My mother used to say (again with this mother, eh-well she said a lot of useful things). My mother used to say, "We don't fight because we are going to win. We very likely will not win. We fight because it is the right thing to do." I don't know if that helps, Brian. But it helps me...some. I also am angry and weeping, so you are definitely not alone.
Appreciate you and as a deconstructing/reconstructing ex-youth pastor in a red state, I definitely resonate with and am blessed by your words. Today really is an emotionally complex and overall grieving and melancholic holiday.
You said it man. Esp bc of all the manufactured excitement and commercialization that got poured into this day in the church world. Easy to be cynical about it
I actually think a more accurate translation of the end of the Gospel of Mark is "They said nothing to anyone. They were afraid because ..." The Gospel of Mark is incomplete because the gospel of Jesus Christ is ongoing, even unto this very hour
“Jesus is Lord is not a declaration of Christian supremacy over other religions. It’s an anti-imperial claim. Jesus is Lord—and Caesar is not. Jesus is Lord—and the Roman Empire that crucified him is a fraud.”
And I’m sure you know Caesar was worshipped as a god, which is what Lord refers to, making it a religious claim.
My mother used to say (again with this mother, eh-well she said a lot of useful things). My mother used to say, "We don't fight because we are going to win. We very likely will not win. We fight because it is the right thing to do." I don't know if that helps, Brian. But it helps me...some. I also am angry and weeping, so you are definitely not alone.
Thank you, this is exactly what I needed this morning.
All. Of. This! Thank you, Brian. I felt every word. ❤️
Appreciate you and as a deconstructing/reconstructing ex-youth pastor in a red state, I definitely resonate with and am blessed by your words. Today really is an emotionally complex and overall grieving and melancholic holiday.
You said it man. Esp bc of all the manufactured excitement and commercialization that got poured into this day in the church world. Easy to be cynical about it
I read this aloud to my two teenagers with tears streaming down my cheeks. Thank you!
It made me cry also and I am not even a Christian. As my mother again would say, "Jesus is rolling in his grave right about now."
Thanks. I wanted to connect with faith this morning and wasn’t sure how to do that... This helped.
Thank you for this. Your words plus the breath prayer is 🤩
Thank you for these words. This describes our very real historic cultural moment and the pain that comes with loving like Jesus within it.
Every single word of this hits. It’s beautiful and heart wrenching. It’s real.
Thank you for this message of hope.
I actually think a more accurate translation of the end of the Gospel of Mark is "They said nothing to anyone. They were afraid because ..." The Gospel of Mark is incomplete because the gospel of Jesus Christ is ongoing, even unto this very hour
This helped me today. Thank you. We finished off our Easter watching the prince of Egypt
Brian, thank you for not faking hope. That alone feels like resurrection in a country worshipping certainty and Caesar.
You’re right—Mark ends with silence, fear, women running. That’s not failure. That’s honest. And it’s where the real story starts.
Magdalene didn’t preach the resurrection—she lived it. While the men hid, she kept walking toward death and accidentally found life.
Resurrection isn’t for the certain. It’s for the trembling who still show up.
You don’t need hope to rise. Just presence.
Christ is risen—right in the bewilderment.
—Virgin Monk Boy
A theory about the ending of Mark that I find convincing is that it ends there for rhetorical purposes. “Will you be afraid and silent too?”
“Jesus is Lord is not a declaration of Christian supremacy over other religions. It’s an anti-imperial claim. Jesus is Lord—and Caesar is not. Jesus is Lord—and the Roman Empire that crucified him is a fraud.”
And I’m sure you know Caesar was worshipped as a god, which is what Lord refers to, making it a religious claim.