Drew Downs

Make a New Normal

justice

  • The peace Jesus promises isn’t a passive thing done to us, or a weapon to enforce conformity. It is the very love of God and it is already here. God brings to life the peace that is already present. Easter 6C | John 14:23-29 Let’s talk about peace. I think we’re tempted to start with…

  • Hunger

    In Jesus’s temptation in the wilderness, we get a picture of resistance bigger than willpower and faith. A resistance to becoming powerful at all. Resisting temptation and power with JesusLent 1C | Luke 4:1-13 He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. It was a traditional practice…

  • It’s time we take responsibility for allowing flimsy justifications for racism.

  • Jesus doesn’t simply criticize the priests for their hubris, he exposes the whole system for its corruption, exploitation, and rejection of the poor. of poverty and hubris in the Temple Proper 27B  |  Mark 12:38-44 Less than a week after starting at my first congregation out of seminary, I went to my first clericus—a meeting of…

  • CLOSING IN ON JUSTICE The frustrating case of justice delayed, excuses made to slow the pace like cars in both lanes going 15 mph. Never passing, never making room. You imagine my outrage is an isolated incident and you, the right to slow my roll. Adversaries illustrated in India ink —black and white our only…

  • The Incarnation Is More Radical Than We Care To Admit. Advent 2A |  Isaiah 11:1-10 Isaiah 11:1-3 A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel…