Matthew 20:25-28 NRSV But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Philippians 2:6-11 NRSV  Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to ..read more

By Jim Burklo (Matthew 26: 6-13, Mark 14: 3-9, Luke 7: 36-50, John 12: 1-8)   At a party, when a woman, without giving notice, anointed Jesus with perfumed oil, his fellow guests objected to its expense, which could have been put to use serving the poor. But in that extravagant act, Jesus was made Christ, the Anointed One.   Men were made kings of Israel with coronations of oil poured over their heads by other powerful men in pompous ceremony. Jesus was ennobled by surprise by a powerless woman of questioned repute with fragrant oil poured over him to excess.   And from her, as ..read more

Obviously, American democracy is in enormous danger in 2024, as demonstrated in both the words and the behavior of Donald Trump and his followers and enablers. Now – not later - is the time for each of us to do our parts in preventing him from being elected to the presidency.  Instead of fretting, we can take action right away. Here are four very do-able, simple things you can take on right now – and I hope you’ll urge your friends to do the same.   1.  Make a list of friends, relatives, and acquaintances who are possible or likely Trump voters.  Initiate kind, friendl ..read more

Many if not most of us spend a frightfully huge percentage of our time hunched over our “smart” phones, staring and poking at them.  It’s not all bad.  But it’s certainly problematic for many, if not most, of us. For very many of us, it is confusing to sort out good uses of digital media from the worthless or bad.  As someone involved still in ministry on college campuses, I am aware that a lot of students, even at elite institutions, are lost in a miasma of highly questionable sources of information.  They get lost in comparing themselves, usually to the detriment of thei ..read more

Speech and Academic Integrity on Campus: Progressive Christian Campus Ministers Take a Stand For more information:  zoeprogressivechristianlife@gmail.com   We are leaders of progressive Christian ministries at colleges and universities around the United States, deeply concerned with right-wing assaults against free speech and academic integrity at the institutions we serve.  Many colleges and universities were founded by our progressive Christian forebears, who believed in the mission of secular higher education, believed in academic freedom and integrity, and released cont ..read more

  What does it take to change your life?  -when it is clear that you need to change it? Tis the season for making resolutions.  Plans for change in our lives.  Goals, objectives.  But I am going to guess that a lot of us are more than a bit skeptical about making resolutions, because so often they get put by the wayside, ignored, lost in the shuffle.  Resolutions that seemed shiny and compelling in January begin to fade and wilt in March.  Or maybe even in January… Perhaps another way to making changes in our lives would be to look at its process.  And ..read more

(My message for Christmas Eve at United Church of Christ, Simi Valley, 12/24/23) It was a Christmas road trip – Nazareth to Bethlehem – for a couple of peasants, a woman and her husband.  She was close to giving birth to her first child.  But It had to be done – the census was the law of the land.   You have to go to the town of the husband’s birth  to register - no exceptions for hardship.  And sure enough, when they got to town, she went into labor.  No provision for that situation, either.  For lack of any other lodging, they ended up in a barn.  ..read more

La Virgen del Cerro  - painting by Jim Burklo     There’s La Virgen de Guadalupe, the Mary of Mexico.  Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Czestechowa, our Lady of Aparecida, Our lady of Kineho, Our Lady of Pontmain, Our Lady of Siluva, Our Lady of La Salette, Our Lady of Medjugorje, and so many more. But there’s no Jesus of Simi Valley, no Jesus of Peru, no Jesus of Omaha, no Jesus of Rwanda.  Sure, there are all sorts of depictions of Jesus with different ethnicities and characteristics.  And of course people report having visions of Jesus.  But they aren’t ..read more

  Image: Scott Griessel (c) 2013 creatista.com     There’s no such thing as a nobody.  That’s the message of Mary. Until her immaculate conception, until she howled out the Magnificat, she had become accustomed to being treated as a nobody. Then came the miracle.  Quite suddenly she was fully aware, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, that she was a somebody.  A divine consciousness was implanted within her.  Call it Christ consciousness.  The consciousness that she mattered, that everybody matters. "My soul magnifies the Lord," sang out M ..read more

  This past week, I read an inspiring article in – of all periodicals – Vanity Fair, highlighting the efforts of Senator Chris Murphy to address the epidemic of loneliness and isolation in America.  He made a name for himself when he relentlessly and successfully pushed through a rare piece of gun control legislation in the wake of the Sandy Hook mass shooting.  But such a modest improvement through public policy was only treating the symptom, and not the root causes of the epidemic of gun violence. “There are just real practical impacts to people feeling lonely and disconnect ..read more