Fernando Sabino: 'Everything will be okay in the end; and if it’s not okay, then it’s not the end.'
"This is my faith. This is my hope. This is what keeps me going, keeps me believing, keeps me looking toward the future. This is why I continue to follow Jesus - best I can and fail as I do. Because: 'God, who gives all grace, will make everything right.' In the words of the Serenity Prayer: 'He will make all things right if I surrender to his will…'"
Here is the world as it is: There are those tortured by evil and injustice; there are those desperate for help and answers; there are those without the will or ability to be a part of any solution; and there are those who callously point their fingers, write the suffering and desperate masses off, and go on their way. It may not be the world I would have created, but we have no other choice but to "take as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it.”
Part 6: "...Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace..."
If I could take you back to the moment you first drew air into your lungs; if I could take you back to the swaddled little baby that you were and reveal to you all that was going to happen to you over the decades to come, you would have cried - cried that you had been born - and cried to return to the warmth and safety of the womb.
But those who live well: Those are the people who learned long ago that hard times are bound to come, and nothing is gained by resisting those hard times, trying to reverse them, avoid them, fix them, or undo them. All that can be done is accept such hardships. All you can do is to become a good steward of your particular suffering. Take responsibility for your own attitude and actions in your given circumstances. Don’t resist the lessons that life will teach you.
The Serenity Prayer, Part 5: "'God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference.' But the prayer continues. The next line: 'Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time.' There is acceptance - you can’t change some things. There is courage - you must change the things you can. There is wisdom - to walk the middle path between the impossible and possible. And the next ingredient added to the recipe for serenity: Live one day at a time. Live in the moment. This tiniest fraction of an inch: It’s all any of us really have."
Part 4 of Ronnie's series on The Serenity Prayer: "God grant me wisdom." Ronnie says, "Optimism is a false hope. Pessimism is as suicide pact. Idealism is a fool’s errand - as a recovering idealist, it pains me to say that. This world can only be navigated by realists; realists who feel the strain, experience the tension of keeping balance, and beg God for wisdom."
In this third installment of Ronnie's current series, he picks up the theme of courage: "Having the courage to change the things we can." Ronnie says, "We all have internal insecurities, negative voices that shout out from the basement of our hearts to keep us afraid. We all have challenges that seem insurmountable - impossible to overcome. And our fears won't go away. They must be faced, for courage isn’t a feeling. Courage is action. Courage isn’t big talk and bravado. Courage is doing. Courage isn’t having nothing to be afraid of. Courage is being afraid, but trying anyway."
"Oh, God, grant me there serenity to accept the things I cannot change." And by acceptance, what is meant? It means you cannot deny reality. You cannot successfully resist the facts of your situation. Take people and things as they are. The longer you resist reality, frankly, the more desperate you will become. The longer you struggle and fight against what cannot be overcome or modified, the more unhealthy you will become. The longer you deny the facts of your situation, or try to control what is beyond your reach, the more insane you will begin to feel.
The only way to regain composure; the only way to regain your health; the only way to return to sanity is radical acceptance. It is this acceptance of all those things, people, situations, and expectation that we cannot change, control, manage, amend or make the way we would have them that leads to what Reinhold Niebuhr called, “serenity.”
Reinhold Niebuhr, a legendary ethicist and theologian from the previous century, may have produced the greatest single slice of spirituality in the history of North America when he penned a profound prayer in 1932. That prayer begins: "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference.”
This is the first talk in series of taking the full Serenity Prayer line by line: To celebrate it, be shaped by it, and learn how to live lives of strength and peace in a mad, mad world that cannot - that never could - and never will - provide us those things.
"Why would someone wish or ask to be baptized in the first place? Well, that depends upon who you ask. And then, of course, there is the question of how we baptize properly? Do we pour, sprinkle, immerse, dip, spray, squirt, squeegee, soak or flush? Again, it depends upon who you ask. Modes and means of baptism are as diverse as Christianity itself. But we can’t ignore the fact that it is an essential part of our faith."
"So, it's true after all: God is out to get you! Just like the sandwich-board evangelists have always said...But it’s not with the closed fist of anger and punishment. God arrives with an invitation in hand. God invites you to the party. God welcomes you to the table. At least that’s the kind of God revealed to us by Jesus. I don’t know where we got this other God who is so hateful and unkind; this God so retrograde and primitive, this God who is more cruel and sadistic than any human being who has ever existed. The only God is I know is the God revealed by Jesus of Nazareth: A God who is good! A God, not too good to be true, but a God so good, it just has to be true!" (See Luke 14)
"Have you ever seen a peacock? It's a strutting parade. He's popping his feathers...all territorial...marking their boundaries. He makes noise, trying to get attention. And they might shine, but he mostly makes a mess and disturbs the neighbors. A peacock is so noisy because it can’t sing. It shows off its feathers because it has no other redeeming qualities. A peacock struts because it can’t fly. It will never fly - nor will anyone of the human species who seeks their own exaltation.
"In God’s economy the strivers, hustlers, ego-maniacs, and peacocks all end up on the bottom, while the humble will ultimately rise to the top. 'For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted,' Jesus says (Luke 14)."
"And yes, I know this is counter-intuitive to the way it is. This is a loud, strutting, peacock world, with so many flaunting around with their feathers of self-importance and entitlement. Nice guys and nice gals finish last, and those with ruthless ambition finish first. But, finishing last is the point. 'The first shall be last; the last shall be first; for those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.'"
"If I lose hope – I have lost the very vitality of my present life and given up on the possibility of a more loving future – for myself, and all who will come after me. Without hope, I can only leave my children, my grandchildren, and their children nothing but despair. This I refuse to do. I cannot allow myself to surrender to cynicism; I refuse to accept the status quo as the best we can do; I still believe that love is the greatest force in all the universe; and I believe that there will always be people of goodwill who will follow Jesus, love their neighbor, and who quietly will not capitulate or bend the knee to the tyranny of public opinion. My heart might be broken – but maybe that is required. Brokenness allows the hope within to spill out into a world that needs all the hope it can get.”
“How can we regain the ability to form Christian disciples who will actually be guided by Jesus, instead of politics or economics or the fashionable? Can we infuse those in our congregations with such courage, that they will be able stand for what is right and true and virtuous - even if it means losing what have been long-lasting relationships; even if it means losing status or favor with others? Why aren’t Christians leading the way when it comes to honesty…integrity…love…and truth?” (See Luke 12:49-55)
There are some puzzles that simply cannot be solved. We don’t have the ability. We don’t have the time. So, we twist and writhe, losing sleep and years in the process, trying to find answers. The better part of wisdom might be to put such puzzles down and get on with living the life we have, rather than obsessing over what we can do nothing about. In my experience, one word would capture most of the deep riddles that people struggle with: “Yesterday.” Because for every person wrestling with what is happening in their life today; for every person anxious about what might happen tomorrow, there are a dozen people stuck in what happened yesterday (See Isaiah 43:18-19).
“The world is held together, really it is held together, by the love and the passion of just a few people.” That quote from James Baldwin captures the idea of the "Tzadikim" from Jewish mysticism. Tzadikim means, “the righteous ones." Based on Genesis 18, the Talmud elaborates: “There are no fewer than 36 righteous people in the world who daily greet the glory of God and uphold creation.” That is, a tiny group of people, because of their innate goodness; because of their humble, just, loving hearts, proves to God that humanity is worth all the trouble.
Therefore, God would never go so far as to wipe away humanity, for that would mean wiping away the righteous, and “the Judge of all the earth will do what is right.” Yes, the world is full of corruption; it’s full of every vice and evil - just as in the days of Sodom - and God surely must contemplate bringing it all to an end. But through these righteous ones and their persistent hidden holiness, the world is spared. The questions put to each of us, then, are these: "Could you be one of the righteous? Could you...would you...can you...will you - live in such a way that keeps hope alive in the world? You may be the one upholding God's creation.
"My wife calls me a minimalist. But a new word has been introduced into my vocabulary: Essentialism. As I am learning, a minimalist is concerned with having less stuff; fewer possessions; buying less. I like all that for sure.
"But an essentialist is one who seeks to untangle from the unnecessary, turning life toward the vital; the absolute crucial. It’s not so much about having less - it’s holding on to only what counts. Because we only have so much space; we only have so much time. We only have so much energy. Shouldn’t we use our limited personal resources on what is most consequential?"
"People behave the way they behave because they are driven by what is within them. That’s simply how the human heart works. If it’s all garbage and rubbish on the inside of a person, then garbage and rubbish is the only possible outcome, and you need not expect anything different. The only way to amend, reform, redeem, or change a person’s actions is by the amendment, reformation, redemption, and change of a person’s heart." RM
Taking a slice from Revelation 7 and the writings of Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Ronnie speaks to how, "beauty will save the world." He says: "You can call me a dreamer. But I’m not the only one. You can call me a foolish idealist. I’m most comfortable with that. You can call me an idiot. I’ll take it as a compliment. Because I would rather try - by God's grace try - to be hopeful and faithful, compassionate and empathetic, forgiving and loving, good and gracious - and be regarded as an idiot in this world, than to be a person who is cynical, jaded, hard-hearted, judgmental, hateful, cruel, and gleeful at the suffering of others. Jesus Christ help us all to become raving idiots who can see the wonder and dignity inherent in each and every person we meet - white, black, man, woman, gay, straight, citizen, immigrant, rich, poor, old, young - because each of these is a person made in the beautiful image of God!"
"Doubt alone won’t keep you where you are, for honest doubt is a good thing. But fear? Fear stops all forward motion. Fear disables and immobilizes. Fear strangles the courage right out of you. Fear becomes the controlling, overpowering, paralyzing emotion. It can become so crippling, that we are blinded to the possibilities of the future. Faith is the only antidote - actionable faith. Faith is not bare belief, like reciting the creed. It’s not mere intellectual understanding, the ticking off some doctrinal check list. Faith is an action-oriented willingness to trust in, and to rely upon God, that Power greater and beyond yourself." - RM
"Here is an invitation that is too rarely extended: Come to Jesus and find joy. Find adventure. Find yourself...then, find yourself challenged. Find yourself stretched. Find yourself pushed; pushed into deep water; pushed beyond safety, comfort, manageability, and sometimes, pushed beyond what passes as good sense. Come to Jesus for the salvation of your soul; sure, but stay for the invigoration of your spirit. Come to Jesus for your future; yes, but stay for today. When you hear that still, small voice of Christ say to you, 'Let’s go further…let’s fly higher…let’s launch deeper,' it's okay to be afraid - but don’t let that fear stop you from answering that call. What waits on the other side is a fuller, richer, deeper way of living." - RM
"We are a communal species, made in the image of God - for God is a communal being as well: The Three in One. It’s a variation of UBUNTU: We are, because God is. We are not isolated individuals - we are community - we are we. Simply by praying in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit - by simply using this Trinity language - we remind ourselves, and we witness to the world, that we are made for relationship and connection.
"If we fail at community, we will pay an ever-increasing price in the form of our individual and collective health and well-being. And we will continue to splinter and divide until we can no longer stand as a community or a country. Instead of coming together to take on the great challenges before us, we will further retreat to our corners - angry, sick, and alone.”
A shout out to the Milwaukee Airport...the Ascension of Jesus...and the "recombobulation" of the days to come: Jesus said, "The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times.” Yes, a day will come when this same Jesus who ascended into heaven will return, but the timing is “not for you to know.” Rather, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses.” That is, stay with the mission. Keep your hand at the work. By the will of God, the love of Christ, and the power of the Spirit, keep telling the story of the kingdom. Keep sharing the grace of God. Keep inviting others to the table. But as to how and when this all wraps up, that’s God’s business. Our business remains the same as it has always been: Not figuring out when we get to leave earth for heaven, but letting the world know that heaven has come to earth.
“The books of the Holy Bible never say but one time just exactly what God is, but in three little words it pours out a hundred million college educations and says, ‘God Is Love.’ And that is the only real definite answer to ten thousand wild queries and questions that I my own self have tossed at my Bible. That is the only really sensible, easy, honest, warm, plain, quick, and clear answer I found - when I was ready to throw so-called fearful, cowardly, thieving, poisoning, religion out my trash door. It was those three words that made not only religion, but also several other sorts of superstitious fears and hatreds in me meet one very quick death: God is Love. Love is the only God that I will ever believe in.” - Woody Guthrie
"When it is love that overturns and redirects your life, how can one not become loving? When light leads you out of darkness, how can you not be a person of the light?
"Enough of this 'Personal Profile' Christianity You know what I mean: Go find the crummiest, nastiest, most curmudgeon-spirited person on social media, or in the comments section, or who attends your annual HOA meeting. He or she will have a 'saved by grace' declaration in their social media profile; a 'I Love Jesus, Yes I Do, How About You' banner blazoned across the screen; and they will be wearing a 'Too Blessed to be Stressed' T-shirt. And 9 out of 10 times, that will be the meanest person in the whole room.
"These are exactly as Paul would describe them years later to Timothy: 'They are unloving and unforgiving; they slander others and have no self-control. They are cruel and hateful; reckless, and puffed up with pride. They act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!' They have not had a spiritual awakening sourced in the redeeming love of God. They are simply using Jesus as mascot - not a model to follow."
"Saul of Tarsus was a fundamentalist; and very little can be more damaging, more hurtful and harmful, than hard-shelled, hard-hearted fundamentalism. Fundamentalism is spirituality gone wrong; it is piety turned sour. It is a form of compromised, contaminated religion that has substituted right living with rule-following. It is fueled by impending judgment and certain punishment rather than by spiritual liberation. Fundamentalism trades in the currency of control, manipulation, and coercion. The short of it is this: Fundamentalism is a pathology of the heart, that has exchanged love for fear."
Prenatal Conversations...
Moksha and Olam Ha-Ba...
Albert Einstein and the First Law of Thermodynamics...
Monarch Butterflies...
The Apostle Paul as the Primary Source of the Belief in Resurrection...
Listen to this Easter episode to discover what all of these have in common.
