Some theories, like Nancy Eiesland's in The Disabled God, suggest that disability reveals God’s presence in the world. Mark Arnold, the Additional Needs Ministry Director for Urban Saints, has been reflecting on whether Jesus himself experienced disability, and what the Gospels might reveal about that. Here are a few insights from his reflection.
In a very personal reflection, Dr Brian Stiller, Global Ambassador of the World Evangelical Alliance, recounts a memorable meeting with Pope Francis, highlighting his humility, love for Jesus, and commitment to serving others, especially the marginalized.
A well known Swahili proverbs observes, "when elephants fight, the grass suffers". It is a direct analogy to the human condition when our leaders enter into geopolitical conflict and the ordinary people suffer the most. It can seem overwhelming but here are some basic things followers of Jesus can do to help minimize the damage.
The political positioning of new regimes is matching an ideology that has been forming for some time—Dark Enlightenment. We are watching a new world order emerge that will cause great suffering. As the performance of Bach's St Matthew's Passion unfolded, it resonated deeply with the times we find ourselves in.
Thomas Schirrmacher has worked with Pope Francis in a variety of official roles, both for the World Evangelical Alliance and the International Society for Human Rights. He accompanied the pope on three state visits and also visited him privately at Santa Marta on numerous occasions, often around the pontiff’s birthday. These are his reflections.
The collective gasp in the sanctuary on Sunday was audible. Amidst the celebrations of Palm Sunday, my pastor told us about the email that around 25 members of our community had received just days before. I have since read that email for myself. I am stunned and devastated.
Among many other things, Easter is an opportunity to reflect on Jesus' relationship to political power. Modern readers of the Gospels and Epistles too easily miss the political significance of Jesus' death and resurrection. Far from leaning into and leveraging political and imperial power, Jesus and his followers are called to righteously and justly subvert it for God's glory alone.
Eastern Europe has a rich tradition of celebrating the Easter season and passing meaningful Christian customs on to successive generations. Christians in non-Christian contexts and those in newer Westernized nations can learn much from older expressions of Christian faith and hope in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
We are being tempted afresh to give our allegiance to men who wield great power and wealth in the hope that we will benefit from their rule over us. This is a temptation as old as humanity. The true follower of Christ should give no allegiance to anyone but Jesus.
It is undeniable that zero gravity space travel takes its toll on the human body. It reminds us that we are embodied beings and that our bodies are an important part of who we are. They must not be neglected nor become an object of obsession because they will eventually fail. Yet, followers of Jesus have hope in the resurrection, and the certainty of receiving eternal bodies is cause for great joy as we approach Easter.
Many of our societies appear to be moving back into increased lawlessness as models of justice and equity are being undermined by the powerful, allowing corruption to creep back in to the most stable of nations. This is an opportunity for the Church to preserve and shine as salt and light. But, as this pastoral opinion shows us, it will require intentionality, commitment, and sacrifice.
Are we seeing the emergence of a new age of crusaders who think Christian nationalism is something to defend for God's sake? Eddie Arthur believes it is not at all appropriate. He goes on to argue that immigration is not the source of problems in the UK context, but it is the source of the revival of Christianity in the nation. In Christ, our eternal future is a multi-ethnic reality not a nationalistic pipe dream.
