CHRISTMAS EVE | SAVOR THE STORY
Image: Harmonia Rosales, Our Lady of Regla, 2019.40 x 40 in.
At long last the silent, starlit night has come --- when the Great Little One is born. We invite you to settle in for a few quiet moments and enter into the story once again, through word, song and poetry. What new wonder waits for you here?
And there were shepherds in that same dark country, abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night.
And God turned to his angel. And God said, Gabriel.
And the angel answered, Yes, Lord?
And the Lord God said, Go down. All of the people must know what I am doing. Tired and lonely and scattered and scared, all of the people must hear it. Go, good Gabriel. Go down again. Go tell a few to tell the others, till every child has heard it. Go!
And so it was that an angel of the Lord appeared to the weary shepherds. Their dark was shattered, for the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid.
The angel said to them, Don’t be afraid.
But the light was like a hard and holy wind, and the shepherds shielded their faces with their arms.
Hush, said the angel, hush, like the west wind. Shepherds, I bring you good news of great joy, and not only for you but for all of the people. Listen.
So shepherds were squinting and blinking, and shepherds began to listen, but none of them had the courage to talk or to answer a thing.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David, said the angel, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.
Suddenly, the sky itself split open, and like the fall of a thousand stars, the light poured down. There came with the angel a multitude of the Heavenly host, praising God and saying,
Glory to God in the highest,
And on Earth, peace—
Peace to the people with whom he is pleased!
But hush, you shepherds. Hush in your wonder. For the choral singing soon was ended. The host ascended, and the sky was closed again.
And then there came a breeze and a marvelous quiet and the simple dark of the night. It was just that, no terror in that then. It was only the night, no deeper gloom than evening.
For not all of the light had gone back to Heaven. The Light of the World himself stayed down on Earth and near you now.
And you can talk now. Try your voices. Try to speak. Ah, God has given you generous voices, shepherds. Speak.
So then, this is what the shepherds said to one another:
Let us, they said, go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.
So the shepherds got up and ran as fast as they could to the city of Bethlehem, to a particular stable in that city, and in that stable they gazed on one particular stable in that city, and in that stable they gazed on one particular baby, lying in a manger.
Then, in that moment, everything was fixed in a lambent, memorial light.
For there was the infant, just waking, just lifting his arms to the air and making sucking motions with his mouth. The holy child was hungry.
And there was his mother, lying on straw as lovely as the lily and listening to the noises of her child. Joseph? she murmured.
And there was Joseph, as sturdy as a barn, just bending toward his Mary. What? he whispered.
And the shepherds’ eyes were shining for what they saw.
Exactly as though it were morning and not the night, the shepherds went out into the city and began immediately to tell everyone what the angel had said about this child. They left a trail of startled people behind them, as on they went, both glorifying and praising God.
But Mary did not so much as rise that night. She received the baby from Joseph’s hands, then placed him down at her breast while she lay on her side on straw. With one arm she cradled the infant against her body. On the other arm, bent at the elbow, she rested her head; and she gazed at her small son sucking.
Mary lowered her long, black lashes and watched him and loved him and murmured, Jesus, Jesus, for the baby’s name was Jesus.
Joseph? she said without glancing up.
And Joseph said, What?
But Mary fell silent and said no more. She was keeping all these things – all that had happened between the darkness and the light – and pondering them in her heart.
— “The Christmas Story” by Walter Wangerin
“Mary At The Nativity” by Tania Runyan
The angel said there would be no end
to his kingdom. So for three hundred days
I carried rivers and cedars and mountains.
Stars spilled in my belly when he turned.
Now I can’t stop touching his hands,
the pink pebbles of his knuckles,
the soft wrinkle of flesh
between his forefinger and thumb.
I rub his fingernails as we drift
in and out of sleep. They are small and smooth,
like almond petals.
Forever, I will need nothing but these.
But all night, the visitors crowd
around us. I press his palms to my lips
in silence. They look down in anticipation,
as if they expect him to spill coins from his hands
or raise a gold scepter
and turn swine into angels.
Isn’t this wonder enough
that yesterday he was inside me,
and now he nuzzles next to my heart?
That he wraps his hand around
my finger and holds on?
A JOYOUS CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOURS!
From all of us at Theological Horizons
Advent 4 | DEFIANT HOPE
Our time of waiting is nearly done; soon we will tell, again, the Story: the Creator pulls on a garment of blood and bone; the Almighty is present in a fragile newborn. The Deliverer of humankind is delivered in a stable smelling of dung. If God has come here, amidst the shame and straw, God has come everywhere.