"I suspect that knowing God’s will is not the real challenge for us. Knowing God’s will is the easy part. Doing it is the hard part. As living sacrifices we keep crawling off the altar when the flames get hot. No, I don’t know the will of God for you, but I do know that whatever it is, it will require courage instead of playing it safe; it will require the narrow path, not the smooth road; it will require sacrifice over selfishness. It will require letting go, a giving of yourself, and a giving up on what might be expected from others, the world, or even yourself. And that is the struggle. In the words of Nikos Kazantzakis: 'It is a struggle between the flesh and the spirit; rebellion and resistance; reconciliation and submission.'"
This Lenten talk from Psalm 32 is about weight; internal weight upon the conscience; let it be an act or a past behavior that worries your heart, that you cannot get off your mind. It hangs over your head like the Sword of Damocles. Exhausting you; robbing you of living; stealing from you your peace; you can’t really enjoy life as your eyes are always darting to see if the sword is yet in motion; and maybe some days you might even pray that the thread would go ahead and break and put you out of your fitful misery. But there is a way out... As the Talmud says: “God’s forgiveness is the opening of a door to the light. If we only crack that door, God will then throw it open as wide as a highway...Confession is the hinge on which the door of repentance turns.” Your hinges may be a little rusty, but you just have to make a start; give it a little nudge - and God opens the door.
Jesus' message from Luke 14 is simple, but start: "Violence will only lead to more violence. Compromise will only lead to more compromise. It’s death and destruction down both of those roads, as it has been for all of history. If you want a different outcome, you’re going to have to try something different!” Jesus could be accused of channeling Abraham Lincoln when he said, "My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side For only God is right.”
God isn’t a mascot; God isn’t a badge you wear or a slogan you recite; God isn’t the big man on the playground that you get to pick to be on your team. God isn’t on anybody’s team, because God doesn’t play our games. God doesn’t take sides. God calls us to that "something different." What is it? Nothing new. It’s as old as the core tenet of the Jewish Prophets; for if one could distill the moral and spiritual demands of the entire Judeo-Christian ethic into a single practical phrase, it would be this: “O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: To do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” Justice. Mercy. Humility. These three together appear as love being practiced in the world. Such love is the only chance any group of people will ever have at experiencing anything that resembles a future.
In this talk on the "Temptations of Jesus," Ronnie centers the reformer Roger Williams and his critique of corrupting power. Williams, the eventual founder of Rhode Island, rejected the use of abusive power as a means of religious ends; as a power-holding, power-wielding church would always become an oppressor of conscience. Williams wrote forcefully from his exile among the native tribes of New England wilderness: "I feel safer among these Christian savages than I do among the savage Christians." This savagery was fueled by the false - but forced - requirement of religious uniformity. Roger Williams said: "God does not require a uniformity of religion to be enacted or enforced; and does not need a sword of steel to assist the sword of the Spirit. To enforce uniformity is to deny the very principles of Christianity. It is the greatest occasion of civil war, a raping of the conscience, persecution of Christ Jesus, and makes hypocrisy and destruction of millions of souls. It is unnecessary, unlawful, ungodly, and unchristian.”
Last in the series on Genesis: "'The answer is in the story, and the story is still being told.' That story - your story, our story - will keep being told as long as we live and breathe - and then long after we have lived and breathed - even as Joseph’s story is still being told today. And while there’s no magical place that can take away your suffering or erase your painful memories or immediately rescue from whatever troubles you at this moment, there remains the next page to be written; the next chapter to be drafted; and the next act, still to be composed. 'The answer is in the story, and the story is still being told.'"
(Apologies for the sniffles in this episode - this was recorded as I still had the flu! RM)
God asks Jacob question: “What is your name?” It is an invitation to confess. He answers, of course: “My name is Jacob.” I’m a rascal - trickster - a fraud. Never had the man been so honest. And that honesty - that confession - changed his life. God says in response, “Not anymore. You have wrestled with God and you have prevailed. Your name is now Israel.” Jacob wasn't blessed because he had worked so hard for it. No, he had worked so hard, he was now so exhausted and so at the end of himself, that finally he could received what only God could give him. His moxie took him all the way to the door, but only an unclenched fist could open that door; only an open and empty hand could accept what was on the other side. It didn’t just happen on this one night: For years God let Jacob just wear himself out with the struggle - using up all his strength, strategies, and craftiness. And now - finally - Jacob was done. Spent. Deeply wounded. Now completely incapable of getting what he wanted with his own power; only then could he receive what was needed.
Ronnie's exploration of Genesis arrives at one of the book's most difficult passages: What Jews call, "The Binding of Isaac." Ronnie says, "All ancient religions were built on the same foundation: 'God is angry…We stand in constant danger of being destroyed…Only the blood of the most precious - the most innocent - can save us.' So, when God comes to Abraham with this sinister demand, it wouldn’t have sounded all that unusual to Abraham. Child sacrifice was a customary and common practice of the time. But this God - Yahweh - was not the fickle, unpredictable, bloodthirsty gods worshipped in Mesopotamia or Canaan or in MesoAmerica. This God had shown himself to be steady - trustworthy - gracious and good to Abraham.
"Abraham’s understanding of God should have been cross examined, for this was an opportunity to listen more closely - to test the spirits, as the Apostle John said - and demand better answers, better instructions; to hear the better word of a better God. Of course Abraham believed in God, but did Abraham believe in a good God? Of course Abraham had faith - we know he did - but did Abraham truly understand in whom his faith was placed? Abraham could be counted on to do as God told him - of course, it’s Abraham But could Abraham be counted to see that the God he had come to know, was far better than any God he could imagine?"
In Part 6 of Ronnie's series on Genesis, he arrives at Abraham - and Ray Kinsella, portrayed by Kevin Costner in "Field of Dreams." Both mean hear the Voice, and heed an inexplicable calling - an intuition, a vision, a dream - emerging from out of the ether. They "go the distance," to quote the Voice, displaying a tenacious faith that simply keeps going.
The Dark Side, that monstrous, powerful energy from the Star Wars universe is, per George Lucas, "grasping, clutching, greedy desire. It is to want; to control; to have supreme power.” And so, we arrive at Genesis 11 and the remarkable story of the Tower of Babel; something I will refer to this morning as, “The Empire Strikes Back,” for that is exactly what happens here. The whole post-flood population gets together to do something that not even their ancestors would have dared. They begin building a tower into heaven. This was a siege tower.
Their goal was clear, as the Babylonian word for "babel" means, “gateway.” Babylonia means, “gateway to the gods.” They intended to storm heaven; to throw down the Creator; and put themselves in God's place. A line from Bob Dylan summarizes the "Dark Side" - not only of the Force - but as a constant of human nature: “God is in his heaven; and we all want what is his. But power and greed, and corruptible seed, seems to be all there is.”
Part 4 of Ronnie's series on the Book of Genesis highlights Noah and the Flood: "There are a lot of reasons the story of Noah and the Flood is told as it is. To show the superior powers around the nation of Israel that Yahweh remains supremely in command; to show that the Hebrew God is not capricious - that God is capable of emotion, regret, even change; to show that God ultimately commits himself to human flourishing: But above all it is told to embolden a washed-up, washed-over, and washed-out remnant of survivors who are barely hanging on by a thread. For they were at a crossroad with a choice to make: They could give up their faith and be assimilated into the faceless mass of that Empire - or - resolutely, courageously, rebuild on the fresh mud of the freshly inflicted disaster they had suffered.
"This isn’t really a story about animals marching two by two. It’s the test of one family’s persistence. It’s not a story to ferret out historical facts. It’s intended as a lesson in survival. This story is the second option: 'We will not be assimilated. We will not forfeit our hope - not even in a world washed away - not even with a God we don’t fully understand.' This story is written as an act of holy defiance - against their circumstances, against their sufferings, against easy answers, against those who had imprisoned them - and against God himself if need be. They refused to quit believing, and chose to survive for their own sake and the sake of all others.”
From talk three of Ronnie's series on the book of Genesis: "We can’t really deny this gift of free will. We can only wrestled with it, because as a gift, it is the most problematic one God has given us. We have freedom, but it has its limits. Those limits make our choices in life extremely important. As El Jefe said to the Counselor: 'You are the world you have created.' What kind of world will it be? For yourself…your future…your family…your community? It’s a heavy responsibility, but it’s inescapable."
In Part 2 of Ronnie's series entitled, "Genesis At the Movies," he takes on the chaos of the pre-ordered universe; how God overcame darkness and confusion; and how we as God's creatures and Earth's inhabitants are called to foster, cultivate, and otherwise to cause Creation to flourish. Ronnie says, "This isn't 'environmentalism.' No, this is stewardship of all: Natural resources, pristine landscapes, a thriving population, food for the all who are hungry, water for all who are thirsty, peace for all who are at war, justice for all societies and people. It is a call of responsible caretaking, to make Creation all that God intends - and equally - a call to forsake our self-centeredness that threatens God's good world. F or in the irony of all ironies, the only species with the ability to safeguard the world and cause this world to flourish, is the same species with the capacity to destroy it - and almost everything living on it."
In a new, ambitious Sunday morning series of talks, Ronnie dives headlong into the book of beginnings, the Book of Genesis. Each talk will have a movie theme, to engage the listener, this week's being "Back to the Future."
Ronnie says: "The book of Genesis was not composed and collected as a scientific explanation for the formation of the Universe... as literal, datable, fixated history...or as a combative, adversarial text to be placed in the hands of Christians, to wage ideological war with philosophers, archeologists, geologists, astronomers, modernists, post-modernists, or Darwinians. It was composed and collected in the form we have it today, as a theological anchor; a touchstone that future generations could return to, to remember their family history. It was composed and collected so that people would not forget their God. It is a book about the past. But it was written to ensure a bright and healthy future."
"Yes, if I could tell of everything that will enter your life in the days, years, or even decades ahead, it just might kill you. But if you take a few moments to sit and think about everything you have already survived - you just might discover that you are tougher than you thought you were - more adaptive than you are giving yourself credit for - and have a wee but more faith than you thought you did. You just might remember that how you have gotten through hard and fearful times in the past, is by going through hard and fearful times. 'The wave crashes over us,' as James Hollis says, 'but that same wave recedes and leaves us standing.'”
Ronnie shares the story of Gary and Ronda Fleming, emphasizing the hope that comes with the Advent season: "Ronnie, your introduction of Emily Dickinson's poem, ‘Hope is the thing with feathers,’ resulted in a momentary emotion-filled mental trip from the Simple Faith sanctuary to a time in the summer of 2014, where we had a personal and very profound experience with hope as a thing with feathers..."
"What is really important you? Put another way, if you knew your time was short, on what or to whom would you focus your evaporating minutes? To what task would you give yourself? How would your priorities change? The truth is, your time is short, so these questions apply.
"Your spirituality, faith, and overall wellbeing will grow stronger, deeper, livelier, and more vital as it becomes the more focused, more concentrated, and more simple. Don’t go for more of anything. Go for less. Paraphrasing the words of Meister Eckhart, 'The way of Jesus has much more to do with subtraction, than it does addition.' Where this art of simplification really works, and you don’t have to a mystic or uber-spiritual to experience this for yourself, is staying present in this one day that you have - today."
"Yes, I am a follower of Jesus. Yes, sometimes I’m even a Christian - sometimes. That word becomes more and more problematic because of so much uncommon ground. Yes, there are a number of essential beliefs important to me and to which I hold - fewer though, as I get older. And yes, some of my beliefs are in conflict with the beliefs of others, and these conflicts are not easily dismissed - they are different - they might even be irreconcilably different. But my beliefs, as important as they may be to me, do not give me the right to be belligerent toward others who do not share my view of faith...After all, what good are our beliefs, if we use them to win arguments, but lose our credibility in the process? What good is Christian faith if it only inflates our egos? What good is it to claim the name of Jesus, but the claim only makes us mean, hard-hearted, and judgmental?"
Jesus wasn't the first Jewish rabbi to codify a "golden rule" or to emphasize the Great Commandment(s) to "Love God and love your neighbor." Jesus was - and is - however, the one to make the ethic of love normative for we who call ourselves Christian, for love is the only thing that can "tikkun olam." From the Hebrew: Love is the only thing that can "heal the world." Politics will not heal the world. Your voting card will not heal the world. The United States of America will not heal the world. There are rooted in power, and as followers of Jesus, our calling is not to seize the steering wheel - to get our own way. Our calling is to practice is joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control - orbiting around this nucleus of love for God and love for neighbor.
"'Do not go gentle in that good night.' That’s the line that I see dancing behind the blind Bartimaeus story, this man persistent enough to not be left in the dark. Dylan Thomas was the Welsh poet who authored the furious, defiant lines: "Do not go gentle into that good night…burn and rave at close of day. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.' How was Bartimaeus’ sight restored? By a power outside himself - you can count on that. Yet, at the same time, there was a faith-shaped persistence at work; a hope-filled determination; a refusal to go gentle into that good night.
"There’s no assurance that you will always get what you seek - if ever; no guarantee that the door will always open, that your prayer will be answered as you expect, or that your 'faith will always become sight' - to quote an appropriate New Testament turn of phrase. Life is far too unpredictable and exceedingly mysterious for any of that. And anyone trying to tell you different or sell you a warranty is just trying to, again to use an appropriate phrase, to rob you blind. But as people of faith - we have to have a little faith." (See Mark 10:46-52)
As it was in the days of Jesus, so it is today. This society is Machiavellian to its core - trunk, root, and branch. The end justifies the means.Do whatever it takes to reach your goal, no matter how dirty or how ugly or how corrupt. Politics - obviously so - from the most local election to the highest seat in the land. In our economics - so long as the shareholders make their money, do whatever it takes, hurt whoever has to be hurt. On your job - it’s cut throats and stabbed backs; tattle-telling and sabotage just to get ahead. How we treat this beautiful world: Rules can be bent - rules can be broken - progress, development: Those have become synonyms for greed and selfishness.
What did Jesus say? “But among you it will be different." That difference replaces supremacy with sacrifice; it replaces being at the top, with a willingness to go to the back of the line. It’s not obsessed with getting one’s way - but with helping someone else along the way. It’s different in that the ambition is to not to conquer others, but to be in service to others."
"Teach us to number our days, wrote the Psalmist, "that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Certainly, the writer is instructing us all to count our days; that is, be aware of how brief life is. Going further, the writer is making sure that we make those few days of life, really count. Sure, we would all like to have a little extra time, but the only way to have extra time is to realize how little time you actually have - and to make that time count.
With the recent passing of songwriter, actor, and icon Kris Kristofferson, Ronnie took some time to reflect upon his life - a life that can never be duplicated. From the talk: "To know and become who you really are - who God made you to be - to take up the life that only you can live, a life that can never be replicated: This is the beginning of the soul’s fulfillment. But it often requires a giving up - a letting go - of all you have been holding on to, be it as a privileged Rhodes Scholar or a middle class grunt stuck on the hamster wheel of someone else’s expectation. To have the courage to be yourself, and to take the risk to follow that path, that’s true freedom - that’s another word for nothing left to lose. And inevitability, this freedom will lead you to grace - 'undeserved privilege' - and gratitude for the life God has bless you with."
"Hurricanes are the result of low-pressure systems moving across warm tropical wasters. Earthquakes are caused by the normal release of energy from the movement of tectonic plates. Sickness and disease are as old as the ecosystem that sustains humanity, and we are frail beings. Evil people - with twisted minds and monstrous intentions - will always live among us. This is the natural world - the natural state of affairs. To ignore it or to explain it away is a travesty that only compounds suffering, it does not alleviate it. And as utterly shocking as this may sound, in the face of this suffering, don’t look to the heavens to find God! Look to your suffering neighbors!
"Because God 'was not in the storm,' if I might borrow a line from the prophet Elijah. God is in and with the storm-blown, now homeless family in Steinhatchee, Florida. God didn’t cause the rising waters - God is in the evacuees who lost everything to the flooding of the French Broad River. God is in that child who cannot escape the abuse of her of stepfather. God is in innocent children dying in today’s wars. Don’t look for God up there or out there - look for God down here. Don’t look for God in your answer-all theology books - look for God in the question marks and confusion. Don’t look for God in the explanations of religion. Look for God in suffering people. Because that’s where Jesus said God would be - Christ would be there in the 'least of these.' An act of God is not some disastrous calamity - no matter what your insurance policy says. You are an act of God - you can be - when in hope and faith you act to lovingly heal the world."
(See Psalm 19 and Luke 13.)
"There is a discernment, a knowing, that goes beyond - and exceeds mere intellect or intelligence. I’ll state what we all know: A person can have the highest of IQs, advanced degrees, technical proficiency, and have no common sense whatsoever; no problem solving ability. You can be intelligent - and still be stupid. You can have knowledge - more than most people around you - but still be a clueless chucklehead about life. What I'm talking about is wisdom. That is the precious commodity, and it is in desperately short supply these days."
"What are we to make of this strange and wonderful story, this encounter Jesus has with a foreign woman, this talk of dogs and outcasts? The story is told, once again, to reinforce a constant and primary theme of Jesus’ ethic and ministry: He is breaker of boundaries; literally and figuratively. He intentionally moves into the foreign places; into the marginal places; out to the borders; out to where we his followers are often incredibly uncomfortable. Jesus is always pushing the religious limits, always critiquing the institutional rules, always expanding the horizon, always making space for those regarded as incompatible or unacceptable. Jesus has a soft spot for fools, drunks, little children, for starving puppies begging under the table; the poor, the rejected, for those whose noses have been bloodied by a hundred slamming doors; for the weak, the down and out, the stained, the marked, the failures. Jesus is always out there hanging with the crowd we wouldn’t be caught dead with.
"For the life of me, I can’t figure out where today’s church came up with this prim and proper, tame and courteous Jesus, who is little more than a mascot for middle and upper class respectability. This man was a revolutionary in the truest sense of the word, come to welcome all who would come, even if it alienated those who thought that they were the ones who had cornered the market on faith and belief in God; even if his words and way was seen as an affront to the religious establishment" (See Mark 7:24-29).
"How often does a religious authority figure become the actual authority? How often do human-made regulations get inflated and inflicted as God-given commandments? How often do ancient traditions - traditions that may have worked very well for those who first conceived of them - outlast their usefulness - and grow into monstrous, shame-inducing, fear-mongering, finger-pointing, soul-crushing, heart-breaking machines of spiritual abuse and destruction? Be distrustful of - run away from - groups, denominations, churches, and movements that crush the people under their care; that place heavy burdens on people’s backs; that coerce, intimidate, manipulate and malign. That might be religion. But that just can’t be Jesus.
"You see, religious rules can’t protect you. They can’t keep you holy. They really can’t help you. Sure, they might work to get you started; but eventually - sooner or later - external, religious, behavior management can only keep you caged, withdrawn, fearful, suspicious, and judgmental. It can’t set you free. To borrow commentary from the Apostle Paul: 'Christ has set us free…The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love…For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: "‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Neither we nor the world need more religion. We need changed hearts. We need transformation from within. And that is possible - as we surrender to the Spirit and direction of Jesus - who makes all things new."
“The journey ahead will be too much for you! God says to Elijah (See 1 Kings 18 and 19). For those who have been champions, for those who have felt like nothing but losers. For those disappointed, discouraged, despondent, confused, misused, and abused: The journey will be too much for you! Enough with the lie that 'God will never put more on you than you can stand.' That’s nowhere near an accurate statement and will not hold up under thoughtful, theological, or experiential analysis. Sometimes life will collapse on you with the weight of multiple lifetimes; there will be too many challenges; too many burdens; too much tragedy. It happens with the news of a single, solitary catastrophe - or with the slow, accumulating of day to day weariness like silent, falling snow. Either way, sometimes it is all more than you can take. Sometimes life will break you.
"But I know, as I read the history of our ancestors here in the Scriptures, and as I review my own life and the lives of those who kept faith to the end and beyond, is that God has a way of showing up and picking up his children when they have reached the very end of themselves. There is something about coming to the absolute end of strength, when another step cannot be taken; when another war cannot be fought; when another threat cannot be answered; when another precept cannot be believed; when another creed cannot be recited; when another day cannot be faced: Only then does God become God to the one who desperately needs God."
"Come to me,” Jesus said, "I am the bread of life…Come to me and you will find what you need….Walk with me…learn from me,” he said. He offers his way, his words, his ethic, his very life to each of us. And in taking it, we find our daily bread to face each and every day: Not as a kind of spiritual vitamin; not a little pep talk for us when things are down; not a puffy, air-filled, processed bag of junk food. This is real, solid strength. It’s food for the soul. Or hear it this way: “I am to you what you need, to do what you must do.” Nourishment. Fuel. Power: To live your life. To meet the demands of the day. To finish your race. To be alive, sustained, and fortified for whatever the future may hold.
Ronnie says, "I only have three sermons. So I will be repeating myself again today. One - The only God I know is the one revealed in Jesus of Nazareth. Ask me who God is; what God is like: I will point you there. Two - This God loves you with an infinite, incredible, inexhaustible love. And three: It’s those people who have a profound sense of being loved by God; who have this internal, soul-washed awareness that they are the recipients of grace: These are the people who truly live; and who can truly change the world."
From Ronnie's latest talk on the 23rd Psalm: "He 'maketh me to lie down.' The Shepherd gently - but deliberately - compels me to be still. It is the lying down; it is the quiet; it is the stillness that leads to restoration. The best translation from the Hebrew is: 'Bed down in the lush green grasses. Sip the cold, quiet, deep waters -of rest.' Cold drinks and nap time sounds like heaven! But most of us have to be forced into stillness. We must be made to lie down. We can’t turn off the monkey-mind. We can’t even turn off the television or put down our phones. We feed ourselves on the breaking news of the moment; we gorge on incessant information and activity; we are surrounded by the loud, the unnecessary, the fearful, and the obnoxious. Our senses are continually assaulted by those things, situations, and people that can do nothing but leave us angry, thirsty, hungry, and unsettled. Lord knows, oh the Lord knows, we must be made to lie down."
In this exploration of the biblical prophet Amos, Ronnie talks about what launched Amos' vocation, why the prophet's voice is one of such doom, and how to interpret and apply his words today. Ronnie says, "Amos, for lack of a better turn of phrase, invented the apocalyptic category. All the Hebrew prophets to follow - even the great ones like Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Daniel - are standing on the shoulders of Amos, as he in real time processed the events that he witnessed and drew interpretive conclusions as to why these things were happening..."
Speaking of Ezekiel (Chapter 3) as an example for us all, Ronnie says, "Ezekiel persisted in his vocation for two decades. Persistence more than progress. Stubbornness over success. Twenty years his hand is at the plow. Twenty years with hardly a convert. Twenty years among the thorns and scorpions of resistance...That is the pattern, but I think also that is the point. When one takes up the Christian vocation; when one commits to following Christ, to serving others, to loving neighbors; there is no quick or easy pay off. There are often few signs to see if you are actually doing any good. You will need persistence, resiliency, and patience. You will surely need a great big dose of the 'keep on, keeping on.' It is a great act of faith and hope - defiantly so - to keep being a true human being, made in the image of God, living out the love of Christ in a world that will likely conspire against you."
From Ronnie's talk based on Lamentations 3: "I get to have these conversations about God with people. Invariably, someone will say: 'Well, I don’t believe in God.' And my answer has become, 'Me either!' Then I give the person space to talk about the God they refuse to believe in; and it has never failed: I can’t - I won’t - I don’t - believe in the God they describe either! Because this God is usually a sadist; or a monster; or a capricious, thin-skinned invention of religious imagination. This God has been made in someone else’s image and then forced onto others as the God of creation, universe, and eternity...Do we create God in our own image, a form of confirmation bias, finding in God what we hoped was already there? Of course we do. But for good or bad, I think that says more about us than it says about God."
In this conclusion to his series on The Emmaus Road from Luke 24, Ronnie makes clear that sermons and talks come to an end, but the road goes on. "Faith will persist. The Spirit will lead. Your journey of faith never ends until you do," he says. And quoting James Hollis, Ronnie reminds the listener: "There is no home ‘out there,’ no Valhalla to attain; there is only the journey. The journey is our home. Our home is our journey...There is no peace, contentment, and tranquility above the fray. We will always live in in-between times, between what has been reached and exhausted and what approaches over the curve of the horizon. Are we afraid? Of course! Only psychotics and the deluded are not. But that is not an excuse for not showing up in life. Our journey is our home.”
In this talk - part 9 of 10 in the series - Ronnie asks the listener to open his or her heart to the "Real" - with a capital R. He says, "I am of the persuasion that you can at once be a person who believes in contemporary science; and be a person of deep faith in God; that you can be analytical and empirical while remaining mystical and spiritual; that you can appreciate and value Newton, Einstein, Sagan, Hawking, and Darwin - and still be a committed follower of Jesus. I am making a case - or at least offering an invitation - that you accept what is Real as extending to the spiritual world - that it not be contained strictly within the material world. And I make that invitation to both the religious and the agnostic."
As Part 8 in this walk down the Emmaus Road continues, Ronnie observes how an honest, humble telling of our own faith experience can invite Christ to join the conversation: "These disciples find their friends. They begin to share their story with fear and trembling - and Jesus arrives. It’s as if their speaking of him, invites him to join them...Meister Eckhart, a radical Catholic mystic from the Middle Ages, talked about how we can birth God into this world. He said, 'We are all called to be the mother of God. The Christ is always wishing to be born into the world! What good is it to me for the Creator to give birth to his Son if I do not also give birth to the Son in my time and place?' Thus, when you share your Christ experience, you are creating an incubating environment where Christ comes into that conversation."
"How do you tell someone, how do you share with someone, your own personal experience with God? Sometimes this will be sharing with someone who is seeking - seeking answers - seeking God. It might be sharing with someone who is on the brink of losing faith, or he or she feels that 'just believing' won’t work for them. And maybe you’ve had those encounters with someone who is ambivalent, even hostile to faith; and sometimes you might share with a fellow Christian, a fellow traveler, but your faith experience and his or her faith experience are so different, that you are like strangers to each other. How do conversations like these work themselves out?"
In Episode 7 of this series on the Emmaus Road, Ronnie takes on these questions and more, encouraging us to let God do God’s work within us, and step back far enough to let God do God’s work in others.
In Part 6 of "The Path Is Made By Walking, Ronnie quotes Janet Hagberg, words that serve as proper commentary to the Emmaus Road experience of Luke 24: “Now we surrender to God’s will, but with our eyes wide open…for we have been changed. We sense a looser grip on ourselves and all we have believed, because our confidence is in God - not what we think about God. Our primary motivation in life becomes the desire to love and to live honestly. We acquire an inner peace and calmness because we grow into the full awareness that God truly loves us. We learn how to go about our lives with patience and freshness, a vitality that can only come from God. There is no striving, just evolving. The healing experience is so personal and so profound, we may find it difficult to express.”
How do we get this? Persistence. Muddling through. Surrender. Being melted down and re-formed. Anger. Tears. Shaking your fist or the middle finger at heaven. Kicking and screaming on the floor. Trying out atheism for a while. Shunning anything religious, spiritual, prayerful, or anything like you knew in the past. But if you are a person with a bent toward faith - if you are a person who discovers that the eternity planted in your heart cannot be ignored - you will begin to poke around in the ashes for the bones. You will begin to put the pieces back together, and maybe - just maybe - you will have an Emmaus experience: “Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him…They said to each other, 'Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road.”
As this journey down the Emmaus Road continues, Ronnie speaks about the times when faith seems lost: "Before you change, you will be confused. It’s natural. It’s to be expected. Once you are on the road, you will encounter roadblocks - intense seasons of questioning; dark nights of the soul; arrows shot toward heaven that never seem to hit their target. Janet Hagberg rightfully calls it, 'The Wall.' You crash up against it and things go to pieces.
"It feels like you are losing your faith and possibly losing your mind...like everything you were ever told about God or believed about God is wrong... all your old prayers and Bible verses and routines that used to do the trick have lost their power. Your unassailable, bullet-proof solutions fail, and no amount of praying harder, believing more, reading your Bible, or rededication will remedy you. In the words of William Butler Yates: 'Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; anarchy is loosed upon the world.'"
With episode four of his current series, "The Path Is Made By Walking," Ronnie observes that Jesus challenged his fellow travelers on the Emmaus Road to do something almost impossible: To throw out what they had believed previously, and look at life, faith, and reality with a completely different point of view. He was invited them to change their minds - something so few of us are willing to do.
