Author Archive
Roy Goble
Pigeon Monday
Monday, April 2nd, 2012
Today is Pigeon Monday. Or at least that’s what I call it. Hopefully I’ll start a new trend. It would seem that Jesus had something against pigeons. That’s evident from the story of Him tearing up the Temple grounds.
On the Monday before Passover, Jesus entered the Temple grounds and unleashed some fury. It was always one of my favorite Bible stories when I was a kid. The vision of the Messiah overturning tables, driving people out, blocking people from bringing anything through the Temple … it was all so exciting compared to the meek and mild stuff I was told about Jesus in most Sunday School lessons. This was a God who would demand respect even in a junkyard!
The story of Jesus clearing the Temple continues to enchant me as I’ve grown older. I love a God who is willing to take risk and upset the status quo. Proclaiming truth as He exacts justice is an image that inspires.
Within a Yard of Hell…
Saturday, February 4th, 2012
The English missionary C.T. Studd said, “Some want to live within the sound of a church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.”
An admirable conviction! I have friends all over the world who are living that way, and I’m in awe of their perseverance. Courageous and faithful, they serve the poor, heal the wounded, and care for the least of these from Belize to Thailand to Zimbabwe and hundreds of places around the world.
Of course, in his day C.T. Studd was talking about an actual geographic location: far from the Christian world where church bells are never heard. This reminds me of the Islamic scholar Ibn Battuta who in 1330 was visiting Crimea and heard church bells for the first time.
Problems of the Privileged
Thursday, December 1st, 2011
A friend of mine was playing golf at her country club when she began to recognize a disturbing pattern: there were a lot of complaints about meaningless things.
I asked for more detail, and she said, “Oh, you know, just normal POP stuff.” I looked at her questioningly and she said, “POP. You know, Problems of Privilege. We’re playing golf on a beautiful course with everything we could ever really ask for, and yet we still find things to complain about. Problems of Privilege.”
I laughed out loud at that one! Indeed there is such a thing as POP, and most of us have some level of the affliction. A few people handle it well. But almost nobody is immune.
Forgetting the Poor?
Sunday, July 31st, 2011
There’s a passage in Galatians 2 that has always intrigued me, so this week I’m going to share three posts on the topic. This is from The Message translation of the Apostle Paul’s letter:
“Recognizing that my calling had been given by God, James, Peter, and John — the pillars of the church — shook hands with me and Barnabas, assigning us to a ministry to the non-Jews, while they continued to be responsible for reaching out to the Jews. The only additional thing they asked was that we remember the poor, and I was already eager to do that.”
