Tag: Image of God

Christian Leadership, Christianity, Culture, Devotion, Encouragement, Faith, Life

Give to God What is God’s

For the second week in a row, we are faced with a challenging passage of Scripture that gives us another difficult encounter between Jesus and the religious and political authorities of the day. Much like the passage that we looked at last week, of the Parable of the Wedding Banquet, this encounter makes us uncomfortable. It is not the story, itself, that makes us comfortable. It is the context of the encounter that is uncomfortable. Jesus, here, seems to be addressing a very political situation.

Many of us like to believe Jesus rose above the politics of the day. There is some truth to that. Jesus is no partisan, but that does not mean Jesus refrained from discussing the social and political situation of his time. He routinely engages the political, cultural, and societal issues that faced the people to explain the greater truth of what it means to follow the Lord.

This encounter from Matthew 22:15-22 is no different. We meet up with Jesus in the middle of a busy day of conflicts and challenges from the religious and political elites. This particular confrontation takes place on the Tuesday of Holy or Passion Week. These direct confrontations between Jesus and the religious leaders where highlighted by the fact that Jesus routinely called out their hypocrisy that centered on what they taught and how they lived. Continue reading “Give to God What is God’s”

Christian Leadership, Christianity, Culture, Faith, Public Theology

God’s Kingdom Was Reflected in Coke Ad

Controversy has erupted following Sunday’s Super Bowl XLVIII, where the Seattle Seahawks won their first NFL championship. The controversy has nothing to do with Peyton Manning’s inability to lead the Broncos to their third title, but everything to do with an ad that played during the game.

The ad in question did not feature anything vulgar. It did not promote anything too risqué for children to watch. It wasn’t even in support of a company or product that would make you uncomfortable.

The “controversial” ad was developed by Coca-Cola. In it children from various cultures sung “America the Beautiful,” while images of young children were seen playing across the screen. For some, primarily those who believe America’s borders should be closed to other nationalities and cultures, it was an offensive ad.

I find that disappointing. In fact, I find the entire controversy disappointing. Continue reading “God’s Kingdom Was Reflected in Coke Ad”