When Love Shows Up: Weekly Reflections about God’s Presence

Political Violence - The Re. Philip DeVaul

Jesus was a victim of political violence. But the real political violence against Jesus began before he was ever beaten, whipped, or killed. It began long before the night he was arrested. From very early in Jesus’ public ministry there are accounts of people plotting to silence him by force. The first time he preached at his home synagogue, he outraged his neighbors such that they sought to throw him off a cliff. The narrative of his ministry is laced with the threat of violence against him.  
But the political violence against Jesus goes further back than that. Shortly after his birth, his parents were forced to take him and flee the country: Herod, then the king of Israel, sought to kill the baby he saw as a threat to his power. The violence against Jesus went further – as Jesus was born into an occupied country; his safety and the safety of his family contingent upon the whims of the Roman Empire, subject to their ability to accept their systemic oppression without resistance.  
I’ve been thinking more and more about how Dr. King said, “True peace is not merely the absence of some negative force—tension, confusion or war; it is the presence of some positive force—justice, good will and brotherhood.” He observed repeatedly that one does not need to strike or stab or shoot in order to be violent: Violence exists in the threat of violence; violence exists in the creation and perpetuation of a system that maintains the status quo through the threat of violence.  
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For Charlie Kirk - The Rev. Philip DeVaul

I am a Christian. This means I have committed my life to following Jesus, to love like Jesus loves, and, for lack of a more attractive term, to obey Jesus. Jesus is crystal clear in his command that I love others the way he has loved me. It’s a good time to remember that the command to love is not a command to feel a certain way about someone. It is impossible for us to control all our feelings, and I don’t believe Jesus would give us impossible commands.  
To love Charlie Kirk does not mean to ignore or rationalize the things about him I find objectionable or harmful. To love him is to honor the dignity of his humanity – to recognize that he and I are both creations of the same God. To love Charlie Kirk is to be for him – and this is tricky, I acknowledge. I do not mean it means to accept or go along with everything he says, or to hope he gets what he wants. No, to love him is to hope for his heart to be filled with love, for him to experience liberation from hatred, for him to know true joy.  
This is a non-starter for a lot of people I love and respect. Because we are all caught up in the condition of believing love, liberation, and joy are only for people we think deserve it – that love, liberation, and joy are rewards for good behavior. But what if true love, liberation, and joy are the things that enable us to let go of hatred in the first place?  
 
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No Exceptions - The Rev. Philip DeVaul

Jesus did not take issue with this. For a people to understand themselves in relation to the God who made them, and to believe they have a purpose on this earth is empowering and beautiful. But Jesus noticed that certain people among him thought this relationship and purpose made them better than others – made their people somehow more worthy of God’s love and acceptance. They believed that they were an exceptional people.  
That didn’t work for Jesus. He told parables highlighting the faithfulness of people outside their culture. He uttered prophetic warnings to the effect that if they weren’t interested in creating communities that authentically recognized the dignity of every human being, God would gladly find others to do it. Jesus’ point again and again was simple: Just because we matter to God, just because God gave us a purpose, does not make us exceptional. We are all people – and every person has the capacity to glorify God in ways you can’t even imagine. 
I need to pause here and make it very clear that I do not believe the exceptionalism to which I refer is somehow a characteristic unique to the culture of ancient Israel, or of Jewish people. In our current times, we are seeing a horrifying surge in anti-Jewish rhetoric and violence in our country and across the globe. Christians in particular have an abysmal track record in terms of anti-Jewish rhetoric and violence. Of course there are and always have been Christians who have been supportive and respectful of our Jewish siblings. But some of the gravest threats to Jews throughout history have come from Christians, been condoned or undertaken by Christians.
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You're Not Special - The Rev. Philip DeVaul

I remember sitting next to my dad in a hospital room in Maine many years ago. He had accidentally overdosed on pain meds during his cancer battle and was in a coma. I sat in stillness next to his unnervingly quiet body in that unnervingly quiet room – helpless and useless. And, because I’m a religious guy, I pulled out my Bible. I turned it to the Book of Job. Maybe when you’re sad and scared you want something happy and hopeful: an inspirational Bible quote or cheery encouraging song. Not me. I want the saddest music possible. Music was not allowed in the ICU, so I read through the Biblical story of the man who lost everything he ever had and never got a good explanation for it. Nobody ever told him why his life fell apart, and no amount of faithfulness made it clearer for him. Job was simply miserable and clueless, and at the end he hadn’t learned a thing.  
It made my day. Because in that moment I realized not that I should be hopeful or happy or positive or cheery: Instead I learned I was not unique in my misery. I was not alone – even in my pitiable pilgrimage. What a gift. 
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Two Guys Without a Car - The Rev. Philip DeVaul

By the time we got back to the parking lot we were beat. Our wives were nowhere to be seen. So we called them, and it turned out the appointment they’d made wasn’t done yet and they were 3 miles down the road and wouldn’t be ready for a while.  
Martin and I looked at each other, and just started walking again. But we were no longer on the trail. We were on a sidewalk. Walking towards the wives and the minivan. Instead of creeks there were mini malls, instead of trees there were power lines and cell towers. Martin sighed, “Well I guess the hike continues.”  
I shook my head emphatically and said, “No, Martin. The hike is over. Now we’re just two guys without a car.” 
Intention matters.
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No More Christians - The Rev. Philip DeVaul