(For the opening reference, the rabbit/duck image, see: https://www.ualberta.ca/science/news/2018/march/optical-illusion-gives-insight-into-how-we-perceive-the-world.html )
In this third installment of "Walking," Ronnie clarifies his hopes for this deep dive into the Emmaus Road story of Luke 24. "One: There’s always something deep, innovative, and wondrous beneath the surface of Scripture - it’s only 7 miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus, but so much further than that. Two: Luke was not afraid to meet people right where they were, to speak their language, in order to tell the story of Jesus. And three: Can we stop and appreciate the artistry and creativity of the biblical writer?" Ronnie picks up that third hope in this talk, revealing the imagination and skill of Luke.
Regarding the two photos discussed in this talk: 1) Visit https://stellarium-web.org to see the night sky anywhere in the world. 2) "The Starry Night" is on display at the Museum of Modern Art, NYC: https://www.moma.org
In Part 2 of Ronnie's exploration of the Emmaus Road text from Luke 24, he takes a deep dive into the background of the story - a background that is more than 400 years old - but one Luke and his listeners would have known all too easily. From there, Ronnie gives a challenge to readers of the Bible to "dig deep," discovering the multiple worlds that are beneath our shallower readings of the text.
Note: For Dum's meme "Persistence," referred to in the talk, visit: http://dumilustrador.blogspot.com/2011/04/ha-momentos-que-devemos-persistir-em.html
With this introduction to the Emmaus Road experience of Luke 24, Ronnie begins an ambitious series of talks entitled, "The Path is Made By Walking" (taken from a poem by Spanish poet, Antonio Machado - text below). Ronnie says, "This story has been given for every true believer, for every spiritual seeker; for every honest doubter, and every troubled questioner; it’s for every wanderer and wonderer; for every curious soul, every longing heart, every disillusioned cause-keeper, and every disappointed lover. It is a tale told for the freshie just beginning her walk of faith; for the cynic who has lost his faith; for the agnostic who interrogates faith; for the atheist who has no faith; and for the old hand, the road-weary traveler who is just trying to keep the faith...I recognize that these seven miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus cover the distance of eternity. I recognize that these few verses might be the most creative use of narrative anywhere in the Christian lexicon - as Luke, the writer, brings together Jewish wisdom, emerging Christian reflection, metaphor, parable, and borrows from both Plato and Socrates. I recognize that this gold mine has gone largely un-mined; and I recognize that I am not up to the task of trying to communicate all that is here."
“Traveler, there is no path. The path is made by walking. By walking the path is made. Beat by beat and verse by verse...When the goldfinch cannot sing; when the poet is a pilgrim; when prayer will do us no good: Traveler, there is no path. The path is made by walking.” - Antonio Machado
On his 90th birthday, legendary local dentist Dr. Johnny Savage shares words with the congregation at A Simple Faith Church.
See the Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzqFXaIIbAU
Johnny's biography, written by Kathryn Hardy is available at online bookstores.
"A garden is where it all began - a garden is where it is all headed - and a garden makes it all possible. The resurrection is heaven come to earth; life and life-giving spirit confronting and overcoming death. Jesus is the man working in the garden - restoring the garden of life - does all that is necessary and possible for life to flourish. In the words of Robert Frost: “He has kept the pathway open...our home is at the end.”
Based on John 19 and 20
Images referred to in this talk can be viewed at: https://artandtheology.org/2016/04/05/she-mistook-him-for-the-gardener/
Power. Politics. Prophecy. Peace. And a little donkey carrying Jesus through the gates of Jerusalem. In this talk Ronnie focuses on the overlooked details and persisting challenge of the first Palm Sunday.
St. Patrick's Day fell on a Sunday this year, and I couldn't resist playing a few Irish songs. This quintet collection of The Backsliders band features myself on guitar and vocals, Matt Miller on fiddle, Tim Ryals on percussion, Andy Stucky on bass, and Ricky Stanfield on mandolin. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
What's So Amazing About Grace? That's a question Philip Yancey asked with the title of his book that has become a Christian classic more than 25 years ago. It's a question that remains worth asking and answering - as Ronnie attempts to do with his latest talk (Based on Ephesians 2).
This is Ronnie's final talk in a series on the book of Ecclesiastes, using commentary from Viktor Frankl.
"Today, I want you to be infused with holy, scrappy, heavenly resistance. I want you spilling over with God-given chutzpah. Not arrogance; not violence; not ego or attitude: But humble, hopeful, resilient, defiance: For 'what can be overcome, must be overcome…God grant me the courage to change the things I can.' There is a time for sacred defiance. Stick it to the man - and in that resistance - there is meaning."
This is Ronnie's fifth in a series of talks exploring the Book of Ecclesiastes alongside the work of Viktor Frankl.
“If possible, we change our fate. If necessary, we willingly accept it…what can be overcome, must be overcome. What cannot be overcome, must be accepted. When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” That sounds very much like words written about the same time, not from a Jewish Holocaust survivor, but a Christian theologian, Reinhold Niebuhr. You’ve heard his words many times I suspect: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
This is Ronnie's fourth in a series of talks exploring the Book of Ecclesiastes alongside the work of Viktor Frankl.
"Love is the means. Love is the end. Love is the power. Love is the motivation. Love is the inspiration and the aspiration. Love is the ultimate goal and the eventual outcome. Any religion - any spiritual practice - any way of living that does not lead us to love, that does not make us more loving people, that does not increase out capacity to give and receive love (as Thomas Merton said) - that religion, that spirituality, that way of living is as dead as a hammer and serves no purpose but to convince its practitioners that they are right and everyone else is wrong. 'The salvation of man is through love and in love,' as Frankl said. That is the path. That is the narrow way. That is the only truth I know. And that is the full and abundant life."
This is Ronnie's third in a series of talks exploring the Book of Ecclesiastes alongside the work of Viktor Frankl.
"Consider this: Any two human beings share 99.5 percent of the same DNA and genetic material. No one is all that different from his or her neighbor. What makes us unique are our experiences. Your life can never be duplicated, and what you have experienced, no power on earth can take away from you! All you have done; all you have taken in through your senses and into your soul; all you have thought, all you have suffered; all the joys and triumphs you have celebrated; all the happy mornings and sleepless nights; all the prayers of gratitude and all the cries for help - you brought them into being with the single solitary life God has given you to live. And there will never be another person like you. We all step into the same river, but we do not share the same water.
This is Ronnie's second in a series of talks exploring the Book of Ecclesiastes alongside the work of Viktor Frankl.
"Work - what you do - is essential to finding meaning in life. I did not say that work IS the meaning of life. No. But when our attitude is attuned, work can be a source of great satisfaction. As the proverb is told: 'Find something you love to do, and you will never work a day in your life.' That doesn’t mean every day will be easy. We are not so naive. It won’t always be 'fun.' Meaningful work is hard work - but it’s meaningful. So, every job, every bit of work, if it incorporates the skills a person has, it meets the needs of others, and it is pursued with chutzpah and gusto - it is impossible for that work not to matter. It has to be meaningful - for every one it touches."
Viktor Frankl said: “If you have a WHY to live, you can endure almost any WHAT, that life gives you.” How does that statement stand up against inexplicable suffering; in an unjust world; in a society that seems to be growing more insane by the day? How does it compare with the words from the writer of Ecclesiastes? In this adventurous new sermon series Ronnie takes on the subject of "making meaning" in life. He is quick to point out that "meaning does not necessarily mean sense, as some things will never make sense in life. It’s not the search for answers: Some questions have no answers. Some situations have no solutions. It’s not a quest for explanation, resolution, fulfillment, or closure. It is the search for true purpose" (Ecclesiastes 1).
"Here is a hard and fast rule if you start a renovation project at your home: It will take you longer than you planned; it will cost you more money than you budgeted; it will lead to other renovations and necessary updates that you did not anticipate; and it will be more difficult than you first thought. Because once dive deep with the idea of seeing what is 'down there,' once you start pulling away the veneer, start crawling about above and poking at what is hiding behind the sheetrock, all bets and expectations are off...If you go to work on you life - allow God to work in your life - it works the same."
(Based on Psalm 139)
In a creative twist, Ronnie imagines the Magi searching for Jesus, not as "three kings from orient are," but as cowboys riding west into the unknown. Ronnie concludes this Epiphany talk: "Christ is both the way and the destination, the road and the arrival. He is the voice that calls us - and the voice that answers. He is the thirst within - and the water that satisfies that thirst. He is the source of our hunger and the satisfaction for that hunger. He is the light in the distance, and the light shining down on us. He is the unexpected discovery that we find in ordinary places. He is the wonder in our wanderings, and the end to our all our searching."
“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance,” borrowing a line from the Apostle Paul: Whatever you think will happen in the future will likely NOT happen as you think it will. Or put another way: “If you want to hear God laugh, just tell him about your plans.” God doesn’t go about ruining the plans we have or raining on our hopes and dreams. I don’t think that at all. I think God allows life to take its course, having equipped us with the internal strength and holy wisdom we need to navigate the road ahead. And that road will be a winding one, so much so, that when we get what we have been waiting for - when what we hoped for comes to fruition - it’s not exactly as we thought it would be. We do the best we can. Then we "wait and see" leaving all results in God's hands.
Charlie Brown cries out in desperation: “Everything I do turns into a disaster…Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” And then it happens, what Lee Mendelson called, "The most magical two minutes in all of TV animation." Linus answers his best friend. “Sure, Charlie Brown. I can tell you what Christmas is all about.” He takes center stage. “Lights, please,” he says. And with seven-year old Christopher Shea providing the voice of Linus Van Pelt, under the spotlight, Linus reads from the King James Version of Luke 2: “Fear not, for, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you. Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.'" Linus turns to his friend and sweetly, innocently concludes: “That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”
"The Grinch franchise (the 1966, 2000, and 2018 films) is the most popular, the most watched, and most lucrative holiday production in history. This 'heel…this vile one with termites in his smile…this seasick crocodile…A skunk with a heart full of unwashed socks…the king of sinful sots.' How can he be the most popular Christmas character since the nativity of Jesus and the coronation of Saint Nickolas? His enduring legacy is what he teaches us: No one has slipped so far into resentment and boiled so long in bitterness that they can’t be redeemed - that they can’t be reborn - restored - saved even - by grace."
(This is Part 3 of Ronnie's 2023 Advent Series.)
"All these misfits - pushed away and ostracized - they aren’t bad. They aren’t wrong. They just are. And all they want is what we all want - a chance. A chance to be loved, a chance to belong; a chance to be themselves; a chance to thrive in spite of their misfitting and misgivings; a chance to be a part of the great reversal, where the down and out are no longer consigned to a far away, fog-encased island - but they are seen, valued, brought into the community, and made whole...They wanted what Mary sang about in her Magnificat and what Jesus preached about in his first sermon, the Son sounding like his Mother, a place where the last are made first."
(This is Part 2 of Ronnie's 20223 Advent Series.)
"For me, there was a clear sign that Christmas was indeed near. If you were a child of the 1960s, 70s, or 80s - or a parent during those decades - you will share this memory with me. It was the return of the animated Christmas special! I cannot tell you, a wide-eyed, bespectacled child of the 1970s, the undiluted and perfect satisfaction of sitting on the floor in front of a 19 inch black and white television, taking in the wonders of the annual Christmas cartoons. So, to celebrate Advent this year, I’m taking us back to my favorite Christmas specials; and on this first Sunday of the season, with the candle of hope burning, and expectation in the air, I will begin by saying, 'Happy Birthday!' Because that’s what Frosty the Snowman said every time that magic hat was put on his head and he sprung to life..."
As Advent draws near, Ronnie provides a history of the celebration, albeit by early and accidental means. Give this talk a listen to prepare for the season of light and love.
"What if Jesus came back today!?! Would you be ready?!?"
Those are the typical revivalistic questions. In this talk Ronnie asks a different question: "What if Jesus DOESN't come back today...or tomorrow...or next year...or next decade...or next century?" This is a challenge for believers to accept and adapt to "the long haul," as the wait will be far longer than people of good intention could hav imagined.
NOTE: Based on the Parable of the Bridesmaids in Matthew 25, Ronnie addresses this subject at length in his book, "How Far Is Heaven," available by following this link.
"I will cause the sun’s shadow to move ten steps backward on the sundial..." Words from the Prophet Isaiah (Chapter 38) to King Hezekiah inspire this talk from Ronnie as he connects it to "Daylight Savings Time" and the "extra time" we have all been given to live our lives.
"The search for happiness can lead people to do strange things...radical things...even criminal things. Blaise Pascal said, “The aim of every person is to be happy - even those persons who take their own lives.” It’s such a universal desire - to have a little joy; a little contentment; a light heart and mind. But it can be so universally elusive. This is because happiness is an inside job. There is no secret to unlock; no skill to develop; no elusive mystery to chase. Happiness is already there within you. It’s there for the taking. So, if you don’t find true happiness within yourself - you will never find happiness anywhere in the world."
(Reading from Philippians 4 by Anna Balfour)
Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself (I am large, I contain multitudes). - Walt Whitman
Ronnie chose Whitman's line because it captures the fragmentation, history, complexity, and contradiction - not of humanity in general - but specifically as the best one line explanation for that tiny slice of land containing the state of Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. As Ronnie says in this talk, "If ever a section of earth’s geography contained contradicting multitudes - peoples, religions, opinions, atrocities, beauty, bloodshed, glory - it is this piece of the world." In a departure from his regular talks, Ronnie takes a deep dive into Israeli and Palestinian history and the implications for today.
