A Letter From New York

by Sue Erickson

Five months ago, I moved from Toronto to live in New York. I work for a church called Origins Church New York, a two-year-old community in Manhattan. It’s the only church I’ve ever worked for, and I love it; it is home.

I was educated as an engineer, but an intense longing for something made me leave engineering. I left, and went…nowhere. I knew I was not an engineer; I knew there was something else I could or wanted to or needed to be; and that was the end of my knowledge.

The blind, grasping feeling for something I knew was there but couldn’t see or take hold of or touch was so frustrating! So, at the advice of a friend, I started to see a spiritual director in the hope that we could search together for my vocation.

Romans Disarmed :: Tickets Now Available

Tickets for our upcoming Romans Disarmed Salon Discussion featuring Marva Dawn and Sylvia Keesmaat are now available for $12 through Crux Books in Toronto. Drop by or give them a call to reserve yours today:

Crux Books
5 Hoskin Avenue
Toronto Ontario
416.599.2749

Romans Disarmed :: A Salon Discussion

So we’ve been running a series on Romans over here at empire.remixed. Did you know? Many of the pieces published here on the blog were originally delivered in sermon format throughout last year at Wine Before Breakfast.

WBB is a eucharistic community that meets weekly on Tuesday mornings at 7.30 am during the school year in Wycliffe College’s chapel, and sponsored by the CRC Campus Ministry.

Some of our favourite posts from that series include We’re All in This Together on Romans 3, Creation’s Groan on Romans 8, To Hell With Romans 13 on (you guessed it) Romans 13  and Letters From the Future on Romans 14.

And now, we’re happy to announce our second in a series of Salon Discussions, this time featuring two prominent biblical scholars with expertise in Pauline Theology and the book of Romans. Behold:

Will You Take My Cup?

by Andrew Stephens-Rennie

A reflection on Romans 15:1-13
Wine Before Breakfast
Originally Delivered March 13, 2007

Jesus cries out,
battered and bruised
in the garden of torment, sweat, and blood he prays:

Take this cup from me.
Will you take the cup?

To Hell With “To Hell With Romans 13″?

by Andrew Stephens-Rennie

There has been a little reaction out in the blogosphere to Brian’s post on Romans 13. Some of the posts are charitable, and others think we’re lunatics. That said, when you get down and dirty in the comments, it seems like some people have simply missed the point.

Arguments about whether the word “hell” is profanity, blasphemy or heresy seemed to stir the pot, as well as some blithe assumption that the post would actually have us remove Romans 13 from scripture. It’s apparent that those commenters didn’t actually read the post in its entirety.

To Whom Shall We Live (or Die)?

by Rachel Tulloch

A Reflection on Romans 14:1-12
Wine Before Breakfast
Originally Delivered February 27, 2007

Upon first glance, we might wonder whether Paul doesn’t sound like a modern liberal in this passage with his commands about accepting diversity and not passing judgment.

However, while tolerance has become the buzz word today for accepting differences and not judging, the Christian ethic goes much further than this - it is an ethic of welcome. “Welcome the one whose faith is weak”.

I can tolerate someone whom I do not love, but a community committed to Christ opens its arms in welcome, embracing a diversity of ethnicities, classes, opinions and practices and breaking down those barriers that divide.

Letters from the Future

by Stuart Basden (via)

A reflection on Romans 14.13-23
Wine Before Breakfast
Originally Delivered March 6, 2007

A letter found shredded in a garbage dump. Dated March 6, 2048.

Dear Paul,

I write this to you to inspire you with hope. I am near the end of my life and I remember when life was much different, when we had considerably more freedom, and when global devastation seemed so far off. But you are young and may have many years ahead of you, so let me now pass on to you some of the history of the past few decades.

I am one of the more conservative of our community, although I do not always allow these colours to show. Times change, and so do words. Things that were once wonderful and life-giving can become stifling and deadly.

To Hell With Romans 13

by Brian Walsh

A reflection on Romans 13:1-7
Wine Before Breakfast
Originally Delivered February 6, 2007

Let me put my cards on the table right from the outset. I am sick and tired of hearing Christians who have something at stake in the status quo of economic, social and political systems of injustice appealing to Romans 13 to legitimate unswerving obedience to oppressive and deceitful regimes.

I speak a fair bit in the US and whenever I am addressing the question of the meaning of the gospel for our political lives someone invariably asks, “yes, but what about Romans 13?”

What about it? I reply.

Targum :: Romans 12:1-2

by Brian Walsh

A reflection on Romans 12:1-2
Wine Before Breakfast
Originally Delivered January 16, 2007

Brothers and Sisters:

If it is true that in the face of our disobedience
we have met a God rich in mercy;

if it true that this mercy extends to all of creation,
waiting in eager longing for the revelation of the children of God

if it is true that we ourselves , in concert with the Holy Spirit
await our adoption, the redemption of our very bodies;

We’re all in this Together

by Rachel Tulloch

A reflection on Romans 3:9-31
Wine Before Breakfast
Originally Delivered October 10, 2006

It was all over the news when the gunman entered the one-room Amish schoolhouse killing five girls and wounding several more. This was evil. I remember clearly when I was told that four men had grabbed my 14 yr. old friend on her way home and dragged her to a deserted field to assault her.

This was evil. When we think about events like this which seem all too frequent in our world, evil is easy to identify and easy to become angered at. We look at those who commit these horrible things and quote along with Paul,

Their feet are swift to shed blood;
ruin and misery are in their paths,
and the way of peace they have not known.
There is no fear of God before their eyes.