E52 The Mission of Jesus

“Why do some of us experience Christianity as a burden and others as a refuge? The answer, I am convinced, has to do with grace. Grace is the Big Relief at the heart of Christianity. When grace is down-played or qualified, faith turns into a project and then a burden. Project religion - the ancient…

“And to this the voice bellowed: ‘I AM WHO I AM.’” . . . “At first, I thought maybe this was just God’s way of saying, ‘Hey, I exist. I AM real. Notice me!’ Or maybe it was God’s way of avoiding the question. I ask, ‘Who are you?’ and he says, ‘I AM WHAT I AM.’ In other words, it’s none of your bus…

“For the beauty of a journey is that it doesn’t need to be just one thing but can be many things spread out over time and over the many legs of the adventure . . . The Christian story may have already played out with robed people in a bygone past, but I believe it also continues to move, roll on, s…

“Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. Jesus looked around and said to his discipl…