God entered the earthiness of human existence for the sake of every human soul - and so there are no insignificant or pointless lives; any average day carries eternal significance. Our hopes for meaning and purpose - for lives of courage and generosity - can take shape wherever we find ourselves, however unsettled or desolate.
This is the defiant hope of Christmas: God is for us. God is in us. God is with us. Can we live into this hope?
As you prepare for Christmas, during quiet moments stolen here or there, reflect upon three questions:
God came amidst shame and straw, a place unprepared for the Divine; how is my life or heart like that Bethlehem stable?
Jesus’ arrival overturned the world’s expectations of power and perspective; what expectations are clouding my own vision right now?
What if I truly believed the defiant hope: that God is with me, for me and in me; how might I live and see differently?
Read “The defiant hope of Christmas: God is with us” by Michael Gerson
Read “What Advent Means to Me as a Black Christian” by Taylor Harris
*Reflection adapted from Michael Gerson’s essay.
"Dear White Peacemakers" | Grace Jackson '24
“White Peacemaker, my prayer is you’ll do this nonviolent work within yourself, first by calling yourself a Beloved and then by acknowledging your fragility.” (170)
This semester as Perkins Fellows, we have been reading a book called Dear White Peacemakers by Osheta Moore, from which the above quote is drawn. Osheta’s book has been revolutionary for me in the way I view social justice and my faith. Osheta calls White Peacemakers to acknowledge both our Belovedness and our Brokenness as central to seeking social justice.
My experience of social justice prior to the Perkins Fellows was generally from a secular perspective and very works- oriented. I spent a lot of energy in high school striving to educate myself on the history of racial injustice in America and develop programming to share this information with others. I know the Lord used that time in my life to grow in me a vocation and a passion for racial justice work, but I did not often pursue this work from a gospel-centered perspective. I was often filled with shame about committing microaggressions, unintentionally contributing to systems of inequality, and even just being white. I was constantly filled with anger at the White American church for their apathy (at best) in addressing systemic racism and confessing their (our) history of racism. While the Lord does at times condone anger (James 1:19), he never encourages the kind of deep judgment I held for my fellow brothers and sisters in my efforts to distance myself from white apathy, redolent of the analogy of the plank and the speck we see in Matthew 7:3-5.
Osheta’s gospel-oriented way of viewing social justice is new for me. I am still very much working through my sins of saviorism, pride, and judgment of my white brothers and sisters. I am learning and growing to view even the most heinous white supremecists as both Beloved and Broken, as I unpack and confess my own sins which Jesus equally died for.
Osheta also gives us an example of what it looks like to confess racial sins. The idea of confessing racial sins is new to me and also very uncommon within both the church and our American culture. In a society which loves to cancel and cut away toxicity, what a witness it would be for the church to embrace an approach to social justice that is both radically just and radically merciful! In the words of Osheta: let’s “dismantle racism with both grit and grace.”
photo: Grace (right) with Perkins Fellows Ashley Prillerman (center) and Megnot Abebe (left).
Faithfulness amidst Division | Brandon Bonner '23
How can we Christians fulfill our calling to share God’s love in such a divided political and moral landscape? Polarization has been a glaring issue for the United States for quite some time. Recent events and their associated controversies, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the January 6th insurrection, have only proven the deep issues that we face as a nation
These issues are intensified by the design of social media and news media to keep users and viewers engaged with their content. The time one spends engaging in media directly relates to advertising revenue. So the truth is not prioritized because it’s not profitable. Companies have also found that fear is the emotion that will most likely keep us engaged. Social media and traditional media can’t take much of the blame though. The media has served as a reflection of social prejudice, amplifying them based on the user’s desires.
Why does this even matter? People will have their opinions, right?
It matters because truth precedes justice. Before a verdict is reached in court, the facts and evidence must be presented objectively. When we as Christians fail to observe pure, unadulterated reality, then we are overlooking the vulnerable. God cares deeply about justice. In the Old Testament, the prophets weren’t simply theologians, rather they served as God’s messengers, convicting kings and calling for the just treatment of orphans, widows, and the poor. In the same way, we are called to “thirst for justice” and be a “pillar of truth” in this world.
While this problem can’t be solved in a blog post and I’m still learning about my own weaknesses regarding this, there are two lessons I’ve picked up over the years that have been helpful to me that I’ll share.
1. Avoid foolish arguments
Paul wrote the following when advising Timothy on leadership:
“Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful” (2 Timothy 2:23-24).
