Fuller Lectures

“Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” —1 Peter 2:4 Christians are not meant to be alone. In this passage, believers become a house, and a holy priesthood. Christian life is meant to be lived communally. Yet congregations can be difficult and pain-making places. Too often they fail at the task of welcoming all who come to follow Jesus. If you do not feel at home in your church, or you do not even have a church to call home, know that Jesus is still with you. We are all beloved children of God. Trust that God will answer your prayers to find a community that accepts you for all of who you are.

February 28 “[God] opened the rock, and water gushed out; it flowed through the desert like a river.” —Psalm 105:41 Sometimes we are too weary to do more than offer our burdens to God, and trust in her to carry them. Even in the midst of our wandering and thirst, God breaks through, sending us water in the desert. Let's just listen to some sung worship.

“But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.” –Hebrews 11:16 There can be a temptation to think of heaven as someplace far away. Yet we are called to live as a foretaste of the kingdom. Through Jesus, the split between heaven and earth is rent; the kingdom is near. The heavenly city is within our imagining, even if it is not currently in our reach. How can you live into the promise of the heavenly city today?

“But of the Son [God] says… ‘You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” —Hebrews 1:8a, 9 This passage refers to an earlier passage in Psalms (45:6–7), applied here to refer to Jesus as the Messiah. (In the time of the Hebrew Bible’s writing, kings were anointed with oil.) Christians understand Jesus to be a different kind of “king” than earthly monarchs. In the kingdom of God, power is not maintained by the strong over the weak. There is no hierarchy of royal positions, ranging from princes on down to serfs. The last are first, and the first are last. This is not good news for those who have gained power by force, and keep it at the expense of those who live in poverty and oppression to maintain the wealth of a privileged few. But Jesus came to preach good news to the poor—not the wealthy, who have already received more than enough. Jesus calls the Church to live as the foretaste of

“For [God] did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted; he did not hide his face from me, but heard when I cried to him.” —Psalms 22:24 Sometimes when we cry out to God, we do not notice an immediate response. Part of being in relationship with God is trust: trust that God hears us, suffers with us as we suffer, and desires that we know wholeness and healing. When we do hear an answer from God—through the help of friends, family, or a surprising intervention—we acknowledge God with thanksgiving. Sometimes we are not the ones crying out—we instead see others suffering from affliction, crying out to God for mercy. In those cases, God entrusts us to serve as Jesus’ hands and feet, answering the prayers of others through our gifts and actions. When we engage in acts of kindness, justice, and mercy, God may be using us to answer prayers we cannot hear or comprehend. When is the last time you sensed that God hear you when you cried out? How are you open to the call of God, p

“But Abram said to Sarai, “Your slave-girl [Hagar] is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she [Hagar] ran away from her.” —Gen 16:6 The New Revised Standard Version Bible notes that the Hebrew word translated here as “dealt harshly with” could also be translated “oppressed.” Previous to this passage, God had promised Abram that his own child would be his heir. But his wife Sarai bore no children. Rather than waiting on and trusting God, she and Abram took matters into their own hands. Sarai used her power over her slave Hagar, giving him as a wife to Abram in order to produce an heir. Rather than engaging in the flourishing of all life that God wishes for all of us, Sarai oppressed Hagar. God calls us all to participate in works of justice and mercy, particularly for the oppressed. However, the way we engage in that work must always be guided by our individual and communal trust in, and relationship with, God. When Jesus showed us the way

“But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ* for all who believe.” —Romans 3:21-22a *Alternately, through the faith of Jesus Christ. “Righteousness” is a word that often carries a negative association today. When someone is self-righteous, they believe that their understanding is better than that of others in a superior way. But the righteousness referred to here has to do with being “made right” with God. Because of Jesus’ life, sacrifice on the cross, and resurrection, we have a new way to be right with God. We can trust in God, following the way that Jesus shows us. An older meaning of “conversion” is “to turn.” Conversion to Christianity means turning toward the way of God, through Jesus Christ. It is a continual process. But when we do the daily work of putting our hearts, eyes, minds, and actions to the way of Jesus, we can trust that our works wil