A direct note from Ronnie: This is the longest talk I have given in probably 15 years - not that it is an hour-long diatribe - it's just north of 35 minutes. But I've always tried to get to the point as efficiently as possible, and leave the receiving, thinking, and mulling over to the listener. I maintain that same efficiency here I hope, but this is a subject matter that required those few extra 12 to 15 minutes. Thanks for listening. RM
In a deeply personal recapping of challenges experienced by individuals and families in his own congregation, Ronnie pivots to the theme of "Getting On With It" from Paul's words in Philippians 3. Ronnie says, "I tread lightly and carefully here, because the pain and loss for many of late is still so present and raw; not for a minute will I minimize any of that. Take your time. Heal as best as you can. Pull away into your thoughts and precious memories. Grieve. Process. Cry. Rage. Question. Wrestle. Go deep within. Go way back. But don’t you stay back there. Get depressed. Get angry. But get well and get going. No, not everyone can hear this today - and that is as it should be. But some of us need to hear this. We need to do business with the past, our past... We cannot change a single thing about the past. We can’t go back, and all the 'I should haves' and 'I could haves' and 'What ifs' are grave markers in the cemetery of a reality that will never be. To use your precious energy trying to reconstruct a better past, to return to some golden era of your life, to try and rewrite your personal history book is a fool’s errand. You have today. You might have tomorrow. But you certainly don’t have yesterday. You have to get on with it."
Speaking from Philippians 2, the text where Paul write how Jesus "emptied himself," Ronnie uses this episode to talk about "having the attitude of Christ," with is the true essence of being a follower of Jesus. Ronnie says:
"Was Jesus a culture warrior? No. Was he a violent revolutionary? No. Was he a retreatist? No. Was he motivated by fear? No. Was he greedy, driven by money? No. Was he obsessed with power - making or forcing others to do as he wanted them to do? No. That’s not who he was; not how he thought of himself. These were not his attitudes...In Jesus there was an unselfishness, a drive to serve, a sacrificial motivation at his core. And we who bear his name, would do well not to forget that, for we must bear that same quality. The essence of “being like Jesus,” is consistently an emptying, a surrendering. It is loving service.
In this re-telling of Jesus' Parable of the Vineyard (Matthew 20), Ronnie connects Woody Guthrie with C.S. Lewis, apple picking with communism, and gives a shout out to both Disney World and Ann Rand. He concludes: "The kingdom of God is not about fairness. It’s not about justice or earning what is rightfully yours. It’s not about what’s in it for you. The kingdom of God is only for the asking. It is about grace - all about grace - and nothing else."
The great Bonnie Raitt sang, "I can't make you love me if you don't." Truer words have hardly ever been spoken. Likewise, it is impossible to love others by our own power. In the conclusion to his series "Inside Out," Ronnie talks about how only the spirit and love of Christ can transform and empower us to do what religion cannot: Love those we find unlovable.
With an introduction from children's writer Peter Reynolds (and his book, "Be You"), Ronnie continues his series entitled, "Inside Out." Focusing on Paul's great prayer at the end of Ephesians 3, Ronnie says, "Those who have a profound sense of being loved; who have this internal, soul-washed awareness that they are the recipients of the deepest compassion; those with a divine - and it is divine - acceptance of grace: These are the people who find the courage to be themselves, to live truly brave lives. They are empowered, set free, for love undergirds and strengthens and acts as a launching pad for them..."
For more on Peter Reynolds visit: https://www.peterhreynolds.com.
Building on Psalm 138 and the work of Dr. James Hollis, Ronnie continues his conversation entitled, "Inside Out." In this talk he says, "To look inside ourselves and to interrogate our own lives might cause a storm. It might cause upheaval. It might turn over tables and hidden secrets and our never-before questioned assumptions and motivations. We might have to suffer; we might have to do business with our false selves, with the lives we have been leading - the lives others picked out for us, or that we simply collapsed into because it was the path of least resistance. Yes, I think we all desperately want to live our best lives; I think we all want meaning and purpose. I think we desperately want inner strength, strength of soul. But just as assuredly, I think that most people won’t risk it, because it means digging through too many layers, and maybe decades of charade and self-betrayal to get to it."
What does "ceremonial hand washing," a colonoscopy, and an interruption by Siri have in common? You'll have to listen to Ronnie's latest talk to find out! He invites listeners to exchange religious belief for radical inner transformation, saying, "If your religion makes you meaner, more judgmental, more afraid, more suspicious, more closed, or more angry - that religion has run ground. It should make you more open, more merciful, more understanding. The fruit of the Spirit, as I recall, is not the fiery passion of waging cultural crusade or making one more stubborn and unmovable in their biases and predispositions: 'Love, joy, peace, tolerance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.' This inner transformation is the goal of faith."
Ronnie concludes this series from Matthew 13 saying, "I am finished and done with Christian profession that is all about how bad things are; that can only condemn; only threaten; that can only retreat in fear or lash out in anger. I have no use for any expression of religion - especially a religion invoking the name of Jesus - that has given up on people or the world or the generations to come...The reign of Christ and the love of God does not always prevail in every generation - but it is always present, doing it’s quiet and transformative work."
Returning to Matthew 13, Ronnie picks up the parable of "The Wheat and the Weeds," in this second of a three-part series entitled, "A Profession of Hope." Speaking to how this parable is often missed and misapplied, Ronnie says, "This parable is a phenomenal revivalistic tool for some, giving full-throated endorsement to the 'accept-Jesus-to-escape-hell' gospel. In some circles, that’s all Jesus is good for - but this is a fear-dominated and fear-dominating narrative. The constant single-faceted admonition to 'escape the fires of hell prepared for the devil and his angels, where the fire is not quenched, the worm dieth not, and the smoke of that pit rises up forever and ever' does not make for a mature Christian or for a spiritually healthy person. It creates paranoid people who can never learn to trust God, a God so angry and emotionally retrograded that he has to torture the majority of Creation to resolve his own internal moral fragmentation."
Ronnie launches a three-part series of talks based on the agricultural parables of Jesus from Matthew 13. Using the words of Jesus, the vocation of farming, and quoting Canadian poet Brian Brett - Ronnie speaks about "farming as a profession of hope." He says: "I want you to become a farmer. There is a life and life-giving life that you can take on as a craft, a profession, a hopeful vocation to grow a thriving, bountiful future. It’s not easy. There might be some long days. There is sweat involved. It’s not for those with soft hands or those short of patience. You’ll have to get some grit under your nails and in your boots. But it will be worth it. Hope - the future - is always worth it."
Taking a reading from the conclusion of Paul's letter to the Galatians, Ronnie addresses mytical experience and the Apostle's "stigmata." Ronnie says, "To be a stigmatic in Medieval time was to be a mystic. To be stigmatized today would be an act of shame and disgrace. But as understood by Paul, his stigma was a mark of legitimacy...Few of us are persecuted. Our pluralistic world may make us uncomfortable; it might offend us - but few of us - if any - carry physical scars because of Jesus - we haven’t suffered because of faith. But we know what it’s like to suffer; to be treated unfairly; to have to go in spite of the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, to oppose “a sea of troubles.” In the midst of this, to carry the mark of the Christ - to carry his stigma - is not to be ashamed on the one hand or to be Uber-spiritual on the other. It’s simply the hard knocks received while living a faithful life. These are the scars, the bumps, the bruises, and sometimes breaks received while doing what is right and surviving the wrong done unto you. Never be ashamed of such wounds."
In a talk that weaves the words of Jesus from Matthew 7:24-29 with the life of the late Keith Whitley and personal experience, Ronnie speaks to addiction, on behalf of those who love someone in addiction, and finding "rock bottom."
Returning to the Book of Ecclesiastes, Ronnie concludes his mini-series entitled, "A Tale of Two Tales," this episode focusing on the brevity and urgency of life. He says, "
Taken all together - the serendipities and the disappointments - the victories and the tragedies - the joy and the grieving - the successes and the setbacks - all that we gain and all that we lose - we acquire an awareness, as urgency for the present moment. Life’s misty, vapor-like brevity forces us to give all we have to our few days and wring out all we can from them! Small as you are in the world, a passenger on this tiniest of planets in the greatest of universes; yet, God has given you this life to live. For God’s sake, don't waste it. Seize more opportunities. See more sunrises and sunsets. Explore more places. Stay curious and less judgmental. Love more deeply. Share your blessings more often. Do unto others as you would have done unto you. Laugh longer and complain less. Be here, now. For sooner, not later, “The silver cord will snap, the golden bowl will break; the water pitcher will be smashed, and the pulley at the well will be shattered. And our bodies will return to the earth, and the life-giving breath will return to God."
Reading from Ecclesiastes 12 by Doug Balfour.
"Pale Blue Dot" photo is viable here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_Blue_Dot
With readings from Ecclesiastes 1 and 5, Ronnie continues his impromptu series, "A Tale of Two Tales." Beyond the science of "what" and when" - as it relates to life and creation - Ronnie turns to the spiritual questions of "why" and "what?" Why are we here? What is the meaning of this life? He says, "Science can tell us with more and more detail HOW life happens, but it cannot tell us WHY. It does not have the capacity or language to express in words or theory, how the holy switch that was turned, or why the divine spark ignited to put the cosmos into motion. It is here that the language of faith; those in the spiritual disciplines; those who are practitioners of the soul can best speak."
This is a recording from several months ago when Ronnie and Garet McHugh hosted a Q and A on the book Daniel; how it is almost exclusively treated as predictive material by evangelical readers; and how systems of interpretation determine one's faith and practice. This episode is a bit longer than most on this podcast, but helpful for those restructuring their view of the Old Testament prophets. And...there is a bit of discussion on the books of Revelation for the careful listener.
In this second part of "A Tale of Two Tales," Ronnie continues his discussion of Genesis 1 and 2, fusing with it the Creation Psalms (8, 19, and 33), and summary of the Church's ongoing - but necessary - suspicion of science. Ronnie says, "We live in a universe so vast - so massive - that we cannot comprehend it. It is useless, almost, to even share the data. Yet, the cosmos has been this enormous, this incredible, the whole time - we just didn’t know it. And when I say the whole time, I mean for all of human history and for at least the last 13 billion years. Yet, if the universe is this incredible, what does that say about God? That God doesn’t exist? You could credibly come to that conclusion. We could have spirited, unceasing debate about it - believers, skeptics, agnostics, and atheists. But for those who believe in God as Creator: This God is more spectacular than you ever dreamed possible."
"The story of Genesis 1 and 2 is a story of two stories, a tale of two tales, about creation," so Ronnie proposes in this first of two talks on the subject. Ronnie invites 21st Century believers and skeptics to consider anew the questions being asked and answered at the outset of the Hebrew Scriptures. Straight to the point, he says: "We cannot read these two chapters literally; the people who wrote them didn’t. We cannot read these as historical; the Jewish community didn’t. We cannot read them as scientific; that was impossible for people living during the Iron Age. Rather, let’s do what our spiritual ancestors did. Let’s tell two stories. Let's open our hearts to all of God’s revelation: For I am proposing that spirituality and science are two different languages speaking to one, single reality" (Reading by Anna Balfour; artwork by Elena Mozhvilo).
From Ronnie's talk on Acts 2 for Pentecost Sunday: "A major challenge - a genuine problem when it comes to our religious institutions - is predictability. Everything can be so rote, mechanical. Expected. Boring, if you like. Dead. No joy, no laughter, no life. I’m not saying churches or denominations should intentionally 'mix it up,' or that they should throw out their liturgy or their well-established typical order of service. Because order and routine can be comforting. I am saying that they - we - denominations - churches - individuals - we must be open to the Spirit of God. We must let God work - even when - especially when - it surprises us or catches us off guard."
*Artwork is “Pentecost” by Jen Norton
"Acts 1, traditionally read on Ascension Sunday, is not about Jesus floating away into the ether. This is a story about power; a story about a different kind of power, a power opposite of today’s brand of pseudo-Christianity driven by ambition (which is the same violence that fueled the Crusades). The moment one uses force, coercion, strong-arm tactics, or manipulation in the name of Jesus, that is the precise moment one denies Jesus...Jesus rises to heaven so his people will be empowered - not be put into power. His intent is to heal the world, not take it over. To help, not harm; to restore, not simply rule; to harmonize, not to hate; to bind together, not tear apart; to set people free - mind, body, and spirit - not to limit, intimidate, enslave or prop up the empires of this world, held together by the rubber bands and paper clips of greed, violence, and the exploitation of the weak by the strong." - RM
Fusing the cautionary tale of Jesus from Matthew 18 with the prophetic words of the late Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, Ronnie speaks of "teaching our children well." This talk sounds an alarm on the dangers of hate, how it is passed along to younger generations, and how we all have a role - a duty - to resist it.
In a talk spanning from Thomas Cahill's summary of ancient Ireland to what William Miller playfully calls, "Refrigerator Rights," Ronnie speaks from Acts 2:42-47 on the importance of genuine community: "Even if you have just one, two or three others - a precious few, whose hearts are bound together with yours on the journey - it becomes enough to get you through the hardest of times. It will be enough social glue for the center to hold. It will attach skin and bones to the abstract. It will bring the presence of God to bear in the world...and it just might save you...your town...your country. It might save civilization itself."
Two of Jesus' disciples took to walking the road to Emmaus (Luke 24) with the blues. Their journey ended with the unexpected. Ronnie says, "This is one of the more remarkable post-resurrection accounts in the New Testament. There are so many opinions, interpretations, applications, observations, and themes here. It is like the proverbial blind men reaching out to describe an elephant. we can only take in parts of it." But the part Ronnie centers on in this dark is how Jesus met these travelers right where they were - in doubt, confusion, and grief. He embraced them - joined them - not demanding that they come to him.
Speaking from 1 Peter 1:3-9, Ronnie talks about the role of struggle and suffering in our lives: "There is no gold without the fire. There is no remaking or remolding without the hammer and the anvil...There are no short cuts; no quick fixes; no easy exits. The only challenge is making it today - not tomorrow or next week; the only task is what is - not what could be, might be, or should of been; and the only way out is through - not getting around it, not getting over it - but going into it, and out the other side. Faith - and whatever it is about us that will be eternal - is made and built this way."
“The Dream of the Rood” is an ancient Christian poem, written in Old Anglo-Saxon English. It is a story-telling, meaning-making, Jesus-explaining tale that was shared by word of mouth in a time when Anglo-Saxons, largely could not read - and they certainly didn’t have a runic translation of the Bible. We don’t know who wrote this poem. It’s likely we will never know. But if you are an English-speaker, this poem is one of the earliest known tellings of the gospel in our language. Reflect upon this ancient story in union with Colossians 2 and 3. Happy Easter!
