To Think God as Love

In his provocative and illuminating essay ‘Abortion: Theologically Understood’ Stanley Hauerwas discerns that most Christians’ opinions on abortion are not really informed by the Christian faith. For the most part, they argue from their socio-cultural presuppositions and the sentiments instilled in them in the American ethos. As he says, ‘One of the reasons why the [...]

Stanley Hauerwas loves to quote John Howard Yoder as saying, “People who bear crosses are working with the grain of the universe.” Agreed. And yet. People who bear crosses certainly are working with the grain insofar as they are acting with Christ, who is – in that very act of bearing his cross –  revealing [...]

“The church,” Hauerwas insists 1 “is known where the sacraments are celebrated, the word is preached, and upright lives are encouraged and lived.” 2 More than being known, the church is being formed, she becomes herself, in the celebration of the sacraments.  In the sacraments we enact the story of Jesus and in so doing [...]

“How to learn to be present when there is not a lot you can do other than be present; you find out, therefore, what it means to be a friend of time.”

From a sermon on the two “admirers” who unknowingly meet Jesus on the Emmaus road: However, as they proceed on their way to Emmaus, instructing Jesus along the way, it is remarkable that they do not recognize who he is. We tend to blame them for this, but perhaps we are far too quick. We are not talking ’regular stuff’ here. [...]