ARTICLES [October - December 2004 Volume 13 No. 4]

Who Is on the Outside, Looking In? - A Message from Keith A. Russell

Unity and Otherness: Lessons from Babel and Pentecost, Frank D. Macchia

Without stimulus and renewal, religious practices can become rigid, lifeless, and ultimately irrelevant. An intentional outsider may be precisely what is needed to spark renewal and growth. Frank Macchia looks at Pentecost as the launching pad for legions of God’s intentional outsiders.

The Outsider Becomes an Insider: The New Center Is on the Margin,  Dianne Bergant, C.S.A.

There are no outsiders to the God who created all humankind. Dianne Bergant reminds us that Jesus actively reached out to the religious outsider, the social outsider, and the economic outsider. If they were at the center of Jesus’ ministry, where should they be for our ministry?

The Outsider Inside the Upside Down Kingdom: A Biblical Basis for Ministries of Mercy and Justice, Michael J. Christiensen

While observing the way that society’s institutions give privilege and power to “the winners,” Michael J. Christensen asks if the community of faith does not have a uniquely important role to play in embracing the broken, the powerless, and the oppressed.

There's No "Them" There, John Haughey, S.J.

John Haughey gives us some wonderfully fresh and unexpected insights when he turns the tables and looks at Jesus in the unfamiliar role of learner rather than teacher. What Jesus learns from his encounters with a range of “outsiders” holds some surprising implications for us all.
 

Let's Keep Pace with the Holy Spirit - Just This Once, Peter Storey

In this thoughtful and deeply moving essay, Peter Storey first reminds us that the Gospel is all about people who were once outsiders, experiencing the hospitality of the Holy Spirit. He then challenges the church to be true to the Gospel and to resist the temptation to find scriptural justification to reject those who are different.

Outsiders Become Insiders, Sangyil Park

From his rich multicultural insights, Sangyil Park observes that the same dynamics are at work in everything from international armed conflicts to assimilating a single new member into a congregation. Simple acts of kindness often topple barriers where the most carefully scripted rhetoric fails.

Responding to Outsiders: A Spiritual Challenge, A Personal Pilgrimage, C. Welton Gaddy

Drawing on his own spiritual journey, C. Welton Gaddy reminds us that in a world of vast diversity, every one of us is an outsider in some realm. He challenges us to use our firsthand knowledge of this pain and anxiety to develop a true sense of hospitality that removes the label of “outsider” from anybody.

The Ties That Bind: Reconciliation and the Outsider from an African Perspective, Akintunde E. Akinade

An inescapable lesson learned in South Africa is that there are no short cuts to meaningful reconciliation between individuals or peoples. Akintunde E. Akinade gives the compelling arguments for rejecting cheap

Outsiding, James F. Keenan, S.J.

James Keenan uses the term “outsiding” as a verb to emphasize that as individuals, we hurt, exclude, and label others by deliberate actions rooted in our negative attitudes. Our “outsiding” actions cease when a personal experience of the affirming love of God replaces our negative attitudes.

[Click on the article title to read the entire text]

Preaching and the Korean Church, Eun Chul Kim

In less than 150 years Christianity has evolved from a suspiciously alien set of beliefs to become a major influence on Korea’s beliefs, life, and politics. Eun Chul Kim gives a fascinating look at how Korean preachers — by selecting, rejecting, and adapting preaching topics — have made the universal Christian message relevant to Korea in times of both persecution and prosperity.

The Way: Faith, Gratitude, Prayer, and Generosity, David L. Bartlett
    Reflections on the Lectionary Readings for October 2004

The Time of Our Lives, J. Gerald Janzen
    Reflections on the Lectionary Readings for November 2004

God Is With Us! For What Do We Wait? Judith Hoch Wray
    Reflections on the Lectionary Readings for December 2004

Lectionary Guide for the Outsider, Marian Ronan

The Preaching Life

Interview with Father Walter Burghardt, S.J., Douglas S. Stivison

One of the greatest preachers of our day stresses the need for good listening, sound theology, and engaging storytelling if we want to craft homilies that congregations want to hear and remember.

Quotations from Theologians, Scholars, and Philosophers, Ginger Grab