Many years ago, I worked in refugee resettlement. The agency I worked with received refugees from all over the world and helped them to settle into new lives here in the United States. There was an incredible diversity in the people we welcomed - from their language and culture, to their education and economic status previous to becoming a refugee, to their mood and level of excitement - or not - about coming to the U.S.

For those who have been baptized, do you remember that day?

‘But I see four men unbound, walking in the middle of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the fourth has the appearance of a god.’

This semester I’ve been studying the history of the early church. A key value of the early church, starting from the days of the disciples and Paul, was that of unity. The church believed they needed to be unified in all major beliefs or doctrines and in practice. Threats to this unity were dealt with swiftly. It didn't always work - and eventually it all fell apart - but in the beginning, they worked diligently to keep everyone on the same page.

"When the gospel has become bad news to the poor, to the oppressed, to the broken-hearted and imprisoned, and good news to the proud, self-righteous and privileged instead, it is no longer the gospel of Jesus." - Beth Moore

Those of you in my generation or older will understand this reference perhaps better than the younger folk: When the first Matrix movie with Keanu Reeves came out in 1999, there was a lot of talk about the Christ imagery contained in the film. Reeves plays Tom Anderson, also known as "Neo". He is rumored to be the chosen one. Near the end of the movie, Neo dies. Yet, after encouragement from his girlfriend, named interestingly, Trinity, he comes back to life. His "resurrection" and saving of his team are often what people point to with this Christ-imagery.

My assignment this week for one of my classes was to watch an inspiring video of Henry Nouwen and then share what I took away from it with others. This is my sharing.

What does God require of us?

There was a cartoon image on Facebook this week that broke my heart. 

Painted rocks are a thing here where I live. It's not unusual to find one on a hike through the desert or walking around downtown even. Some of them have images, some have words. There's a whole Facebook page dedicated to finding these rocks, posting a photo of them, and then leaving them in a new place for someone else to find.

I was working on my homework just now and came across the phrase "the virgin of Christ". At first, my mind went to the Virgin Mary, and the belief in her perpetual virginity and innocence (a belief seemingly unsupported by the Bible, which mentions Jesus' brothers). Then I realized - this phrase was not in reference to Mary. It was in reference to the Church.