The Word As Resistance

Join Rev. Sarah Howell-Miller as she follows Jesus in the wake of his first act of public proclamation in Luke 4:21-30 and asks why the good news of liberation for the poor and oppressed is so hard for people of privilege to receive. Transcript available here: https://surj.org/our-work/surj-faith/twir/

Join Rev. Jean Jeffress as they explpore Paul's weird anatomy lesson in 1 Corinthians 12:12-31. Paul calls for unity in discipleship - we are all one in Christ. But unity is hard - find out why in this episode. Transcript available here: https://surj.org/our-work/surj-faith/twir/

It's our 5th birthday here at The Word Is Resistance! And incredibly, the gospel reading is about a party! Mary insists that Jesus liven up the party at a wedding banquet. Is this a frivolous magic trick, or was Mary on to something important? Join Rev. Anne Dunlap for this take on John 2:1-11. Join us for our first-ever virtual meet-up! Register here: https://bit.ly/twirmeetup Transcript availabl...

Gathering, healing, restoring, calling: God’s love and compassion are not just abstract concepts or ideas or feelings. Join Rev. Kelsey Beebe as she explores why it matters that God loves through embodied actions. Transcript available here: https://surj.org/our-work/surj-faith/twir/

What would be good news to low-wage workers in first-century, occupied Palestine? This Christmas, join Rev. Margaret Ernst as she reflects on the news of Christ's birth from the standpoint of the shepherds, and why it’s okay to have the Christmas blues. To get involved with SURJ Faith’s Community Safety for All campaign in 2022, visit https://surj.org/our-work/surj-faith/cs4a/ To listen to Pastor...

On this week's Advent episode, Rev. Seth Wispelwey looks at The Magnificat and examines specifically what place, if any, (white) men have there. Why might it be good news for (white) men to be sent away with nothing, as Mary's exultant song says is God's holy purpose and plan for the powerful? Living in a system of violent patriarchy means men have hard questions to face about our "place" in the C...

What all is happening at the Jordan River when John the Baptist baptizes the crowds and preaches with such, shall we say, intensity? Join Rev. Anne Dunlap with special guest Rev. M Barclay as they talk about Luke 3: 7-18. And don't worry, we don't call anyone a brood of vipers! Transcript available here: https://surj.org/our-work/surj-faith/twir/

Suddenly! Something’s coming. Something good. "Suddenly" is always right there, in the next moment, if we are willing to join in the heavenly host—the conspiracy of all that is—if we are willing to undergo the vulnerability we have been avoiding, if we are willing to step into the refiner’s fire. Join Nichola Torbett for this dive into Malachi 3: 1-4 for the 2nd Sunday of Advent. Transcript availa...

What if apocalyptic texts aren't about the world ending, but about the world turning? God is breaking in, disrupting things, and creating something new. Join Rev. Kelsey Beebe in an exploration of this "apocalyptic" text from Luke 21 for the first Sunday of Advent. Transcript available here: https://surj.org/our-work/surj-faith/twir/ Call to Action: Support BLOC: Black Leaders Organizing for Commu...

How are we as white Christians questioning what has been told to us about, well, everything? Who are we listening to to build more liberatory futures? Join Rev. Sarah Howell-Miller as she digs into the questions around Christ the King Sunday, and where those questions can lead us as white Christians. Transcript available here: https://surj.org/our-work/surj-faith/twir/

When things are falling apart and it feels like the end times, how can we as white folks not get distracted, not be led astray from the work of liberation, and tend to the birthpangs of a new, more just, world being born? Join Rev. Anne Dunlap and new contributor Dr. Sharon Fennema for this conversation on "Mark's Little Apocalypse" (Mark 13: 1-8). Transcript available here: https://surj.org/our-w...

Hey, everyone, this is Nichola. It seems as if half of the communities I know are in turmoil right now, mired in conflict or exhausted by the demands of holding together through the forced distancing, grief, and stress of a global pandemic. In this episode, I explore what the book of Hebrews--written during another divisive and stressful time--might offer us to help us navigate the strains and hea...