From the Palm Sunday Reading of Matthew 26, and based on a song by the legendary Woody Guthrie, Ronnie takes an off-center look at Judas Iscariot. He says, "All the disciples believed that Jesus going to Jerusalem at Passover was for the purpose of pulling some messianic rabbit out of his hat. Now, the kingdom would come, as Jesus, like Clark Kent, would explode from a phone booth, revealing his super-human powers. But it didn’t happen. Jesus failed. Jesus lost. Jesus was overcome. And strangely, the words they mocked Jesus with as he hung on the cross became true: 'He saved others…but could not save himself.' Judas cannot live with himself. When they laid Jesus in that grave, Judas chose to crawl into the grave with Jesus - unable to see or understand what would happen just hours later, on Easter morning."
"Can these bones live again?" That is the question put to the Prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel 37 as he looked over a valley of skeletal remains. Ezekiel cannot answer, because there is nothing he can do. He can only entrust God with all future possibilities. If there will be life in the afterword of disaster, it will be because of what God knows and what God does. Ronnie says of this encounter, "When we accept what is otherwise unacceptable, because we have no power over it, that becomes the space where the power of God can work. For when something is truly dead - and we know it - and we are no longer attempting to do the work of resurrection by our own strength - then whatever it is, might be remade, it might be reborn, by that higher power outside of ourselves."
Speaking from Psalm 19 and the Hebrew Proverbs, Ronnie brings his "Simplify" series to a conclusion, inviting us all to simplify our speech: "It’s perennial wisdom. When it comes to talking, less is more. If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all previous doubt. Nowhere is simplification more applicable, no where can it be more readily applied than when it comes to our speech, our words. Spoken, written, hurled as darts with the intention of causing pain, blasted over emails, trolling in the comments section, in the heat of battle saying things you can never pull back: Hear the voice of Wisdom: A truly wise person uses few words…keep your mouth shut, and you will stay out of trouble.”
In this seventh of eight talks entitled, "Simplify, Simplify," Ronnie says, "Let’s talk about boundaries today. Let’s talk about disentangling our entanglements. Let’s talk about defending ourselves against being pulled into things we have no business being pulled into. Let’s talk about setting healthy limits that will reduce the probability of us being hurt, harmed, poisoned or generally stressed out - by toxic people, participation, programs, powers, and passions. Let’s talk about guarding our hearts, as the wisdom of the Proverbs informs us in our Scripture reading. Let’s simplify."
Part 8: Paul's Theology and Legacy
No single individual outside of Jesus of Nazareth has been more influential within Christianity than Paul the Apostle. After his radical conversion he became the church’s most zealous missionary. Without his travels and letters, Christianity would be much different than the version we have inherited today. Join Ronnie as he leads this eight-part study on “The Life and Writings of Paul the Apostle.”
This is Part 6 of Ronnie's latest series of talks entitled: "Simplify. Simplify." The subject is stress, and how to lighten our emotional and spiritual burdens in this ill-managed, tumultuous world. Based on Philippians 4, Ronnie follows the Apostle Paul's advice: "Be Glad. Be Gentle. Say Grace. Seek the Good." This is no silver bullet, no magic formula or elixir. It is a way of living, and it takes practice.
Part 7: "Spanish Speculation" (Paul's Release, Further Travels, Re-Arrest, and Death)
No single individual outside of Jesus of Nazareth has been more influential within Christianity than Paul the Apostle. After his radical conversion he became the church’s most zealous missionary. Without his travels and letters, Christianity would be much different than the version we have inherited today. Join Ronnie as he leads this eight-part study on “The Life and Writings of Paul the Apostle.”
This is Part 5 of Ronnie's latest series of talks entitled: "Simplify. Simplify." Ronnie talks about the "success" in this talk, a visit with Jesus and Martha (Luke 10:38-42), Martha the struggling and suffering perfectionist. In a talk that became deeply personal, Ronnie said: "The more quiet and more still we become - the more we are able to know and experience the love of Christ. His perfect love is the only cure for our perfectionism. How I wish for myself, and for us all, that we can begin to understand that, while it is still called, 'today.'"
Part 6: "When in Rome..." (Paul's Arrest and Journey to Italy)
No single individual outside of Jesus of Nazareth has been more influential within Christianity than Paul the Apostle. After his radical conversion he became the church’s most zealous missionary. Without his travels and letters, Christianity would be much different than the version we have inherited today. Join Ronnie as he leads this eight-part study on “The Life and Writings of Paul the Apostle.”
This is Part 4 of Ronnie's latest series of talks entitled: "Simplify. Simplify." Ronnie talks about the "seasons of life" in this talk (Psalm 90), specifically two seasons, the two halves of life. In the first half, we are striving. We are working on our edifice, our image, the container of life. We seek accomplishment. We seek our people, our place. We have much to prove; demonstrating to ourselves, to our parents, to our peers, to the culture - that we are worthy. The second half of life is about substance and the depth of the inner life. Now, it is about the content of my soul - not just the container around that soul. One turns to what really matters. Carl Jung, who coined this idea of first and second half living sums it up thusly: “The first half of life is devoted to all that is outward, to the ego; the second half is about going inward and letting go of your pride.”
Part 5: The Third Time Is The Charm (Paul's Third Missionary Journey)
No single individual outside of Jesus of Nazareth has been more influential within Christianity than Paul the Apostle. After his radical conversion he became the church’s most zealous missionary. Without his travels and letters, Christianity would be much different than the version we have inherited today. Join Ronnie as he leads this eight-part study on “The Life and Writings of Paul the Apostle.”
This is Part 3 of Ronnie's latest series of talks entitled: "Simplify. Simplify." This episode is about simplifying our "stuff." From the podcast: "If you would serve God well, follow Jesus sincerely, and live a true life of freedom, you will do so without the enslavement of this ugly, false god known as Mammon. This isn’t a shame-inducing strategy by Jesus to make us feel bad about our decisions. It is the God’s honest truth. These are competing gods moving in two different directions, and Jesus is trying to set us free from depending upon this money-oriented greedy world, to pursue a life and treasure of far greater value."
Part 4: A European Entryway
No single individual outside of Jesus of Nazareth has been more influential within Christianity than Paul the Apostle. After his radical conversion he became the church’s most zealous missionary. Without his travels and letters, Christianity would be much different than the version we have inherited today. Join Ronnie as he leads this eight-part study on “The Life and Writings of Paul the Apostle.”
This is Part 2 of Ronnie's latest series of talks entitled: "Simplify. Simplify." Ronnie takes on faith, church, and all the accoutrements that keep us from simplifying our spirituality. Turning to the Great Commandment in Mark 12, Ronnie says, "Love is the solution for calcified, legalistic, short-sighted, institutionally-obsessed religion. Love is the cure for the compartmentalization of our faith - where we can choose greed, or xenophobia, or racism, or rank nationalism over decency, compassion, and justice. Love is the counterbalance to how we like to exclude others. Love is the way to reverse our corporate failures to find consensus in the face of our most pressing challenges, and the way to craft solutions for the common good. Love is the rebuke to we strict religionists who would rather be pious than gracious or kind."
Part 3: The Barnabas Connection
No single individual outside of Jesus of Nazareth has been more influential within Christianity than Paul the Apostle. After his radical conversion he became the church’s most zealous missionary. Without his travels and letters, Christianity would be much different than the version we have inherited today. Join Ronnie as he leads this eight-part study on “The Life and Writings of Paul the Apostle.”
This in an introduction (from Psalm 46) to a series Ronnie is introducing for this late winter and spring (2023), entitled: "Simplify. Simplify." Ronnie says, "This series isn’t about cleaning out your garage, your closet, or that junk drawer of yours. A little, maybe, but not exclusively. It’s about untangling your life. Decluttering your spirituality and your faith. It’s about traveling light and easy. It’s about paring away all that is unnecessary. It’s about reducing the items on your to-do list. It’s about playing small-ball on a field you can actually cover. It’s about staying afloat, as Thoreau said, "in this chopping sea of civilized life, the clouds and storms and quicksands and thousand-and-one items: Simplify. Simplify."
Part 2: From Damascus to the Desert
No single individual outside of Jesus of Nazareth has been more influential within Christianity than Paul the Apostle. After his radical conversion he became the church’s most zealous missionary. Without his travels and letters, Christianity would be much different than the version we have inherited today. Join Ronnie as he leads this eight-part study on “The Life and Writings of Paul the Apostle.”
Part 1: Meeting Saul of Tarsus
No single individual outside of Jesus of Nazareth has been more influential within Christianity than Paul the Apostle. After his radical conversion he became the church’s most zealous missionary. Without his travels and letters, Christianity would be much different than the version we have inherited today. Join Ronnie as he leads this eight-part study on “The Life and Writings of Paul the Apostle.”
Using Matthew 3, the baptism of Jesus, and a wonderful tale from Frederick Buechner, Ronnie takes on the subject of Christian baptism - as sacrament, symbol - and most importantly a sign of things to come.
Ronnie begins this Advent/New Year talk with a personal story and ends with the universal one; about kissing, kindness, and the love of God.
For the Advent Season: Some thoughts on parenthood...angelic messages...unanswered questions...deconstruction...and being quiet.
A timely message from Ronnie: "Most of the control you think you have is an illusion...Most of what you think will strengthen that control is an empty scarecrow...Most of what is left to do, is the best you can...and leave the rest in the hands of God."
"Faith is not having all the answers. Faith is not being protected from trouble or suffering or cancer or poverty or loss. It’s not this gullible “smile though your heart is breaking” sentimental rubbish that is nothing more than wishful thinking. And faith is certainly not a big payoff - where 'If I just believe then all my wishes will come true.' Rather, faith sees the world for what it is; knowing there are no shortcuts, no easy fixes, no silver bullets, and sometimes no sight of or sound from God. But in faith there is tenacity. There is going on, there is moving on, and keeping on. There is putting one sluggish step in front of the other."
A continuation of his talk from Genesis 32, "Boxing God," Ronnie uses the example of Jacob to plot a path of personal transformation. Ronnie says, "Surrender means accepting things as they are: Yourself - others - the world - realty; and admitting your limitations in how you can change any of those things. Surrender meaning taking the days as they come, rather than imposing your predesigned, prefabricated template onto them. Surrender is letting go of the past - all those regrets and mistakes - and taking hold of the future, even when reaching for that future comes out of the mud and pain of defeat."
From Genesis 32:22 and following, Ronnie speaks about his self-admitted favorite story from the Old Testament: Jacob's Wrestling Match with God. Ronnie says, "Jacob ended up crawling in the mud begging for mercy - but it was not for the purpose of humiliating or harming him. It was for the purpose of remaking him - and setting his life in an entirely new direction...As Dr. James Finley rightly says, 'Transformation is the result of our willingness to open our hearts to the aching...'"
"There are seasons in life when you are exactly where you feel you need to be. The stars are aligned. It’s a groove. Then there are times when all is wrong. In such times you can make changes - if you have a little courage. But sometimes changes can’t be made - not in relation to where you are or what you are doing. You can’t jettison the relationships you have...can’t escape your work...can’t run away to some broader horizon. What then?
At such times, "build your home; plant your garden. Settle in, not to sour, but to live - and flourish.
Bobby Rains captured another fun recording from those old boys Ronnie plays music with: The Backsliders. This is a great blues tune - "Don't Worry About Tomorrow."
"Your life is a stone thrown into a body of water. The ripples roll causing actions and reactions long after your energy is expended, the moving waters finding shores upon which we will never stand...What ripples are you making? When your existence has been interrupted, and the force of your life has been expended - and it is left to germinate - to expand - to grow or to deplete here - can you leave knowing that you put that force and energy to use in the best of places? I’m not talking about changing the world; about being famous; about being so important that you will be the subject matter taught in history class one day. It’s just not that complicated. It’s about living intentionally - purposefully. It’s about being awake, being aware, that this one life is your opportunity."
Bobby Rains, who provides recording and technical assistance for Ronnie's podcast, occasionally snags audio from "The Backsliders," the band Ronnie has fronted for the last decade. Here is one of those audio grabs: "See Me Through." It is a song based on an obscure Van Morrison tune, adjusted and rearranged by The Backsliders.
A brush with fame...and a revolutionary, simple way of living. These come together in Ronnie's latest talk on practicing kindness.
Ronnie uses this talk to announce a new project that he and Cindy are undertaking: "The Rusty Goat - A Coastal Farm and Retreat." Listen to hear more about this worthy project.
"Floating...Obedient to the Stream," is line from an early play of William Shakespeare - and it is a prescriptive way to live - as instructed by Jesus in the Gospel of John. He teaches us to "go with the flow" of the living water already within us.
Ronnie shares words from the late Frederick Buechner who passed way in August of 2022, at the age of 96 years young.
"Dylan. Ward Howe. Steinbeck. They all find their message and metaphor in the ancient Jewish prophets. It is a consistent message, retold a thousand times and in a thousand different ways and places, with each telling ringing as true as the last: Perpetual, systematic injustice and unfairness always ends with destruction. We can be certain that when we champion greed over fairness and equality; when we take the side of power and the powerful and fail to protect the vulnerable and the least of these; when we reward dishonesty and mock integrity; when we would rather destroy what is good and what would help others than to cultivate it and share it, we are trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored."
What do Charles Darwin, Jeff Miller, Guy Smith, and Roy Acuff have in common? You will have to listen to Ronnie's latest talk to find out!
This talk was delivered on the 15th Anniversary of the first meeting of A Simple Faith.
"The easiest path to take in regard to our world is to simply curse the darkness. It is to 'rage, rage against the dying of the light.' We would make the world go away by damning it all to hell on the one hand - or by force - attempting to shape it into our image on the other. But the only way to make the world as we know it to go away is by changing it; and the only way to change it is by loving service in the small ways each of us have been gifted." - Ronnie
Put your phone down. Step away from the screen. Turn down the noise.
Because your technology is making you stupid.
It's also killing your spirit.
Here is a talk by Ronnie sure to give you something to think about, and hopefully you will do exactly that. Listen, then sit; think; be still.
"You can't get there from here!" It's a common expression, not only accurate about travel, but also life. In this episode Ronnie talks about finding a way forward - by means of trusting a sure guide - instead of stubbornly trusting one's self. Based on Proverbs 3, Part 2 of 2.