From this we can see that, frankly, there are just some arguments that we don’t need to engage in. Growing in discernment will help us maintain our focus on the issues that matter. In this scripture, Paul is also calling us to have a general graciousness towards others in all of our conversations.
2. Use multiple, reliable sources
Secondly, we should gather our news from multiple, reliable sources. This allows us to get a fuller picture of specific events and their larger context while filtering out the narratives of particular biased sources.
My hope is for Christians to fulfill our calling and be resistant to any narrative that aims to divide us in our pursuit of truth and justice. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will be unhindered in his work of unifying the body of believers, that the name of Christ may be exalted.
Advent 3 | PREPARE
Harmonia Rosa, Lady of Regla
Christmas is nearly here. Are you ready? Two weeks before Jesus’ birth, Joseph and Mary made final preparations for the grueling winter journey ahead: 90 miles over unpaved, hilly trails on foot, from Nazareth to Bethlehem. They gathered their heavy woolen cloaks against the rainy, freezing weather, filled wineskins with water, packed as much bread and oil as they could carry. They prayed for God’s protection through the Judean desert, against the bandits, lions and bears they might face in the forested Jordan River valley. Surely they prayed that the baby would wait to be born, that Mary would survive the trial.
“Let every heart prepare him room.”
These days, as you go about your Christmas preparations – scrambling to make deadlines, standing in line at the post office, taking exams, making beds for houseguests, wrapping gifts – take your mind to a place of imagination.
Picture Mary and Joseph as they gathered provisions and set out (without a midwife or hotel reservation), not knowing what was to come. What prayers come up within you?
Open your eyes to neighbors who need your help right now. How might you provide for a vulnerable stranger in your own preparations for Jesus’ birth?
As you go about your tasks and to-dos, add in music, a podcast, intentional prayer to prepare your heart as well as your household. Here are a few of our favorites:
For all the generations
that have prepared the way;
for all the unseen hands
that have made ready
every space;
for those who light
the fires of welcome
and who tend
to every resting place,
O God of every pilgrim,
we bless you with our thanks.(Jan Richardson)
God’s Plan is great, but what about my dream plan? Kamryn Crowder, '23
As we dove deeper into the reading by Kate Bowler, Everything Happens for A Reason, and Other Lies I Have Loved on Oct. 5th at our Horizons Fellow dinner, I was surprised just how much I had subscribed to the idea that life with God meant that God would always follow my plan for my life and that my life would never fall off the tracks I had paved for myself. For most of my childhood, I had dreamed of the perfect life, which of course included the perfect job, perfect family, and perfect home. I always assumed that if I worked hard enough to achieve these things, God would bless the plans that I had laid out for Him. As Kate further described in her reading, cancer kind of threw a wrench in the faith that she procured in God and she hadn’t realized how much she had subscribed to some of the ideals in the prosperity gospel until she got cancer. As we further discussed this talk at our dinner, I thought about how much my own perspective of my life had been shaped by those ideals that God only wanted me to experience abundance and never suffer. As a child, I assumed there was no way that a perfect God would deny me such a perfect life, right? As a young adult now, I can definitively tell my younger self that I had it all wrong. The passing of my grandmother was nowhere near a part of the perfect life I had planned; neither was moving 18 hours away from everything I had ever known and grown up with to come to UVA. As my life has panned out, most everything that I have planned out has not gone according to that plan.
As we began to wrap up this conversation, we landed so ironically on the question of whether everything truly happened for a reason. At the time of the discussion and even after reading Kate’s testimonial, I was still sure that it did. However, as I have had more to reflect on this on my own, I’m not so sure of that definitive answer. Don’t get me wrong, I do believe God has a plan for everything and for all of our lives, but I do not believe that those plans include any harm, danger, or evil. As Jeremiah 29:11 says “For I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you and not to harm.” However, evil, bad, and harm do happen to people all the time. I am not sure how to answer that question and am at a crossroads about how to answer that question in my own life now. I am still not quite sure if the pain I and many others have experienced has a purpose or if everything happens for a reason yet, and maybe I will never get those questions answered on this side of heaven. However, I do know that God’s plan for me and all of us is to live a life full of purpose and not just comfort. So maybe a purposeful life will not end perfectly but I know that a purposeful life is better than a perfect one. A life of purpose entails having faith in a perfect God, and I’m learning that that is more than enough to sustain me.
