Speaking at a predominantly white seminary located in a neighborhood populated mainly by southern Asians (not long after 9/11/2001):

I said, “There are verses in the Bible that can be used to justify genocide. Not only can they be potentially used to justify genocide, they have been used to do so on many occasions. … Should I be worried if I’m a Muslim or Hindu person living outside your walls?” And there was this moment of silence, and then this student stood up … and he held up his Bible and he said, “If the word of God says to commit genocide, it’s a holy genocide and I will defend it with my life.”

brian mclaren, from “the bible as a weapon“ on The bible for normal people

The next time you tune in to the daily COVID-19 briefing, study Dr. Fauci’s presence. He is calm, intelligent, well-informed, well-spoken, and free from emotional outbursts. In short, he’s gained Gen Z’s trust not just for where he’s speaking, but how he’s speaking. As you disciple your children on everything from politics to sexuality, remember this: You don’t need to be the loudest or coolest voice in the room. What you need and what they desire is wisdom. A captivating voice bathed in openness, humility, and honesty. A voice centered in prudence, free from binary thinking, defensive postures, and quick judgments. You’ll know you are on the path to finding that voice when you cease the need to be right about everything while losing the desire to control every outcome. It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it. And in the end, you just might find you’ve earned the right to be heard.

from “the culture translator,” vol. 6, issue 17, april 24, 2020

What have we really learned from all this? How have we grown and how have we transformed? How have we then accepted the opportunity God has put before us to live into a deeper expression of Her Kingdom?

I say ‘opportunity’ here knowing full well that really engaging the challenge and potential of this time is not a given, and, if history and observation of the present are any indication, many, many people will not seize hold of this opportunity; instead, they’ll find new ways to distract themselves until they can get back to ‘normalcy’. The problem is that the normalcy we’ve had in this culture is by no reasonable standards healthy, just, or aligned in harmony with God’s Creation.

So what will we do about that? What will we who claim to be religious, who claim to follow Christ—who, by the way, has always borne witness against most of what we assume as normal and right, whether we want to acknowledge that fact or not—what will we do about this whole scenario? Will we fall back into old habits, old assumptions and old patterns of corrosive behavior, or will we finally do something fundamentally different to reshape our world for the betterment of all?

from “a homily for holy thursday” by brendan ellis williams

As he slowly bled to death, it seemed like the whole world had gathered to ridicule Jesus. As he hung there dying, they beat and mocked Jesus for being so naive as to waste his time on pathetic and misguided ideas like forgiveness. For which he forgave them.

From “The Gospel of Luke” in the book God Is Disappointed in You, by Mark Russell (writer) and Shannon Wheeler (cartoonist)

“About 200 attend Hempfield’s Word of Life Church amid coronavirus shutdown”

“Love Alone Overcomes Fear”

And a fitting finale to Part 1 and Part 2:

This seemed the perfect follow-up to Part 1:

Thought threads that have been weaving themselves together in my mind in light of the COVID-19 pandemic …

To start, here’s a story that I first heard more than 20 years ago and have encountered in various forms many times since, the origins of which are likely Taoist, coming from ancient China:

All over America, the coronavirus is revealing, or at least reminding us, just how much of contemporary American life is bullshit, with power structures built on punishment and fear as opposed to our best interest. Whenever the government or a corporation benevolently withdraws some punitive threat because of the coronavirus, it’s a signal that there was never any good reason for that threat to exist in the first place.

From the article “America is a sham” by Dan kois