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Reactions to Trump’s Victory: Learning from African Elections
In 2013, I was living in Kenya while their presidential elections were looming. Everyone was remembering the previous election in 2007, when violence erupted and over 1000 people died in the aftermath, as tribal differences were triggered. As expats, we had our contingency plans set up, but were mostly expecting to hunker down inside our…
Spring Always Follows Winter
In much of the northern hemisphere, spring has arrived. The seasonal change is certainly evident here in the Middle East. Last month, when we took a picnic up to a lone tree on a hill, its March branches were still barren. It was that week that we celebrated “Nawruz,” the “new year celebration” that coincided…
Trauma According to Paul: Resilience in Relationships
We are equipped for survival in the present, but once the danger is past, it is not always easy to move forward “as usual.” Yet, we read of Paul’s accounts of being beaten, imprisoned, stoned and left for dead, and each time getting up again.
Orlando: A Time for Love or Hate?
After Sunday’s tragedy of the shooting in Orlando (and the one that almost occurred in California) I’ve watched a wide range of reactions unfold. Of course those directly affected showed their overwhelming grief. Many showed sympathy and empathy through memorials, act of kindness, promises of prayer, donation of blood. Others expressed anger at multiple parties….
There is no suffering that He himself did not endure, we are told in scripture again and again. The apostle Paul reminds us in Hebrews 2:14-18, that Jesus shared in our humanity and chose to share our experiences of life, so that he could break the power of the Devil and provide a way of salvation. That Jesus became one of us so that he could identify with us and help us, is the heart of the gospel message. Thanks, Emily, for reminding us that love is expressed in many and varied ways, with none more poignant than the love Jesus displayed when he died on the cross.