ANGRY GOD

Angry God.

I was told today, by my good friend Dave Scherer (Christian rapper Agape), that ours is an Angry God.

[stunned disbelief] What?! How could you say that?! Not MY God!!!

And then Dave schooled us a little bit... (as he tends to do...)

About 30,000 children die a day of hunger-- don't we want God to get angry about that? People perpetuate hate crimes against their neighbors every day-- don't we want God to get angry about that? Wars are waged all the time, motivated by greed and power-lust and hatred-- don't we want God to get angry at that?

The Bible is filled with tales of God's righteous anger at the injustices in the world. This anger comes from God's intense, intimate, and passionate love for the world, God's creation. And where there is suffering and when God's people could do something about it-- God gets angry. Not because God doesn't love us, or that our obedience earns God's favor, but because we participate in the work of redemption in the world. We get to be a part of love, grace, and peace in the world-- in our homes, schools, jobs, and communities.

Ours is an Angry God, who cringes at the sight of suffering, injustice, and inhospitality. Ours is a Savior who overturns the tables in the Temple out of righteous anger at religious hypocrisy.

Thank goodness mine is a faith that embraces dual forces, paradoxes-- so that I can praise a God of love, angry at the injustices Her beloved creation endures!

Girlfriends

I'll admit-- most of my life I've had more male friends than female ones. It just seems that I get along with guys better. Now that I am getting older, I continue to have many guy friends, but I am appreciating more and more my girlfriends. In fact, at this stage in my life, most of my closest friends are women.

In my new role as assistant pastor at Trinity, I am on a pastoral team with 5 male pastors. And they are great! Very supportive and encouraging. However, I knew from the beginning of my time here that finding women pastor friends and mentors was going to be important for me.

And so I've done just that. With a couple of women, actually.

But yesterday, I had the most incredible lunch with a certain pastor. She and I hit it off right away... We had LOTS in common. And she had such grace and wisdom... and sense of humor! It was a delight, truly. Before we knew it, our little lunch had turned into a 2 hour affair. :-) When I walked away, I did so feeling like my soul had been fed. And like I had a new friend.

Thank God for good girlfriends!