What if the Beatitudes aren't comfort but training for a moment exactly like this one?
See the child. See the sibling. See God.
Seeing God Without Illusion in a Time of War jrwoodward.substack.com/p/prophetic-...
Justice without mercy becomes scapegoating.
I wrote about why the Beatitudes place mercy right after the hunger for justice, and what that means in an age of retaliation: open.substack.com/pub/jrwoodwa...
Starting March 4th, learn a new way to be the church. www.eventbrite.com/e/reimaginin...
Jesus does not bless hunger in general.
He blesses those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
What does that look like when people are detained, stripped of dignity, separated from family, and hidden from public view?
The Politics of Hunger ↓
jrwoodward.substack.com/p/prophetic-...
Seattle Seahawks win decisively 29-13. One of the best defensive performances in a Super Bowl. Seven sacks, three turnovers!
In a world addicted to force and domination, Jesus says the meek inherit the earth. What if meekness isn't weakness at all, but alignment with how reality actually works? jrwoodward.substack.com/p/prophetic-...
Join the national shutdown as an act of resistance and in solidarity with those harmed by unjust systems.
It’s a quiet reminder that the deepest struggles of our time are not simply between left and right, but between concentrated power and the well-being of everyday people.
This statement is shared at the request of Alex Jeffrey Pretti's parents. Bearing witness and helping others hear their words is one way we refuse silence and honor his life in the face of the injustice of his death at the hands of the state.
What does it profit the church to gain cultural power and lose it’s soul? And if silence in the midst of injustice is how that trade is maintained, who benefits from ours: those who are harmed, or those who hold power?
We are being formed right now by fear, force, and false security.
The Beatitudes are Jesus’ counterformation for moments like this.
I explore this in "Poor in Spirit, Free from Illusions": jrwoodward.substack.com/p/prophetic-...
Recentering is not about avoiding current realities, it's about remembering who we are, what we're for, and how we stay human. New substack post: jrwoodward.substack.com/p/re-centering
Thx man!
Merry Christmas! Today we remember that God chose nearness over distance, love over power, and a manger over a throne. May the peace of Christ meet you exactly where you are.
FOR NO KINGS DAY
No kings but Jesus,
no crown but the cross,
for every throne of pride
will crumble to dust.
While mansions of gold
pretend to be grand,
the Carpenter’s kingdom
is built by His hand.
The gospel is not a partisan slogan.
It is the public announcement that Jesus is Lord and that no empire or autocrat gets the last word.
How the gospel redefines power and renews our political imagination: jrwoodward.substack.com/p/prophetic-...
This immersion is worth checking out!
llusions shape our politics, our desires, and even our faith. But the Way of Jesus gives us eyes to see and courage to stand. The deepest insight emerges at the end. jrwoodward.substack.com/p/prophetic-...
To rename the Department of Defense as the Department of War is to confess allegiance to violence. The Powers that be stand exposed, proclaiming their liturgy of death without shame. Will we follow their liturgy, or the way of Christ?