Grounded Living | Reflection by Nick Cummings '23
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Mt. 6:34
I am ashamed to admit I am not a big fan of hikes. I’ve tried many different hikes and while they haven’t been particularly unenjoyable, it’s just not my ideal use of free time. I want to like hiking. Good exercise in the beauty of creation? Right on. Personally? I just don’t have the passion for it. I will say it’s probably more so an error on my part than a flaw with the activity of hiking. The outdoors is great and I love exercise. The problem with hikes for me is that I spend the duration of the hike staring at the ground. I’m constantly reminded to “look up!” but I can’t bring myself to do it or else I might trip and fall. There are roots coming up out of the ground and some rocks aren’t as stable as they seem, so it's important to stay vigilant for the sake of my ankles. So after giving hiking an honest shot, I don’t think it’s for me. A man can only look at so much dirt and so many rocks before the appeal wears off.
The point of sharing this has less to do with informing you all about my activity preferences and more so with how it relates to what I’ve been learning about life lately. In all things except hiking I am not a ground-looker. I am a dreamer of sorts. While in the abstract it sounds awfully nice and admirable to be a dreamer, in reality, it causes me a lot of trouble. Namely, that it’s damn near impossible to keep your feet on the ground when your head is in the clouds (and if I’ve learned anything from hiking, keeping your feet on the ground is a trait one should seek to have). I often catch myself looking out into space and just imagining all the things I might do one day. I could start a business, be a professor, run for mayor, go off the grid and build a cabin in the woods, elope and move to Italy, drop out and train to join the Harlem Globetrotters … the possibilities are endless.
Having spent my whole life seeking to widen my possibilities, I’ve reached the point now where I almost wish the possibilities were more limited. I have begun to suffer from chronic choice paralysis. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great fun (and I believe, to an extent, well and good) to dream and I won’t stop myself from drifting off from time to time, but I’m appreciative of the moments when I am pulled back down to earth. It is in those moments where I can live in what is instead of what could be. Before I go on worrying about what I’ll be doing when I’m 45 or whether or not my kids will want to play the same sports I want them to play (this is, in fact, something I have thought about at length numerous times in the past few months), I need to pass my finals this semester. I am working on taking the advice of Kris Kringle from the 1970 Christmas movie, Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town (‘tis the season), “put one foot in front of the other.” I think there is something deep and good behind why God made it so we don’t just teleport. Our bodies, souls, and minds were all made to move one step at a time. I imagine life is meant to be lived that way because it’s the only way we can live. One foot in front of the other, step by step, day by day.
Advent 2 | ANNUNCIATION
On this second Sunday of Advent, spend some time in a comfortable, light-drenched space: sit
at a bright kitchen window, on a church pew under stained glass; walk through an atrium or
museum gallery; savor the sun as it warms an early December day.
Read the story of the angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary, recounted in Luke 1:26-38.
Now picture it as described in Denise Levertov’s poem, “Annunciation.”
We know the scene: the room, variously furnished,
almost always a lectern, a book; always
the tall lily.Arrived on solemn grandeur of great wings,
the angelic ambassador, standing or hovering,
whom she acknowledges, a guest.
But we are told of meek obedience. No one mentions
courage.The engendering Spirit
did not enter her without consent.
God waited.She was free
to accept or to refuse, choice
integral to humanness.____________________________
Aren’t there annunciations
of one sort or another
in most lives?
Some unwillingly
undertake great destinies,
enact them in sullen pride,
uncomprehending.
More often
those moments
when roads of light and storm
open from darkness in a man or woman,
are turned away from
in dread, in a wave of weakness, in despair
and with relief.
Ordinary lives continue.
God does not smite them.
But the gates close, the pathway vanishes.______________________________
She had been a child who played, ate, slept
like any other child – but unlike others,
wept only for pity, laughed
in joy not triumph.
Compassion and intelligence
fused in her, indivisible.Called to a destiny more momentous
than any in all of Time,
she did not quail,
only asked
a simple, ‘How can this be?’
and gravely, courteously,
took to heart the angel’s reply,
perceiving instantly
the astounding ministry she was offered:to bear in her womb
Infinite weight and lightness; to carry
in hidden, finite inwardness,
nine months of Eternity; to contain
in slender vase of being,
the sum of power –
in narrow flesh,
the sum of light.
Then bring to birth,
push out into air, a Man-child
needing, like any other,
milk and love –but who was God.
This was the moment no one speaks of,
when she could still refuse.A breath unbreathed,
Spirit,
suspended,
waiting.______________________________
She did not cry, ‘I cannot. I am not worthy,’
Nor, ‘I have not the strength.’
