All posts by Johnna

I am a Christian educator and writer.I have worked in churches, denominational offices, and seminaries. I have a PhD in Theology from Princeton Theological Seminary, with a focus on Practical Theology and educating in faith. In 2010, my book, "How the Other Half Lives: the challenges facing clergy spouses and partners," was published by Pilgrim Press. I believe that words can build doorways that lead to encounters with God through the Spirit.
Meditation, Nature

Death and Life

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One State To Another

The tree trunk is riddled with holes, covered in moss and lichen, lying on a bed of leaves just off one of the walking paths. It isn’t the only one – there are hundreds of them in the woods, decomposing.

I wonder how many years this tree stood, how long ago it grew from a seed into a towering presence. It seems like a sorry end for a grand life form, and an unnoticed one.

But I noticed, and a closer look revealed the life that is now present in this fallen trunk. Mushrooms and animals are breaking down the dead wood, turning it into new soil. Insects and small animals are living in and under it. The life of this tree ended, but nothing of the tree’s vitality has gone to waste. Energy and matter are being transformed from one state to another, and new life is created. This new life doesn’t change the fact that a tree has died, but the death of the tree doesn’t change the fact that new life emerges. It would be true whether I noticed it or not.

At the end of my time here, when my life is ended, who knows what the remains of my existence might foster – Noticed or not.

Meditation, Nature

A Beautiful Life

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Unfurled

Flowers in bloom are lovely, but it’s hard to beat the symmetry of what has yet to open up. The structure of it, compacting into such a small, circular space what will soon unfold into something so much more noticeable to passersby.

Some see in this unfolding the evolutionary genius of the plant – a plant attracting what it needs to survive and thrive by flowering. Some see it in terms of aesthetics – beauty that is valuable for its own sake rather than for survival beyond its individual life span.

I’m not anxious to choose one perspective over the other, whether it’s the life of this plant, my own, or all the life this cosmos bears. Just because our lives foster the next generation doesn’t mean that they can be reduced to a means to a biological end. And just because our lives are an expression of beauty and uniqueness doesn’t mean that they aren’t leading to life beyond our own brief span of years.

Maybe Jesus wanted us to find more than one meaning in telling us to consider the lilies.

Meditation, observation, Prayer

Foundation

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Local Foundation

A short walk and a glance at foot level is a time capsule in this Vermont town. Brick, marble, field stone, poured cement, cinder blocks, and a combination of any and all of these are holding up any number of buildings of varying vintage, purpose, and style. I am amazed at the ingenuity of past builders who were able to use what was on hand to create solid and unique foundations.

Partially Covered

The history of additions is on display as well, where the original and new meet. An expanded house requires a larger foundation to support it, and sometimes new materials brought together in new ways.

I suspect the foundation of my faith is much the same – made out of what was at hand throughout my lifetime, and in need of expansion as my faith grew beyond what the original could support.

I hope, at the end of my days, my foundation is sturdy, supporting a lifetime of change and adventure – and that it is anything but uniform.

observation

The Path Appears

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My usual walk to Northshire Bookstore was blocked from the crosswalk in front of Up For Breakfast to just past Christo’s Pizza. A mini-excavator was busy digging out an area just off the sidewalk. I couldn’t see what was in the works through all the traffic, safety cones, and workers; I continued my walk to the bookstore. For my return home, I took another route. It wasn’t until two days ago that I could see what had been done.

Christo’s Alley

An alley connecting the Main Street sidewalk and a parking lot had been covered in stone.

I’m sure I’d glanced at the alley sometime in the last two years, but I’m also sure that its presence didn’t register. What had been invisible to me was now visible – more than that, attention-grabbing.The stone revealed a path not seen before, and certainly not taken.

I keep thinking about this alley path – its invisibility and its appearance two days ago. It has become part of my daily meditation. I’m not yet sure why, but it feels important. A way to navigate the place I call home, a connection that wasn’t mine before, a path where I thought there was a wall. A new way through.

In a time with so much chaos, meanness of spirit, violence, and hatred, I’d like a new way through – a way to peace, kindness, healing, and compassion. It might only be an alley, but it doesn’t need to be a boulevard for me to walk from one place to another.

This is one in a series. Click “At My Feet” above for more information.