I grew up a Christian who believed the best thing I could possibly do as a Christian was make other people Christians. I was taught and believed that people who weren’t Christian would go to Hell when they died and spend eternity in conscious torment for believing the wrong thing while on earth. If I could just make someone Christian, then I would be saving them from an endless loop of torturous agony. What’s more, these previously damned souls would now get to experience the nameless eternal joys of Heaven all because of me! What could be a higher aspiration? 
Many Christians believe saving others from going to Hell is the purpose of life. And I think this is where it helps to have a real understanding of what Jesus asks of his followers. Jesus’ instructions to those who would act in his name is to serve others, to love others, to forgive the debts of others. Jesus is less interested in his followers trying to convince people something about God then he is in them embodying the loving presence of God. In other words, your job is not to save people, it’s to love them.  
There is a world of difference between saving others and serving others.

Go and Do Likewise - The Rev. Philip DeVaul

I am often looking for ways to appear good to others, to justify my own goodness to myself, to you, to God. Jesus rejects this outright. “Don’t even call me good,” he says, though if ever one was meant to be called that, it would be him. Throughout Jesus’ ministry, he seems far less interested in people being good than he is in them being merciful, loving, forgiving, working for peace, justice, and equity, and above all, ready to spot the presence of God in the person right in front of them. Awareness, readiness, and willingness to do the work are infinitely more interesting to Jesus than abstractions like goodness. 
When asked what matters most in this world to God, Jesus says loving God and loving your neighbor – and he makes it clear that these things are connected, and that they are on the same level. It is phrased as a commandment, yes, but more than that, this kind of love is a defining feature of anyone who says they follow Jesus. If I call myself a Christian and I do not love my neighbor, I am fundamentally missing the point. Conversely, if I do not call myself Christian, but I love my neighbor, I understand Jesus much better than the unloving Christian. And please remember that this love Jesus describes is not about sentiments and feelings – it’s about action. It’s about the practical work of caring for others.  
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Who is My Neighbor - The Rev. Philip DeVaul

It is impossible not to think of the brown-skinned people, many of whom are of Mexican origin, who are being racially profiled, snatched off the streets and detained without due process all across our country so that we might be made great. It is also impossible to forget that this disaster occurred just a month after our own government announced plans to defund FEMA – our country’s federal emergency response program. While our own country seems to be unclear about who our neighbor is, firefighters from northern Mexico had no such confusion. 
In Butler County Jail here in Ohio, sits a man named Ayman Soliman. He is an Egyptian refugee who has been in our country for over a decade. He fled Egypt under threat of death, and after surviving incarceration and torture because he spoke and acted in support of democracy during what has become known as the Arab Spring. He is a Muslim, and since living in the Cincinnati area, he has served as an imam in the local Muslim community, as well as a chaplain at Children’s Hospital, pastoring to people across religious and cultural affiliations. He has been charged with no crimes. He has devoted his life to the care of others. No reason has been given for the revocation of his asylum status. He has been imprisoned for nearly a month.

Holy Pride - A Conversation with The Rev. Philip DeVaul on The Priesthood of All Queer Believers

In this crossover episode, join hosts Tym House and Anny Stevens Gleason from our new podcast, The Priesthood of All Queer Believers as they welcome their first guest, The Reverend Philip Hart DeVaul. They discuss the intersection of queer identity and faith, addressing common misconceptions about 'pride as sin' and the hypocrisy within certain Christian traditions. Reverend DeVaul shares his personal story of his father's coming out and its impact on his faith. The conversation also covers the transformative power of embracing queer identity within religious spaces, the normalization of queer presence, and the importance of inclusive and affirming practices. This episode emphasizes the potential for growth and deeper understanding within the church through the inclusion and celebration of queer believers. 

God, Bless America - The Rev. Philip DeVaul

The idea that my Christianity would be at odds with my patriotism makes me wildly uncomfortable. I hate it, really. For as long as I can remember I’ve been a Christian, and for as long as I can remember I’ve been American. I remember watching a US aircraft carrier docking in San Diego. I was in 6th grade, and that ship was carrying a family friend who had been deployed in the Persian Gulf. As the ship pulled in, its deck lined with uniformed sailors, the loudspeakers blared “I’m Proud to be an American” and I felt it in my 11-year-old bones. And God bless America, I thought. This country that has formed me has been in my prayers since I could pray.  
I love Jesus and I love America, and I am not interested in changing either of those things any time soon. I have to admit, though, that I have been conditioned to believe that my love of country and my obedience to Jesus are synonymous – or at least that they are cozy bedfellows, resting comfortably with each other side by side, never at odds with one another. And this is profoundly problematic.  
America is not Christian, and it never was. Even if the majority of people who created this country identified as Christian, it was not a Christian country at its founding. And it wasn’t founded with Judeo-Christian values, because there is no such thing as Judeo-Christianity. That phrase is a modern invention with no teeth and less meaning. And as a lifelong (and professional) Christian, I am fine with America not being Christian. I just want us to be honest about it.