She did not submit with gritted teeth,
raging, coerced.
Bravest of all humans,
consent illumined her.
The room filled with its light,
the lily glowed in it,
and the iridescent wings.
Consent,
courage unparalleled,
opened her utterly.
Spend time imagining Mary and the angel in that room at “the moment no one speaks of, when she could still refuse. A breath unbreathed, Spirit, suspended, waiting.”
What do you think Mary might have thought and felt as she considered Gabriel’s startling words?
Consider the poet’s question “Aren’t there annunciations of one sort or another in most lives?”
If the angel Gabriel were to arrive and make an announcement to you right now, what might it
be?What could God be inviting you into this Advent?
What consent or courage might be needed should you freely say ‘yes’ to this God who waits upon your response?
Enter the Annunciation story even more deeply through art:
Top image: “Annunciation” (2001) by Swedish artist Mats Rehnman.
Advent 1 | WONDER
“…And star differs from star in splendor.”
1 Corinthians 15:41**
Advent has come again. In this darkest time of the year, the flame of the first Advent candle speaks of mystery, of longing, of something wonderous on the horizons just beyond sight.
As you begin this season of waiting, we invite you to look for a clear night when stars are visible in the sky. Bundle up and wander out into the dark, leaving lights and devices behind. Savor the silence. Gaze upward and consider the gleaming stars overhead. Walk. Sit. Wait.
Ponder these questions:
What do I hope that the practices and prayers of Advent will form in me?
When I wake on Christmas, how will I be different because of this season?
** With love we remember UVA’s #1 Lavel Davis Sr., #15 Devin Chandler and #41 D'Sean Perry
Sure on this shining night
Of star made shadows round,
Kindness must watch for me
This side the ground.
The late year lies down the north.
All is healed, all is health.
High summer holds the earth.
Hearts all whole.
Sure on this shining night I weep for wonder wand’ring
Far
Alone
Of shadows on the stars.-James Agee
Thanksgiving 2022 | Listening, Learning & Leaning In
Creator,
Sometimes we don’t know what to pray,
or how to talk to you about fixing what’s broken…Sometimes we want to say…
“Why do so many bad things happen to the vulnerable?”
This week we are reminded that gratitude changes things,And so we try to shift our focus a little,
remembering that though things aren’t as they should be,
we’re waiting and listening for what is good.So we give thanks for what we can—
For a world of seasons that teach us about life and death;
For children who remind us to let go of our pretenses;
For diversity that is a mirror of your kingdom.And we simply ask that we know you better,
that we know our neighbor better,
and that when we don’t know exactly how to fight for justice or rescue the oppressed,
we can at least mouth to you that we’re trying,
and that we trust you to show us the way.For that, we are deeply, deeply thankful.
Amen.
-Kaitlin Curtis, member of the Potawatomi Citizen Band (Prayer abbreviated. Read in entirety here.)
As we enter the Thanksgiving holidays, we carry heavy hearts with the recent UVa tragedy. Many of us also bring additional traumas of pain and loss. Our Native sisters and brothers know grief intimately. We invite you to take some time to listen and learn from them over this holiday season.
The Christian Community Development Association and the Reformed Church of America both have wonderful Thanksgiving ‘toolkits’. We’ve pulled from these below as well as added some of our own. May these resources add real depth and kingdom hope to your Thanksgiving celebrations this year.
LISTENING & LEARNING
LEANING IN
In addition to prayer, here are some suggestions from the Reformed Church of America:
This article from PBS isn’t a Christian resource, but it does offer a number of resources for how to honor Indigenous American and Aboriginal people with your kids.
Consider participating in the Blanket Exercise—“a history experience from the perspective of Indigenous People”— that was created by the Christian Reformed Church in North America. There are trained facilitators across the U.S. and Canada.
Offer a land acknowledgement in addition to your prayers of gratitude. This article offers more details surrounding land acknowledgements. You can also discover what Native American communities reside in your area using this digital Native lands resource.
Explore this series of poems and art produced by Bizzy Feekes and Mae Stier or this Indigenous Bible Study by Bizzy Feekes.
Read with your faith community or book club using this book club resource, which includes videos, discussion questions and more. This is a practical and easy next step to start a robust conversation.
Watch the “Original Americans” episode of Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi (season 1, episode 7), on Hulu, to learn more about Indigenous American food and decolonizing Thanksgiving.
