It took a wild and crazy guy—someone out of his mind—to recognize who Jesus was.

It happened early in the ministry of Jesus at a synagogue in Capernaum where he was teaching with great effectiveness. That is, the folks gathered there on the Sabbath were impressed by how different this young rabbi was from the scribes who were their normal fare. Evidently it wasn’t just what he was teaching but also the authority with which he taught.

Those were people in their right minds: tame and typical. more

As we celebrate the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr., we recognize his legacy on behalf of racial justice. But let us not forget that on the day he was assassinated, he was in Memphis to lead a sanitation workers’ strike. In the months ahead, he was planning a Poor People’s march on Washington. more

It has been 44 years since the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. What would he think about our life together today? I doubt very much that he could visualize an African American in the White House so soon. I can only imagine the quiet satisfaction he might feel. But he would agonize over the fact that we are in this country more divided by wealth and income than at any time since the Gilded Age of the 1890s and the Great Depression of the 1930’s. He would not be surprised that African Americans, as usual, are bearing a disproportionate share of the burden. more

http://www.thecommongood.org/alerts/#event645 more

In the words of Mary’s Magnificat, we organize ways to lift up the lowly, and fill the hungry with good things. These are expressions of kindness and good will. They are acts of charity. But at Protestants for the Common Good, we believe it is important to remember that Mary’s words call us beyond charity, as important as such acts are. more

Rev. Susan Johnson discusses themes of danger and hope in the Magnificat and asks us to dwell on Mary’s witness and participation, which magnify God for us – that is, making God visible, tangible, palpable, follow-able, helping us to understand where God is, what God is doing, what the signs are – scattering the proud, bringing down the mighty, lifting up those of low estate, feeding those who hunger and thirst, sending away those who have had more than enough already. more

The General Assembly’s 2011 legislative year finally ended on December 13, 2011 after it passed two significant bills—one to give some tax relief to low-income, working families who are eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit and the other to grant highly-profitable corporations tax breaks. more

Very few things spark my ire more quickly, and then manage to sustain that anger longer, than TV commercials…The current rare exception is an ad for United Healthcare insurance. more

It appears likely that some funding will be restored to several of the human service programs and facilities cut in the 2012 state budget. Whether it’s a supplemental appropriation, as some say, or a budget reallocation, as other prefer to call it, this restored funding represents good news for some of the most vulnerable people of Illinois. more

Except for that dramatic encounter on the road to Damascus, the actual connections between Paul and Jesus aren’t all that clear…But it is clear that Paul did get the point. more