Practical Faith in everyday life.

I wish I could hate them.

Posted on July 18, 2019July 18, 2019 by Michael Rose

I wish I could hate them. In ways, it would be so much easier. Their violence, racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, xenophobia, greed, exploitation of the poor, the anything-to-win-politics and indiscriminate, consumption of the planet and each other. I hate the scapegoating, half-truths, spins … all the bullshit. I hate the value of winning at all…

Forgiveness – Love in Real Life

Posted on May 4, 2019May 4, 2019 by Michael Rose

Through heaves of sorrow from a broken heart, he asked “Does repentance have to come before forgiveness? They have no idea how they have destroyed me. How do I forgive?” They are unaware. Oblivious to how much they have hurt my friend. So is there any theological (or otherwise) position to forgiving those who hurt…

Vulnerability – Art of Showing Up

Posted on April 30, 2019May 1, 2019 by Michael Rose

They started their presentation with a 10-minute litany of why they are “f’’d up,” and this led into a conversation about vulnerability. Their attempt to connect with us with pseudo vulnerability was less connecting, and more ‘this person could really benefit from some therapy.” I think vulnerability is often misunderstood. For lots of folks, vulnerability…

The Least of These

Posted on April 18, 2019April 18, 2019 by Michael Rose

Once upon a time there were two brothers and they lived with their aging mother. Every night one brother would devote himself to care for his mother, serving her with patience and tenderness. The other brother, a devout sincere religious person spent his evenings in prayer and worship of God. It came to pass that…

Facing my Violence for Justice Sake

Posted on February 4, 2019February 5, 2019 by Michael Rose

Volumes have been spewed on the Washington Memorial – Covington School – Black Israelites – Indigenous drummer incident a week or so ago. As I watched, I became more distraught. Through the cauldron of emotion I sensed a nudge to suspend judgement. An invitation to pause and to “see”. What I saw in myself was…

When Dirt isn’t Dirty

Posted on December 29, 2018December 29, 2018 by Michael Rose

I was at a gathering a couple of weeks ago, and one of the folks facilitating chose dirt as a metaphor. He rode that metaphor pretty hard as he reminded us repeatedly that we are dirty by nature and because dirty isn’t good we needed Jesus to make us clean. Sometimes, when we ride a…

Christmas: An Overcoming Light

Posted on December 7, 2018December 8, 2018 by Michael Rose

Do not lose Hope. Do not be afraid. Perhaps a bizarre way to begin a Christmas message but for many, it has been a season of pain and loss. Each of us has our own experiences of loss and are most certainly aware of people we know who are entering the Christmas season with…

Potty Mouth Prayer

Posted on November 1, 2018November 1, 2018 by Michael Rose

Is there a place for using a potty-mouth in prayer? You know, profanity, swearing. In a moment of angst, and no other word will do, is it okay for followers of Jesus to let fly with the nasty four-letter words? Never? Maybe? Depends on the word? As long as you conjugate them properly? What’s your…

Careless Words – Stop the Carnage

Posted on October 29, 2018November 1, 2018 by Michael Rose

My 12-year-old tells us of how at school there is a practice of “burns”. Burns are insults intended (so they say) to be humorous. They make a sharp comment, someone feels stupid, hurt or embarrassed and the other kids laugh saying ‘You just got burned!” And sometimes, after a scathing burn, they follow up with “just…

Thorns of Life

Posted on September 27, 2018November 14, 2024 by Michael Rose

I came across this story while listening to the audiobook version of The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer. It struck me so profoundly I spent the next few kilometres repeating the stunned mantra of “Oh wow… oh wow…”. I was so moved that I wanted to retell it in my own words to reduce…