Consider incorporating Native American recipes into your Thanksgiving meal. One good resource is The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen by Sean Sherman. Or click here for 5 recipes from various Indigenous chefs.
Some final inspiration for your Thanksgiving dinner.
Resources for Lament
Our last Deeper Dialogues fittingly covered the theme of lament: Rituals of Hope in Seasons of Loss. Watch the brief spark talk by Rabbi Vanessa Ochs, either on your own or with a small group. Discussion guide and a liturgy for lament available below as well.
Thank you Vintage Lunch Sponsor, Christ Episcopal Church!
This fall, we’re asking our community to consider sponsoring a Vintage Lunch. Each lunch is catered by a local Charlottesville eatery and helps feed 30-40 students who come hungry for food and community and spiritual nourishment.
Thank you, Christ Episcopal Church, for being a Vintage Lunch sponsor! (pictured are Jen Sapunarich & David Zahl, campus ministers based out of CEC).
1. Why did you choose to sponsor a Vintage lunch? How are you connected with Theological Horizons?
"Food and faith have always made a great combination. From wedding feasts to heavenly banquets to weekly Eucharists, we at Christ Episcopal Church see how our spiritual nature can be fed by the feeding of our earthly bodies.
We want to support and encourage the Vintage Lunch series by providing a meal for UVA students seeking nourishment! Christian writer Henri Nouwen says this “Having a meal is more than eating and drinking. It is celebrating the gifts of life we share. A meal together is one of the most intimate and sacred human events. Around the table we become vulnerable, filling one another’s plates and cups and encouraging one another to eat and drink. Much more happens at a meal than satisfying hunger and quenching thirst. Around the table we become family, friends, community, yes, a body.”
We hope that our small contribution to the work of Theological Horizons will help them in their continued work to feed the body of Christ at UVA."
Watch the Faith, Work & Law conversation with Frank S. Alexander!
We were so honored to host Frank S. Alexander, emeritus professor of Law and founding director of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University for our last Faith & Work forum. He is also the founder and Executive Director of Vulnerable Communities whose mission is listening to, learning from, working with, and serving vulnerable communities. Its focus is on communities with historical racial, economic, and ethnic vulnerability and simultaneously with vulnerability to multiple climate change effects, including inland flooding, sea level rise, and storm surge. He was interviewed by Horizons Fellow, Nick Cummings ‘23.
Resting in Grace | Perkins Fellow Porter Brown '24
“He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” - Isaiah 40:29-31 ESV
“God gives power to those who make themselves faint, and strengthens the ones who choose powerlessness. In your youth, you should work until you faint. Be weary. The young should fall exhausted. Those who work for the Lord shall show their strength, they shall climb with perseverance and grasp onto the wings of eagles. They shall run and not mention one iota of weariness. They shall walk and run and scrape by and serve and welcome, and keep running and not faint.” - Isaiah 40:29-31, Helms’ Mixed Up Version
The above quotes, one being the Word of God and the other being a mixed-up performative version of it, were presented to the audience at the 2022 Christian Community Development Conference by Helms Jarrell, an interdisciplinary artist working at the intersection of art, faith, and culture, emphasizing the role of story telling and art to bring people together and bring about change. Working faithfully for social justice, Helms is no stranger to the pressures of performative Christianity and the desire to do more, more, and ever more in an attempt to love her neighbors and follow Christ as an advocate for justice and equity in the Charlotte area. I was struck by Helms’ “Mixed Up Version” of Isaiah 40:29-31, as I resonate so deeply with the pressure to do more, to be more involved, to serve more greatly, often resulting in the creation of a never-ending checklist of to-do’s to check off and move on. As a student at UVa, the pressures to do more, to join another club, to take another class, to obtain a certain GPA, to maintain rich community, to serve, and to lead, all while having fun with a smile on your face, are often enormous. While I find myself sucked into the pressure-cooker of “performancism” on grounds quite often, I find that I quite frequently add to the pressure through my bend towards performative Christianity. I, like Helms, often live out my day-to-day running around trying to do as much as possible and be as much as possible. If I were to be honest with myself, the way I live out my life more often reflects Helms’ “Mixed Up Version” of Isaiah than the true Word of God.
