Fuller Lectures

By J. Rose Late evening sunlight turned the air golden and gave it a weight Mary could almost feel as she breathed it in. It brushed the faces of the buildings around her with a radiance they didn't deserve, softening patchy paint and turning dirty windows into brilliant diamonds. The city was never exactly pleasant on this side of the tracks, but in moments like this, she could almost remember why she'd moved here in the first place (besides the relatively cheap rent). It was a short walk up the poorly-lit stairwell to her apartment. Once inside, she let the door fall closed behind her, then pressed her weight against it so it would shut all the way. Her landlord kept saying he'd get it fixed, but he'd been saying that for almost a year now. Somehow, she doubted he was going to follow through. "Hey, sweets," came a voice from the poor excuse for a kitchen. "How was your night?" Her only response was a groan that sounded like it could have co...

The season of Advent begins four Sundays before Christmas, lasting until Christmas Eve. While it occurs at the end of the calendar year, it marks the beginning of the Church year (also known as the Liturgical Calendar ). This paradox serves as a reminder that, while Jesus calls His followers to act in the world as its salt and light, we inhabit a space outside of the ordinary as well. As His gathered body, we celebrate and are pointed toward a more hopeful reality. The end is also a new beginning. Advent comes from the Latin adventus (arrival), which is formed from ad - (to) and venire (come). Appropriately, it marks a time of expectant waiting. We await the coming of Jesus, God in the flesh. The waiting culminates as we celebrate the day of His birth at Christmas. The word adventure comes from the same root. This year, Blue Ocean Faith Columbus is adventuring through this season. Members of our community have been invited to share what this season means to them, in any f...

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in him.'" --Lamentations 3:22-24 Today marks the final day of Lent. Tomorrow is Easter, the commemoration of Jesus' victory over the grave, and the culmination of our hope. If this has been a season of distress, we can take heart. Easter is coming. Resurrection is both a present and future promise. Just as we hope in our final resurrection, we trust in the rebirth of life that comes day by day, life springing up amidst death, even in the direst of our challenges. Today, have the courage to place your hope in Jesus. Release your fears to him. Trust in the promises of Easter.

"Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate's headquarters. It was early in the morning. They themselves did not enter the headquarters, so as to avoid ritual defilement and to be able to eat the Passover." --John 18:28 When Jesus' enemies take him to Pilate, they have no problem sending him to be killed. Instead, they are concerned with maintaining their own ritual purity, so that they may continue to attain the benefits that come with it (eating the Passover). To become "defiled" is to give up power. Jesus had no fear of impurity; he touched and healed lepers and welcomed all manner of people into the kingdom of God. Those in power fear the breaking of taboos, even to the point that killing those who challenge them is preferable. But by Jesus' death, we are freed from this cycle of fear of defilement. By his sacrifice, Jesus opens the way for all to be drawn to him, to be healed, regardless of their public standing or apparent "defilement....

[Jesus said] "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." --John 13:35 When one looks at the disputes that cause animosity across the body of Christ, it can be difficult to discern love for one another there. Too often our churches are known for preaching hate, not love. For casting out members when fear exceeds love, people who challenge us to accept that Christ loves and invites all of us into community, no exceptions. That all are invited to offer their gifts of love and service, without being shamed and minimized by fellow disciples. At the Maundy Thursday service, the altar is stripped. We sit in the darkness, in death and absence. Maybe you are feeling absence in this time. Easter is not yet here. We wait. We grieve the one who died for us, to reconcile us to God and one another. If you have been hurt by the church, felt fear and misunderstanding instead of love, know this is not what Jesus intends for you. Jesus calls ...

"The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I did not turn backward." --Isaiah 50:5 Sometimes we might get a strong hint from God that draws in a particular way, but it does not make sense to us at the time. So we resist it. This resistance may have genuine validity. For one thing, discerning what is from God and what is from our own desires is tricky business. (This is where trusted spiritual friends, communication with God, and faithful community can help.) Or we may recognize the call as valid, but don't see how we can live it. It might mean giving something up, or challenging other people in a scary way. Trusting God is hard. But when God opens our ear, we have a chance to listen. Has God opened your ear about a challenging area of your life, or the life of your community? What would it mean to not turn backward?

"After Jesus had said this, he departed and hid from them." --John 12:36 Have you ever had points along your faith journey where it feels like Jesus is hiding from you? I have. There might be a long period where I feel this powerful connection, like I am open and things are coming together holistically in all parts of my life, Spirit, mind, body...and then it gets muddy. I feel like that voice is just unclear. Or when I sense it, all I can get from it is, "Wait." In these times, I like to think that Jesus is preparing me for the next thing. Sometimes the hardest part of the journey is waiting on God--not in a passive sense, where I abandon my responsibilities to God, self, and neighbor. But continuing to go along doing what I know, trusting that a new way is opening that has not yet been revealed. When have you felt like you've had to wait to hear from God? Was there a breakthrough point afterward, when that connection opened up again? If not, what are you...