“Remove from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that I need, or I shall be full, and deny you, and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’” —Proverbs 30:8-9a  We live in a consumption-driven culture. The invariable answer to the question, “How much do I need?” is, “More.” We are expected to be seeking a raise at work, regardless of the additional time or stress that might accompany it; a more desirable place to live; newer things; just more. If we acquire enough, we can shield ourselves from the nagging sense that something is missing, a more by a different measure. When we have an excess of material goods and the appearance of security, we can also gain a false sense of control. The problem is, once that game starts, security must be protected. We hoard; we protect what we have from others for fear of losing it, rather than sharing in the gifts of God’s abundance. When we protect ourselves rather than opening ourselves, we can also fail to be honest—wi

“Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame.”  —1 Peter 3:15b–16 The current social and political environment in the United States does not tend to foster hope. We can become so divided from one another that we fear reaching across boundaries to meet others in their most human places, particularly when they are different from us. Our propensity to insulate ourselves from uncomfortable people and situations (when we have the material means to do so) only exacerbates the problem. For those living in poverty and under the weight of daily oppression, there is no insulation. Given these conditions, it is easy for cynicism, hopelessness, and despair to overwhelm us. Some days I become so overwhelmed that I have no energy left to bring light to others. S

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what [s]he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.”  —Ephesians 2:8–10 This passage encapsulates how I understand the core of the good news of Jesus Christ. Notice that there are no restrictions on who God’s grace is for. All the barriers that exist between us and Jesus’ saving love are based on limited human thinking—whether our own, or in the minds who want to “protect” the gospel from those they fear are not worthy of it. But underneath all of that fear, doubt, contempt, feelings of self-loathing or unworthiness, or any other conceivable restriction, is the Christ of love, seeking intimate partnership in our lives. I grew up in a church where I did not see the love of Christ reflected. There were many who we were told were not fit for the kingdom of Go

“‘But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’—[Jesus] then said to the paralytic— ‘Stand up, take your bed and go to your home.’ And he stood up and went to his home.”  —Mt 9:6–7 We must take great care when we interpret the relationship between sin and physical disability in the Bible. Elsewhere, Jesus heals a man born blind, and the disciples ask him who sinned so that the man was born that way. Jesus responds that neither the man nor his parents sinned (John 9:1–3). Here, Jesus does not state a direct link between the man’s paralysis and the forgiveness of his sins. Rather, he cures him as a visible demonstration of his authority on behalf of God. He does this in response to the Pharisees’ claims that he is blaspheming when he forgives the man’s sins (see verse 3). They doubt Jesus’ ability to heal the man through reconciliation with God, an action that is not immediately visible. He shows them otherwise by visibly curing the man, silenc

“Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long.” —Ps 25:4–5 In our culture, rugged individualism is valued. We are to strive to be leaders, or, at minimum, coleaders; being a follower connotes a lack of agency. Yet our relationship with Christ differs from any other. We are his followers; how can we follow if he is not leading the way, through the Holy Spirit? It is a challenge to accept the idea of waiting on God before taking action, particularly when issues of justice are concerned. We want to make change on our own terms, come what may. After all, people are hurting now. Our responsibilities feel so urgent! Yet when we forget that we seek God’s will in all things, we can act hastily and potentially cause even more damage. Consider an action you are engaged in, in your life. Are you following Christ in this area of your life as well? How are you discerning where he

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”    —1 John 1:8–9 Sometimes, Christians can view sin as something existing outside themselves. Perhaps this is because, for a long time in our culture, sin was understood as solely a personal issue, requiring only individual forgiveness and repentance. Such an understanding makes it extremely difficult to address the systemic nature of sins like racism, poverty, homophobia, cynicism, etc. Also, for some of us, the term “sin” has been used as a cudgel. Those with power over us have used sin to make us feel shame about our bodies, our desires, our very being. When we carry such histories, it is easy to impersonalize sin, see it as a nebulous specter outside of us, but not in us. Also, our understanding of sin has been limited to things we have done wrong. Little space is given to the

“O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give you a burnt offering, you would not be pleased. The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”   —Ps. 51:15–17 This passage reminds us that we need never worry about proving ourselves “good enough” to come before God; indeed, we cannot possibly be “good enough” on our own. We strive to love as Jesus loved, and do the work that discipleship calls us to. Yet we always come up short. None of us can possibly live up to the standard of Jesus, God come in the flesh. We fail to love. We injure. We sin and are sinned against, and are left broken and separated from God. Yet God accepts this brokenness as our sacrifice. When the Holy Spirit opens our eyes and hearts to God’s love for us, in spite of all of the deep wounds that mire us in shame and despair, we are humbled. We are made aware of the vast distance