"You can't get there form here!" It's a common expression, not only accurate about travel, but also life. In this episode Ronnie talks about finding a way forward - by means of trusting a sure guide - instead of stubbornly trusting one's self. Based on Psalm 32, Part 1 of 2.
Ronnie delivered this recent talk at A Simple Faith, a "re-run" of a story he has told many times - but this is the first time it has been captured on audio for further distribution. It is the tale of Roger Williams, America's earliest champion of religious liberty. His experience, convictions, and life form a story more timely than ever. From the talk: "If you think that government should enforce 'proper' religion or be employed to 'protect God,' let me simply ask this question: Which religion and whose God? Because there is no better opportunity to oppress, persecute, or abuse than when it is done in the name of religion or in the name of God."
Do you love someone who struggles with mental illness...addiction? Ronnie addresses both of these In this episode, and speaks of "going home" as returning to the true God-given, Christ-seen self. This talk just might be for you.
Could it be that scientists, philosophers, theologians, and spiritual seeker are chasing after the same "Wondrous More" that religion calls God? This is Ronnie's talk for "Trinity Sunday, 2022."
Crickets...Christ...and Canadians? Listen in to this episode to see what these have in common. This is Ronnie's talk for Ascension Sunday, 2022.
Ronnie is back after a vacation to Colorado! This talk is about embracing the unexpected and "going with the Spirit" and wildness of life instead of holding to preconceived expectations. Enjoy!
This talk was delivered just days after Ronnie's mother's death and before the mass shooting in Texas. May all you listen find some comfort from these words.
In the conclusion of his series on the cross of Jesus, Ronnie speaks to the suffering of God and how that suffering is an act of solidarity with all who face injustice, pain, and inexplicable hurts. Ronnie says: "To speak of a God who cannot suffer is to speak of a God who cannot sympathize or understand. To believe in a God who is indifferent and unaffected, is to believe in a God who is deaf, blind, and calloused. But God, in suffering love, has in Christ come to join us in our own sufferings. Thus, when we suffer, it is not a sign of God’s disapproval or withdrawal - it’s actually God’s arrival. 'For here is a God who understands…Only the suffering God can help us now.'”
"Our Lord Jesus Christ, through His transcendent love, became what we are, that we might become what he is." So said the Church Fathers, and so says Ronnie in this 9th installation of his series on the Cross of Jesus. The cross must mean something for today, Ronnie says, as we "don't have to die to get in on it."
In Episode 8 of Ronnie's series on the Cross of Jesus, Ronnie addresses "everything that is wrong with the world" (An overly ambitious statement, he admits). But he also address the solution, as the cross is a way of God saying: "I know you need to offload the burden of simply being a human, of being that unique species, the only one on the planet committed to revenge. I know you are capable of envy, hatred, violence - the very worst - so put it on me. I can take it. I’ll bear it.I’ll give it a resting place. Because if someone must take the blame for all your rivalry and its sinful results - if somebody has to die - in order for you to find peace, then let it be me."
"Everyone into the DeLorean!"
And with that, like Marty McFly going "Back to the Future," Ronnie takes listeners back in time to the ancient roots of our faith, exploring the sacrificial system of the Hebrew people. Why the strange rituals? What was all this blood about? What happened on the Day of Atonement? What is a scapegoat? These are questions that Ronnie answers and then applies to our understand of the cross in this seventh installment of his current series.
Ronnie takes on a view of the cross now known as "Penal Substitution." While honoring the image of Jesus as a substitute and sacrifice for sin (more about that will be forthcoming in this series), Ronnie outright rejects the idea of a furious, Puritan-like God whose murderous anger must be assuaged only by blood. Adapting a a line from Jonathan Edwards, Ronnie says, "Not for one more minute longer will I believe in a God who, 'not only hates us, but who holds us in the utmost contempt; who wants nothing more but to trample us down as the mire of the streets.' That God is inconsistent with Jesus of Nazareth."
In episode five of "Crosswords: How the Cross of Jesus Reveals the Love of God," Ronnie talks about the importance and impact of an overlooked view of the cross called, "Moral Exemplar." Ronnie describes it like this: "The death of Jesus was such an act of loving sacrifice, such a far-reaching, world-transforming, relationship-changing event - that if understood even remotely - then Jesus’ example of all encompassing love would break our hearts open to love in return."
Ronnie's continuing exploration of the cross of Jesus arrives at what scholars call, "Christus Victor;" summarized best by Irenaeus, who was born not long after the first Apostles died, said: “[in Jesus] God came to Earth that he might kill sin, deprive death of its power, restore life and freedom to all humanity, and raise a monument of victory.” But this is not a stuffy, theological lecture. Ronnie uses contemporary examples to help us think about how the victory of Christ works itself out in the world today.
In his third installment of "Crosswords: How the Cross of Jesus Reveals the Love of God," Ronnie reaches for the oldest image Christian faith used to understand the death of Jesus. From the oldest Gospel, the words of Jesus himself: "The Son of Man did not come to be served. He came to serve others and to give his life as a ransom .” Ronnie explores how the cross "works" as a ransom, liberating us to live in freedom.
This is Ronnie's second installment of a series on the Cross of Jesus. It could be sub-titled, "Love and Scandal." Using provocative, contemporary examples, Ronnie talks about the "foolishness of the cross." From the talk: "Could you for a minute get your mind around the fact that a military and political prisoner, taken in the land of our enemies, and executed by the world’s superpower, is the hope for the world? Or would you find such a story to be so far out of bounds, that the only conclusion you come to is absurdity, stupidity, scandal?"
In what promises to be a thought-provoking, belief-behind series of talks, Ronnie has launched a series on the meaning behind the Cross of Jesus. In this introductory talk, Ronnie points to Divine Love as the energizing force behind the "sacrifice of Jesus." Ronnie says, "Jesus did not come to save us from God - but to show us who God is. So, whatever happened on that hill outside Jerusalem all those years ago, it wasn’t God torturing his Son. Love cannot do that. It wasn’t God committing an act of colossal child-abuse. Love cannot do that. It wasn’t God acting as a cruel and sadistic executioner; it wasn’t God’s attempt at redemptive violence. If God is indeed love, and love was the motivation that brought Jesus to the place of self-sacrifice on a cross, then love demands better answers."
In this conclusion of a two-part talk from Luke 4, Ronnie says: "We live in such an entitled, selfish, self-centered society, that when we begin to broach the subjects of concern and care for others, patient assistance, breaking the cycles of poverty and violence, intervening to help the 'least of these,' of intentionally taking sides with the weak - the very crux of what Christianity looks like when practiced publicly - it is dismissed as Pollyanna at best or Marxism at worst. I get it; I know how this game works. But we must also re-learn how the Gospel works."
In this first of two talks from Luke 4, Ronnie says: "When Jesus comes preaching about 'releasing the captives' and 'setting the oppressed free' and 'God’s good favor' coming to us, it is good news...so long as it us. But when come come to understand that Jesus' intent is to spread his grace to 'them," - not just 'us' - all those people we have spent our lifetimes being suspicious of, if not outright hating, then the good news may not sound so good after all."
After an interruption from a Covid outbreak at home, Ronnie is backwash his fifth year of podcasts! This talk, taking its title from Jackson Browne, is an appeal to look and see, to stop and listen, as God speaks to us in the Creation around us. Ronnie asks, "Have we grown so world-weary and tired that we have lost our vision? Have we grown so cynical and soured by the awfulness of what we humans do to each other, and how we act, that we can’t hear the beauty of Creation - thus we can’t hear God, if we are persons of faith? Maybe we need our eyes doctored and our ears opened to see and hear the goodness of God."
With what a listener called one of the "most provocative, thoughtful messages I've heard from him over the years," Ronnie talks about moving on - into the new year to come. Based on Isaiah 65, he encourages listeners to believe that "the ones who have been harmed, hurt, and battered in the past, are the very ones who will rebuild a future." Things may never go back to the way they were, but things will go on - and so will we.
PS - Ronnie credits the "provocative, thoughtful" nature of this talk to new doses of albuterol. :-)
WWHD? What Would Hilda Do?
Synthesizing the final Sunday of Advent with a remembrance of his dear friend Hilda McDonald, Ronnie plots a path to personal peace in spite of these chaotic times.
"Let's get this over with." That's what Elvis Presley said just before recording the now classic Christmas song, "Blue Christmas." In this talk Ronnie talks about how the holidays can have that exact effect on us, but how we can still find lasting joy for this season and beyond.
This talk fuses the Apostle Paul with Emily Dickinson and the need of all our hearts: Hope. Using Dickinson's image of hope as a bird that sings and Paul's encouragement that God finishes the work that God begins, Ronnie delivers timely words for Advent and beyond.
Ronnie concludes his talk on the story of Naaman and Elisha from 2 Kings 5, focusing on gratitude - and how it is often the best medicine to cure what ails us.
The story of Naaman and Elisha falls on our ears like a simple Sunday school tale. Yet, it's far more tangled than that. Based on 2 Kings 5, this is the first part in Ronnie's exploration of Naaman's healing, the complexities that surround the story, and the implications for each of us today.
In the second part of his talk, "Sick and Tired" - which could be subtitled, "A Deal With the Devil," Ronnie talks about consequence, shares thoughts on divine punishment, and how we all come to a crossroads with the choice to wipe the slate clean. Legendary bluesman Robert Johnson is featured as well.
Visiting the man at the pool of Bethesda and connecting that story from the Gospels with Fannie Lou Hamer and how we all desire change, Ronnie talks about how we must become "sick and tired of being sick and tired" before real transformation is possible.
In this conclusion to his series of talks on "letting go," Ronnie talks about surrendering the future: "Make your plans - sure. Set some goals. That’s good. Use some common sense and apply some hard-earned wisdom. You’re going to need that. And then, when all your plans are made, your goals have been adapted to melodic slogans and website catch-phrases, and you have wisely and sincerely anticipated every possible outcome - make sure it’s all written in pencil. Nothing will happen as you think it will - and to say otherwise is foolishness. You can conceive, concoct, and contrive - but you cannot control. That’s your ego talking."
"One of the hardest things to let go of is the past, because surrendering the past usually involves forgiveness...Forgiveness doesn’t mean that what happened to you is now and suddenly, okay. It means that you are giving up your power to make it, okay. Forgiveness doesn’t mean that justice should not be sought. It means that achieving justice is ultimately out of your hands. Forgiveness doesn’t mean the past will never hurt you again. It means you have decided to stop hurting others - or yourself - for what has happened to you or what you have done to yourself. This is achieved - not by time - but by grace - because you can’t do this on your own." - RM
"God said it, I believe it, and that settles it!”
God might have said it - but now God is unsaying it. Or maybe God didn’t say it at all? Maybe we were just told that God said it. Maybe there is more fluidity to belief than foundation. Maybe there is more mystery and movement to our convictions than surety and certainty. Maybe keeping the faith is more about staying on the path - Jesus is the way, you know, a moving, traveling, always unfolding journey - than it is about stopping and settling.
PS: Yes, this is the infamous "three sheets in the wind" talk! - RM
Ego.
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Religious Extremism.
Wild Horses.
Find out what all these have in common in the fifth installment of Ronnie's current series, "Try Something Different: Surrender."
“Look at me…I am the captain now.”
That was the iconic and improvised line delivered by Barkhad Abdi to Tom Hanks in the film, "Captain Phillips." It is a line, an attitude, used by us all - not of personal autonomy or personal liberty. It is a question of control. We all want to be in the captain’s chair. Ronnie explores this theme in his fourth installment of the current series.
This is Part 3 of Ronnie's latest series: Try Something Different, Surrender. In this episode Ronnie confronts our "rights-driven" culture, in light of the self-limiting, self-surrendering Jesus. He concludes that to take the attitude of Christ, we must "give up on all we think you deserve...we stop worrying about reputation...about trying to prove something. We stop clinging to our place at the front of the line."
This is Part 2 of Ronnie's latest series: Try Something Different, Surrender. He answers these crucial questions: What is Jesus after from us? What does God want? What is it that we need to let go and surrender? The answer to all of these questions is ego and pride. Self-centeredness is the biggest barrier to our spiritual development; the biggest roadblock preventing us from following Jesus and being truly free.
Drawing inspiration from Jesus' words to his disciples, the mediations of Meister Eckhart, and an ancient poem by Rumi, Ronnie launches an ambition series of talks entitled: "Try Something Different: Surrender." In this introductory talk, Ronnie speaks to the "how" of surrender and letting go, and the role that suffering plays in our transformation.
Ronnie has a conversation with ethicist, distinguished professor, author, and pastor Dr. David Gushee. David's new book is entitled, "Leaving Evangelicalism."
Ronnie completes his thoughts from a previous episode, concentrating on the necessity of surrender as the only means to achieve personal peace.
Ronnie returns and relaunches his podcast after months away recovering from Covid-19. He leads with a question, "When you come up against something that undoes you; that hurts you; that knocks you off your game; that pulls the curtains back on your vulnerabilities and your fragility: What are you going to do?"
In his conclusion to the book of Ruth, Ronnie illustrates how hope is the product of God’s work and human will.
In the fourth installment of his series on the book of Ruth, Ronnie uses events from Naomi and Ruth's life to illustrate that after you have done all you can do, you have to do the hardest thing of all: You have to wait - because waiting is as much a part of hope as working. Sometimes the work is the waiting.
In his third installment on the Book of Ruth, Ronnie reminds us to throw ourselves on the providence and possibilities of God. But hope is a verb. It moves you. It keeps us pointed in a God-ward direction.
In this second installment from the Book of Ruth, Ronnie connects the biblical story to the statesman Vaclaz Havel: "Hope is not optimism. It is a state of mind. It is the certainty that life has meaning, regardless of how it turns out…I am not an optimist, because I am not sure everything will end well. I just carry hope in my heart."
In this creative introduction to his series on the book of Ruth, Ronnie retells her story in a contemporary context, inviting the listener to reimagine her journey. Carry Hope in Your Heart is a five-part series.
With this sincere and earnest talk Ronnie takes on the myth of a Christian nation and the heresy of attempted violence to accomplish some good end.