White Christians, what layers of meaning have already been defined and forced on us as we grapple with the call to manifest dignity, solidarity, and liberation for and alongside all God’s beloved people? Join Rev. Seth Wispelwey as he wrestles with all these questions and more. Transcript available here: https://surj.org/our-work/surj-faith/twir/

"Sell what you own and give the money to the poor." What wisdom does autumn hold to help us as white folks better understand this famous story about a rich man, a camel and a needle's eye, the first being last, and Jesus? Join Rev. Anne Dunlap on this week's episode! Transcript available here: https://surj.org/our-work/surj-faith/twir/

What if the story in Genesis 2:18-24 of the Divine creating humans from one earthy being is not a story about binaries, or gender roles, or a hierarchy of men over women, but about wholeness? And community? And divine generosity? And what does any of that have to do with anti-racism? Join Rev. Anne Dunlap and special guest Rev. Kelsey Beebe for this fascinating conversation! Transcript available h...

Join Nichola Torbett (she/her) and Rev. Jean Jeffress (they/them) as they engage in a conversation on James 3:13 - 4:3, 7-8a about spiritual practice, checking our motives, and the ways white supremacy seeks to control us from the inside out. Transcript available here: https://surj.org/our-work/surj-faith/twir/

In this episode of The Word is Resistance, Min. Blyth Barnow brings reflections on substance use, stigma, and how the drug war defiles us all.

In this special episode of The Word is Resistance, we hear from Margaret Ernst about her experience at the the Treaty People Walk for Water on Anishinaabe land in present-day Minnesota, where indigenous leaders are leading the fight to Stop the Line 3 pipeline that threatens waterways and tribal sovereignty. This week is a critical moment in the struggle, and there are many roles to play. **If you...

Join Jean Jeffress as they explore different ideas about resisting the deathly forces of empire. Imagination, reclaiming language, and fabulous outfits feature in this episode, inspired by Ephesians 6:10-20. Transcript available here: https://surj.org/our-work/surj-faith/twir/

What would it mean for the land to rest? What would have to happen for that to be possible? Join Rev. Anne Dunlap as she explores the layers ofJudges 4-5, the story of Deborah and Jael defending their people. Transcript available here: https://surj.org/our-work/surj-faith/twir/

Join Rev. Will Green as he asks what we want to put up on the walls where other images have been? If white supremacy and all of its associated accoutrements won’t protect us, what will? Transcript available here: https://surj.org/our-work/surj-faith/twir/

Let's be honest: The body of Christ is traumatized, and so are nearly all the people who make it up, and this makes it really hard for us to work together across systemic power differences. What might the disability justice movement have to teach us, in light of this reality, about what it means to "come to maturity to the full measure of the stature of Christ"? Transcript available here: https://...

Rev. Margaret Ernst looks at Jesus’ feeding of the 5000 through the lens of mutual aid, and in a cautionary tale about supremacy in the guise of hospitality, unpacks Susan Raffo’s essay about how white, Christian women from the North moved on from abolition work to become staffers of Indian boarding schools - becoming arbiters of cultural genocide. For Susan’s essay, “the lineages healers have to...

Celebrate our 200th episode with 5 of our contributors! Each offers a reflection on Psalm 85:8-1, and what we’ve learned through our work on this podcast. What have we learned about ourselves, about the Bible, about white supremacy and the work we need to do? How has working on this podcast shaped us over time? What do we hope *you,* our audience, have learned? What commitments do we hope you’re h...

Sometimes, when someone talks about a spiritual experience that seems "out there," I have dismissed it as "too woo." But what do we really mean when we call something "woo." Where does that designation come from? Who does it serve? And what political work does it do? Join Nichola Torbett in an exploration of the woo, in 2 Corinthians and beyond. Transcript available here: https://surj.org/our-work...