Nature, observation

Scale

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It’s the fuzzy green, mossy growth blanketing a tree stump a few yards off a Hildene walking path. It’s soft, with amazing variations in pattern and color that can only be seen up close. If I didn’t know that this was taken with a zoom lens, I’d assume this photo was of some kind of fir tree. I’d assume a different, larger scale – that it would appear this way to my naked eye.

Why do I assume that reality is limited to my perspective, my scale, my observational vantage point? In truth, what I miss seeing is far more than what I do see. I ignore so much more than I attend to, and my world is poorer for it.

But there’s something holy and marvelous to knowing that. It’s a relief that the beauty, mystery, and deep life of this cosmos isn’t limited by my dubious observational ability…

[This is one in a series, At My Feet. Click the title above for more information.]

Biblical Reflection, Meditation

You Get What You Get

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Now you are all the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way…I Corinthians 12:27-31, NRSV

Paul finishes this chapter with a couple of pointed remarks and questions spoken with an edge. Are ALL teachers/prophets/apostles? Do ALL work miracles? et cetera…

No, of course. No one gets all the gifts: no one gets none. No one gets a choice, either. You get what the Spirit hands you. Whatever it is, put it to use for the good of all and the revelation of God’s infinite love. Don’t waste time wishing for a different gift; there is a reason you and I got what we got – even if we don’t know what that reason might be. Isn’t it enough to be the only person in the entire history of the cosmos who has the your combination?

Then comes Paul’s final advice: strive for the greater gifts. But what are these greater gifts? The chapter ends without revealing them. They could be anything, couldn’t they? Superhuman endurance in the face of evil; undeniable power of persuasion to inspire and lead others; the ability to heal with a touch (or a scalpel). Until Paul moves on to chapter thirteen and the big reveal:

Faith. Hope. Love.

Not a lot of superhero flash here, and no measuring stick to find our places in the pecking order of power.

Live in faith and faithfully. Remember that hope is stronger than any circumstance. Embrace the eternal nature of love.

It takes a lifetime to trust in the truth that every young life is born into and out of: love has no need to conquer a damn thing because it is the very fiber of God’s creation.

Biblical Reflection, Meditation

Pick the Right Pronoun

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But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it. I Corinthians 12:24b-26, NRSV

Everyone within a community is connected, and each person is affected by the wellbeing or distress of another. This truth can be accepted, even celebrated. This truth can be rejected, even denied. This truth is still true: what affects one affects everyone else.

These days, too many want to disassociate rather than relate; rather than accept others as integral, others are wished away, even wished harm – as if the wellbeing of one isn’t tied to the wellbeing of all. The other is an it, turned into something of no value or consequence. This delusion damages the one labeled it, and it hollows out the one who labels.

There is no peace, no joy, no love in this. I-Thou is the truth, which leads to the larger, holy truth:

The correct pronoun is always We.

Biblical Reflection, Meditation, Theology

All About the Clothes…

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As it is, there are many members, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; whereas our more respectable members do not need this.

I Cor. 12:20-24a, NRSV

Paul continues his faith community/body metaphor in interesting specifics. We clothe the parts of bodies we find less respectable – a truth and the reason we wear pants. But I wonder if Paul had a double meaning in here.

Are the members of the community who are well clothed, who are considered important and widely respected – are they the weaker members? Are the well known and well heeled (literally) in need of this attention more than others who don’t get it? Are the unnoticed and under-appreciated who see to the wellbeing of the community the stronger ones?

It’s a cheeky take on Paul’s words, but is it accurate? What do you think?

Biblical Reflection, Meditation, observation

What would happen if…

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If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body. I Corinthians 12:17-20, NRSV

What would happen if…

…everyone assumed that every single person in a community was vital to its health and ministry?

…no one wanted gifts they did not receive – and everyone valued the gifts they did?

…we trusted that the community had everything it needed to serve God and neighbor in love?

Would we finally know beyond a doubt how precious and holy each and every one of us is?

In memoriam

In Memoriam: Pope Francis

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Compassion. Kindness. Blessing. Simplicity. Hard Work. There are so many adjectives to describe the only man who chose Francis as his papal name.

I never met the man, but his dedication to prayer conversation, and advocacy for those in greatest need defined his time as the head of the Roman Catholic Church – it also made him an inspiration and beloved brother in Christ to Christians well beyond the boundaries of his tradition.

Like the Dalai Lama, Francis shouldered the title: His Holiness. Like the Dalai Lama, his way of being in the world made those two words more than titular: they were an apt description of the man.