I often believe the lie that to follow Christ means to work until exhaustion, to be weary, to show my own strength, to maintain a smile on my face, and to “walk and run and scrape by and serve and welcome, and keep running and not faint.” In doing so, however, I rob myself of the true freedom, comfort, and joy we have in the truth of Christ, which the true version of Isaiah 40 reminds us. In Christ, I am empowered by the strength of the Lord, I am lifted up when I am weary and exhausted, I walk and do not faint. The key difference between Helms’ (and often my own) version and the Word of God is in who is in control. In Helms’ version, the pressure is on me to do and be all things. I am to pick myself up when I am down, brush off the dirt, and keep running ahead without any help or support. All on my own. Isaiah tells us a different story. The pressure is not on me. The weight of the world is not on me. I am not expected to perform, nor am I expected to make myself faint. I am promised that when I am faint, I will be restored. The Lord will renew my strength when I am weary, I will run and not grow weary and I will walk and not faint. My ability to follow and serve Christ, seeking to love my neighbor, the world, and myself in Christ’s love, is not riding on the amount of organizations I serve with, small groups I sign up for, or times that I open up the Bible. I am enough each and everyday, not for anything I did or said the day prior, nor for anything I will say or do the next day, but because of who I am in the Lord and the unconditional love that is Jesus Christ.
I believe true discipleship begins when we turn away from whatever mixed up performative version we have of what it means to follow Christ and embrace our utter dependence on the Lord. True grace, freedom, hope, and joy is found in the loving embrace of Christ, and Christ alone, whose arms are open wide to all people, no questions asked. The following quote by the theologian, author, and civil rights leader Howard Thurman invites us into this joyful living, where we may truly be alive. He writes, “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” I pray that we all will ask ourselves what makes us come alive, and in humility and grace, resting in our state of dependence on the Lord’s strength, that we will go do it, knowing we are already and forever enough.
Karen Marsh's new book, Wake Up To Wonder: now on preorder!
We could not be more **delighted** to announce Karen Wright Marsh’s new book with Brazos Press, now available for preorder! Karen reflects, “Writing this ‘how to’ book has transformed me in wonderful ways (though I'm still working on following my own advice to take a nap!). With the poet, I say, ‘A miracle, just take a look around: the world is everywhere.’ (Wislawa Szymorska)” All of us at Theological Horizons invite you to get in line for your own copy and then share this book far and wide! On Amazon and elsewhere…
About “Wake Up To Wonder”:
In her quest to live a vibrant spiritual life, Karen Wright Marsh had a revelation: she didn't need to find and follow the perfect plan; she needed people she could follow.
In Wake Up to Wonder, Marsh introduces us to those people--faithful yet oh-so-human Christians from across centuries and cultures. Inspired by their example, she offers playful, simple practices that bring deeper meaning and purpose to everyday life.
In the company of diverse spiritual companions--from Dorothy Day, Francis of Assisi, and Fannie Lou Hamer to Patrick of Ireland, Wangari Maathai, and Henri Nouwen--readers journey through physical health, prayer, activism, Scripture reading, creativity, and beyond. Each chapter includes hands-on invitations such as writing prompts, space for personal reflection, and "Try This," a collage of spiritual and personal experiments anyone can do. As readers wake up to wonder, they'll discover what these 22 historical figures already knew: that a life of spiritual depth, amazement, and connection is within reach--today and every day.
Announcing our 2023 Scoper Lecturer | Bryan Stevenson
OUR 2023 SCOPER LECTURE
“Act Justly, Love Mercy: Exploring the Heart of Equal Justice”
featuring Bryan Stevenson
in conversation with UVA President Jim Ryan
7:00pm | March 28, 2023
John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville, Virginia
Save the date! Meet renowned attorney Bryan Stevenson, named “the most inspiring and influential crusader for justice alive today.” Stevenson will speak from his personal experience on the spiritual sources that empower his lifelong commitment to transformative acts of just mercy.
Following his Scoper Lecture in Christian Thought, Bryan Stevenson will be joined by President Jim Ryan for an onstage conversation.
This will be a “live only” in-person and digitally streamed event.
Follow along here for updates about tickets, co-sponsors and local grassroots partners!
The Scoper Lecture in Christian Thought is an annual series building off the Capps Lectures that brings eminent speakers to the university to deliver public lectures exploring the breadth of Christian expression in the arenas of scholarship, science and medicine, the arts, and culture. The series is generously funded by Nancy and Stephen Scoper, M.D., through their gift to the University of Virginia, designated to Theological Horizons.
This year’s focus on the law illuminates the prayer that “love is the motive but justice is the instrument.” (Reinhold Niebuhr)
Watch “True Justice,” below, the Emmy award winning documentary that follows Bryan Stevenson and his Equal Justice Initiative’s struggle to create greater fairness in the criminal justice system.
