Transcendence
Scott Kearns takes a stab at the notion of transcendence, paying particular attention to beauty, goodness, and truth. He does this in the context of the approaching New Year and our habit of making resolutions for ourselves. Download a series of quotations he draws upon as he speaks. You can also download a copy of the worksheet that he hands out to his listeners, encouraging them to transcend, go beyond, be more in the New Year.
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Cheap Peace
During Advent, we anticipate the arrival of the one who, in our tradition, is sometimes referred to as the Prince of Peace. But peace is a difficult notion, and the recorded words of the Prince himself don’t exactly make things easier when he speaks of bringing a sword.
Our culture tends to inculcate in us a view of peace that is a cheap peace. For example, we get it from an early age when we are taught that children should be seen and not heard, an attitude that we then pass on to our children. And yet, in a world rife with deadly conflicts, it isn’t good enough simply to sit in our complacent Western cocoon, trying not to make waves. We are called to a costly peace that may force us to swallow our aversion to conflict and to get messy on every level: in our self-understanding, in our personal relationships, and in our global dealings.