Beginning with that Southern saying for every occasion and ending with the "Raising of the Hands," Ronnie gives a talk about receiving and extending God's highest blessing.
With a timely appeal given the New Year, Ronnie reminds listeners of how the seasons of our lives are bound to change - and how time and action are of the essence.
In the final talk of his Advent series, and final installment of 2020, Ronnie turns to The Magnificat, Mary’s radical, revolutionary song. Hers is a defiant call to overturn the status quo.
For the third week of Advent Ronnie turns to the Psalms and the question of joy. Joy is not so much about what’s going on outside, as is what happens within our hearts.
For the second Sunday of Advent, Ronnie turns to the Psalm 85 with an emphasis on "chesed," the "unfailing love" of God.
(Note: Ronnie uses the title of 11 rock-n-roll songs throughout the talk, so listen close.)
For the first Sunday of Advent, Ronnie uses 1 Corinthians 1 and a series of stories to show that what we call "hope" is not wishful thinking. It is resiliency and perseverance, even when our faith is shaky.
Why does the little dog do all the barking? Ronnie answers this question and shows how it relates to each of us, revealing that love is the power that gives us all we need to be at peace.
"Who Are You?"
We all have an identity: It is the complex - sometimes contradictory - construct that we have built for ourselves. That identity determines how we act and the type of people we become.
Two declarations are making their rounds these days: "Everything is Crazy!" and "All We Need Is Love." In this talk, following the words of Paul - with a little help from Van Morrison, Foreigner, and Bonnie Raitt - Ronnie brings the crazy and the love together.
In his conclusion to the series "Dreams That You Dream" based on the life of Joseph, Ronnie uses Joseph's own words to help us make meaning of our experiences. "You intended to harm me," Joseph told his brothers, "but God intended it all for good."
Tyrone Edwards said, “Every parting is a form of death, and every reunion is a type of heaven.”
In this episode Ronnie talks about life as it will be - and could be - as heaven is more than a final destination. It is a way of being in the world today.
Enough blood and tears. There comes a time to seek peace and forgiveness, letting past injuries go.
"You got to be tough if you are going to be stupid." This proverb is the hub around which this talk by Ronnie (and again, from the life of Joseph) centers. When we act stupidly, we have to toughen up because our own actions hurt us. The better option is to let our self-inflicted suffering open us up to a liberated way of living.
Being powerless in the face of injustice is one of the most common and infuriating experiences of being human. But what happens in those rare times when it is within one's power to take revenge? Ronnie explores how Joseph reacted in this exact circumstance in the eighth episode of his current series, "Dreams That You Dream."
This is an original song of mine that was recorded live recently. I can't take credit for all the lyrics, as they are based on a couple of old spirituals. But, it's one of my faves, so I hope you enjoy it (and thanks to Bobby Rains for capturing it). - RM
PS: That's Sarah Anne Davidson on acoustic guitar and background vocals and Nic Turner on lead guitar, with the rest of the Backsliders playing along.
"What's in a name?" Sometimes everything. In this seventh installment of "Dreams That You Dream," Ronnie shows how the naming of Joseph's sons reflect his ability to close the door on the past, and with courage walk into the future.
In his continued exploration of the life of Joseph, Ronnie McBrayer explores the tension of these two statements, both of them true: 1) You have almost no control over what happens to you; and 2) You are the only one who can take responsibility for your own life.
NOTE: Apologies for a rough spot in the audio about half-way through (technical gremlins).
"Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away," wrote Sir Paul McCartney. Far away? Yes, but rarely is the past forgotten. In this fifth installment of "Dreams That You Dream," Ronnie shows how Joseph begins to integrate past with his present and future.
In Part 4 of Ronnie's series "Dreams That You Dream" on the life of Joseph, he takes on the "Best Worst Things" that can happen to us. Trouble has a way of creating new pathways, redirecting our lives in ways we could not have imagined.
In Part 3 of Ronnie's series on the life of Joseph, it is "Life in the Pits." Ronnie makes the point that “Life and God aren’t the same things, and should not be confused with each other." While God is good, just, and loving, there is no guarantee that life will be the same.
So, you think your family is dysfunctional? Wait until you meet Joseph's!
In this second part of "Dreams That You Dream," Ronnie takes on the "Biblical Family," revealing that it's a model not always worth imitating.
This is the Introduction to a series of talks on the life of Joseph. "Dreams That You Dream" is an exploration of faith, resilience, and writing the long story that is your life.
Borrowing the title from Frederick Buechner's book, The Magnificent Defeat is the an examination of the wrestling match between God and the patriarch Jacob. It is an episode that shows the necessity of both struggle and surrender.
On the anniversary of Vincent Van Gogh's death, Ronnie profiles the painter by looking at his life, his early call to ministry, and how Vincent's suffering was the catalyst for the genius of his art.
A look at Jacob's encounter with God at Bethel - and how God is everywhere - though we are usually unaware. Ronnie invite listeners to open their eyes, ears, and hearts to the Wondrous More.
In this talk Ronnie takes on the seeming collapse of today's society, and challenges listeners to see the collapse as an opportunity to build something better in its place.
In this Independence Day talk, Ronnie tells the story of Roger Williams: Anglican, Puritan, Heretic, Founder of Rhode Island, Baptist, Seeker, and defender of religious liberty. Williams' life and work remind us that the Kingdom of God is "a garden in the wilderness" of the current empires.
Using the Twelve Disciples as a guide, in the talk Ronnie shows how unity is possible - not because everyone simply decides to get along - but because of how the way of Jesus becomes the primary identifier for those who follow him.
Start at home.
Practice Healing.
Travel Light.
Don't waste time where you are not welcome.
These were the words of instruction Jesus gave his first disciples centuries ago. In Ronnie's latest talk, discover that they hold up just as well today.
In this talk Ronnie agrees with the calls from all quarters that, "Love is all we need" to solve the most pressing issues of our day - so long as we know what love is. Using 1 Corinthians 13 as a guide, Ronnie talks about actual, factual, tactical, and practical love for this summer of 2020.
In this talk Ronnie wraps up his thoughts on Paul's thorn in the flesh, sharing a deeply personal story. In the conclusion, especially the last several minutes, he speaks directly to the unrest in the US today, and the opportunity we all have to learn from it.
The "Achilles heel" has always been the place of weakness that people protect, hide, or fear will be their undoing. For the Apostle Paul, this was a "thorn in the flesh," but rather than something to worry over, he saw weakness as the pathway to grace and strength. Part 1 of 2.
In this timely talk, Ronnie takes a realistic, practical view of hardships, saying, "The only way out is through - the only chance we have is to press on - the only path is day by day - and sometimes the most defiant, faith-filled thing we can do is get up in the morning and put on our shoes. Sometimes life boils down to survival, and then survival is enough."
Using the Preacher of Ecclesiastes - and the Preacher of Willie Nelson's "Red Headed Stranger" - Ronnie creatively talks about the "meaninglessness" of life. He plots a course for finding purpose and fulfillment in chaotic times.
In this timely talk, Ronnie talks about the different understandings of hope, from Pandora to the Apostle Paul. He equates hope with "meaning" - finding necessary purpose and significance for living.
The word "apocalypse" gets thrown around a lot these days. It's appropriate, as the word doesn't mean, "the end of the world." It means, "to reveal...to unveil...to unmask." Listen to Ronnie's talk about how the current crisis reveals our true character.
Turning to the Psalms for this year's Easter talk, Ronnie picks up a tradition from the Eastern Orthodox Church: One of telling jokes in the aftermath of the resurrection, as Easter will always get the last laugh.
Jesus wept twice in the New Testament: 1) At the grave of his friend, Lazarus; 2) And on Palm Sunday as he approached the city of Jerusalem. Ronnie challenges the listener to embrace this gift of grief for Palm Sunday, 2020. This year, while the celebration of Holy Week continues, it is also a time to take inventory of our world and our own hearts.
"Broadcasting" from the Upper Room (aka Ronnie' office turned studio during these days of quarantine), Ronnie speaks on Jesus' willingness to take on the wounds and sufferings of others. He challenges listeners to take up the wounds of the healers and helpers who are working so hard in the face of the Coronavirus outbreak. The text from Matthew 8 is read by Anna Balfour.
Taking words spoken to Joshua in Joshua 1, Ronnie McBrayer delivers honest, heart-felt encouragement for these unprecedented days.
Adapting the title of Gabito Marquez's masterful novel, Ronnie speaks directly to the fears, concerns, and opportunities to serve and love others during these days of unprecedented disruption. Quoting Gabito: "Think of love as a state of grace - not the means to anything - but the end unto itself. For it is love and life - not death - that has no limits.”
In this second part of Ronnie's telling of the Prodigal Son, he focuses on the "older brother" in Jesus' story. He too was lost, though he never left home.
In this telling of the Parable of the Prodigal Son, Ronnie takes an emotional dive into the steady, unyielding grace of God that will always welcome us home.
A follow-up to an episode entitled, "Go to Jesus," Ronnie returns to Jesus' Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, focusing on how love is a practical expression of who we can be, not something we do.
In the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, Jesus makes clear that he comes to the world in the "least of these" - the weak, poor, downcast, and marginalized. Thus, we meet Jesus "out there" not within a church or even "in our hearts," not taking him to the world, but meeting him along the way.
In this talk, Ronnie turns much of today's obsession with prophecy and the imminent return of Christ on its head, inviting us to consider faith for the long haul, rather than seeing it as an any-second-now escape pod.
Borrowing a legendary title from a legendary author, Ronnie explores Jesus' Parable of the Banquet Feast and how it defies the setting of all boundaries.
In this exploration of what Jesus called "The Kingdom of God," Ronnie talks about how the love of Christ can indeed change the world.
In this post-Christmas edition, Ronnie talks about exchanging - and rejecting - certain gifts that are offered. Particularly, the gifts of anger, troubling-making, and toxicity: These must be left unopened, as setting boundaries with poisonous people is an act of well-being and spiritual health.
In this timely talk, Ronnie talks about the lack of peace in our current society, and its source as the lack of peace within each individual. There is so little peace in the world, because we have so little peace within us.
In the Advent talk that focuses on John the Baptist, Ronnie address how we must wait - sometimes a long, long time - for God's purposes to be fulfilled. While we wait, we work, doing all we can until the Kingdom of God arrives.
(Sorry this took Ronnie "forever," but technical difficulties and travel prevented him from posting new material.)
Taking the Lectionary reading from the book of Job, Ronnie speaks on the faith of the patriarch, a faith unlike what most of us have today. Job's was a faith in complete darkness, a faith untamed.
For All Saints Sunday, 2019, Ronnie speaks from Ephesians 1 on how all believers are rightly called "saints." It is a message of hope and a challenge to live defiantly in a dark world.
"What Can You Do?" was the question put to Jesus by the crowds in John 6. They were interested in Jesus for only the benefits he brought - not who he was.
In a unique tribute to a friend, Ronnie delivers a message to us all about grace, gratitude, and living a life empowered by thanksgiving.
"Taking a musical approach to this difficult Psalm might the way to get the most out of it," Ronnie says, "because the Psalms were made to be sung." Mixing spoken word with familiar and new songs Ronnie talks the longing we all have for home.
"The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil," said the Apostle Paul, with words not original with him. This warning is as old as humanity, for little is as corrosive to the soul as greed.
Taking on what might be Jesus' most bewildering story, in this talk Ronnie addresses the lessons found in "The Parable of the Shrewd Servant." The story's "hero" is an obvious crook, but one who still has a much to teach.
"As clay in the potter's hands," the prophet Jeremiah wrote. Ronnie picks up this theme to talk about the benefits of brokenness.
Speaking from Psalm 81 and his recent experience in Central America, in this talk Ronnie McBrayer talks about a "Bad Moon Rising," consequences, and how God is not "out to get anyone," but we are often our own worst enemy.
Reflecting upon the anniversary of "The Crisis of Confidence" speech by former president, Jimmy Carter, and using the Lectionary reading from Isaiah 1, Ronnie delivers an impassioned plea to resist the degree by degree collapse of compassion, justice, and doing good.
Using the comparative text of Mary and Martha, in this talk Ronnie speaks about the differences between "Do-Ers" and "Be-Ers." So much of our "doing" is to avoid being still and looking within.
In this talk, Ronnie takes on personal identity, asking the question, “Who Are You?” The only answer is found in accepting that we are beloved of God, making us capable of loving others.
With this deeply personal talk, Ronnie addresses our expectations, and how life never quite goes the way we planned. The Bible story is that of Naaman, and how his healing was far different than he expected.
With a Scripture reading from Galatians regarding our Oneness in Christ, Ronnie speaks on the holy ambition of The Beloved Community.
For Trinity Sunday, Ronnie turns to Psalm 8, the inspiration for the hymn, "How Great Thou Art," and reminds us that there are words about God, and then there is God. God is beyond all description.
With a creative look at Simon Peter's encounter on a Joppa rooftop, Ronnie offers the same challenge Peter was given: To change our minds about what we believe about others and about God.
With a unique look at the story of Tabitha being raised from the dead by St. Peter (Acts 9), Ronnie talks about the importance of "choosing life" as a form of resisting the soul-crushing culture around us.
Borrow a phrase from Frederick Buchner for the title, "Ants in the Pants of Faith" is Ronnie's take on "Doubting Thomas." Rather than driving God away, doubt can be the catalyst to bring Christ to us.
Taking an excerpt from the Old Testament book of Job on St. Patrick's Day, and using the prayer of Thomas Merton, Ronnie addresses the confusion that is bound to come when we try to decipher which way to go with our lives.
In the final talk of the series, Ronnie uses the last words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew to remind us, that when it comes to faith, doubt is as essential as conviction.
In part 7 of Ronnie's current series of Sunday talks, he speaks about being a nobody - the freedom and satisfaction of being an unknown. Using a minor event from Jesus' last week, he shows how those history may not remember can be a part of something much greater than themselves.
In Part 6 of Ronnie's series of talks on the life of Jesus, we follow Jesus to the Temple where is cleanses it of the money-changers. It was Jesus' effort, to quote Father Richard Rohr, "To keep people free for God, and to keep God free for people."