November Prayers | Feasting
DEAR FRIENDS,
This is the month of feasting. Our year has been long, our year has been tense. And yet… God calls us to practice the supper of the lamb each week in the Eucharist and each time we break bread with our families, our friends and most especially the stranger. The good folks at the Edible Theology Project “believe the rest and connection you are looking for will take place at the table.” They “create resources for churches, families, and individuals that help you and yours connect the meal shared at the Communion table to Tuesday night’s leftovers. “ Whether we eat a quiet lunch alone or when we gather around tables this holiday season, let us remember the sacredness of this holy activity.
-Christy Yates, Associate Director
“Then he said to them, “Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.””
O Lord, refresh our sensibilities.
Give us this day our daily taste.
Restore to us soups that spoons will not sink in, and sauces which are never the same twice.
Raise up among us stews with more gravy than we have bread to blot it with, and casseroles that put starch and substance in our limp modernity. Take away our fear of fat and make us glad of the oil which ran upon Aaron's beard.
Give us pasta with a hundred fillings, and rice in a thousand variations. Above all, give us grace to live as true men - to fast till we come to a refreshed sense of what we have and then to dine gratefully on all that comes to hand.
Drive far from us, O Most Bountiful, all creatures of air and darkness; cast out the demons that possess us; deliver us from the fear of calories and the bondage of nutrition; and set us free once more in our own land, where we shall serve Thee as Thou hast blessed us - with the dew of heaven, the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine.
Amen.
― Robert Farrar Capon, The Supper of the Lamb: A Culinary Reflection
“[The] dinner party is a true proclamation of the abundance of being -- a rebuke to the thrifty little idolatries by which we lose sight of the lavish hand that made us. It is precisely because no one needs soup fish, meat, salad, cheese, and dessert at one meal that we so badly need to sit down to them from time to time. It was largesse that made us all; we were not created to fast forever. The unnecessary is the taproot of our being and the last key to the door of delight. Enter here, therefore, as a sovereign remedy for the narrowness of our minds and the stinginess of our souls, the formal dinner...the true convivium -- the long Session that brings us nearly home.”
― Robert Farrar Capon, The Supper of the Lamb: A Culinary Reflection
The Welcoming Table: Thanks to Jan Karon for sponsoring a Vintage Lunch!
Theological Horizons warmly welcomes you to set the welcoming table for hungry students! Sponsor an entire Vintage Lunch or donate what you can! By giving, you're providing not only nourishment, but also true community and connection.
Thank you to author JAN KARON, our latest Vintage lunch sponsor!
How our students describe Vintage:
warm, welcoming, nourishing, fulfilling, harvest, plenty, restful
HOW TO SPONSOR?
Select “Vintage Lunch” as your gift’s designation. We’ll customize your donation and follow up on your generosity to our TH community. Your gift will fund a weekly meal for 40-60 college students from one of our favorite Charlottesville eateries.
October Prayers | When Breath becomes Prayer
“Again, Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’”
Dear friends.
Breath prayer, as author Cole Arthur Riley (of Black Liturgies) describes it, “is an ancient practice that connects short, memorable phrases with deep breathing. I’ve found this practice to be restorative as it grounds me in my body and reintegrates my flesh, mind and soul daily. “ As the winds pick up this month, both literally and figuratively, let’s take some moments to simply breathe and know that God is present.
- Christy
Sit and be still
until the time
of no rain you hear
beneath the dry wind’s
commotion in the trees
the sound of flowing
water among the rocks,
a stream unheard before,
and you are where
breathing is prayer.-Wendell Berry
INHALE:
“I am free to pause.”
EXHALE:
“I can rest in the silence.”
Cole Arthur Riley
Thanks to Vintage Lunch Sponsor, Travis Rabb
This fall, we’re asking our community to consider sponsoring a Vintage Lunch. Each lunch is catered by a local Charlottesville eatery and helps feed 40-50 students who come hungry for food and community and spiritual nourishment.
Thank you, Travis Rabb, dad to first year, Peyton Rabb, for being a Vintage Lunch sponsor!
1. Why did you choose to sponsor a Vintage lunch? How are you connected with Theological Horizons?
Much like tithing, I try to support those organizations, clubs and ministries that pour into myself, my family and my kids. Peyton (my first year) has enjoyed TH and it's provided a place for her to receive support and meet new friends.
2. What blessing, quote, or advice would you like to share with a UVa student?
Get connected. Find one or two clubs or groups and get involved. Friendships are critical, in my opinion, to success in college and in life.