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

This week’s podcast reflects on how Paul’s relationship to citizenship was complex: Jewish in identity, born in Tarsus in Roman-controlled Cilicia, raised partly in Jerusalem, and able to claim Roman citizenship to demand due process, yet ultimately executed under Nero’s campaign of terror against Christians after the great fire in Rome. It parallels Paul’s death with the killings of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican-born man who lived in the U.S. for 35 years while pursuing legal status, and Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero, a documented Colombian immigrant; both were chased by agents in unmarked cars and executed after being mistaken for someone else. It defines “martyr” from Greek martureo (“to witness”) and asks whether these deaths should be recognized as martyrdoms. Rev. Phil argues that Paul’s theology rejects national, cultural, and racial barriers—“Our citizenship is in heaven”—and urges examining citizenship’s role as Church of the Redeemer approaches a borderland pilgrimage.
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In this week's podcast Rev. Phil explains that immigration, refuge, and being a “stranger” are central to the biblical story and to Christian identity. He explains that God’s covenant with Abram required him to leave his homeland and become an immigrant, and traces the same theme through Moses and the Hebrews’ experience of refuge, fear, dehumanization, slavery, and migration, as well as Ruth’s life as a poor immigrant who becomes part of Israel’s royal line and Jesus’ lineage. He emphasizes that Jesus was an immigrant and refugee in childhood and that his ministry located God’s blessing among outsiders. Rev. Phil challenges American Christians to consider how immigrants are treated today, warning that failing to honor and love immigrants reflects a misunderstanding of God, covenant, salvation, liberation, and Christian heritage.
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Rev. Phil recounts telling an older Christian leader that religious beliefs should not influence voting, reflecting on a conservative church upbringing where Republicans were assumed to be the Christian choice. After moving to Los Angeles and becoming Episcopalian, he encountered a politically diverse church environment and grew convinced that no party fully represents a Christian worldview, becoming weary of using Christianity as a political weapon. The older man responds that faith in Jesus shapes how he sees and treats people and therefore must influence his vote. Over time, Phil distinguishes this from “Christian values” rhetoric and rejects Christian nationalism as un-American and contrary to Jesus, arguing the goal is not to make America a Christian nation but to see, love, and act in the world through Jesus’ concern for healing, justice, belonging, and care for all people.
 
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Rev. Phil reflects on Psalm 139’s claim that God is present everywhere— in heaven, the grave, the sea, and even in darkness—while acknowledging that people often experience God as alternately obvious or painfully silent, citing C.S. Lewis and Mother Teresa’s journaled sense of prolonged silence. After recent deaths in the church community, he says people shouldn’t be shamed for asking “Where is God?” and notes the same psalmist also cries, “How long, O Lord?” Phil says his belief in God comes from personal, non-transferable experience, including feeling God’s presence during the deaths of his father and grandmother despite unanswered questions about suffering. Faith, he concludes, is not solving unanswerable questions but practicing looking for grace and blessing where God seems absent, dedicating the message to grieving friends.
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Rev. Phil reflects on a sincere question from a politically opposed relative about whether God cares about income inequality, answering through the Lord’s Prayer: praying “thy kingdom come… on earth as it is in heaven” implies rejecting radical inequality as unlike heaven and taking responsibility to act after saying amen. He argues this is practical Christian striving: creating communities of peace, love, and justice that treat all people with dignity. Continuing a series on loving political enemies, he says building a more Christ-like world requires refusing the win/lose dehumanization of opponents, even while condemning policies he sees as racist, anti-LGBTQ+, harmful to schools, veterans, and poor seniors. Citing Dr. King, he describes ending racism as healing for all and calls Christians toward equity and shared liberation.
 
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 And as a Christian, I have the responsibility to do so in a way that acknowledges and honors the human dignity of my enemy, not to sink into the mire of hatred for them, not to allow myself to indulge in hateful speech, even if my political enemy relishes hateful speech. My decision to love cannot be dependent on anything but God, who has promised to help me love if I am willing to commit to loving.
 
Why am I so tempted to see this kind of love as weak or ineffectual? I believe I resist loving the politician who is my enemy in part because I am scared that it will not accomplish enough. I believe I am also resistant because I get a moment of cheap satisfaction in dehumanizing my political enemy.

Rev. Phil reflects on Jesus’ command to love enemies, offering the Book of Common Prayer’s “Prayer for Our Enemies” as a practical starting point. He begins a series focused on loving different kinds of enemies, especially political ones, and addresses the political enemy who is a friend or family member. He argues politics are personal and can rightly strain relationships, noting such divisions are not new and even existed among early Christians. Rev. Phil suggests that when people share political views they reveal hopes, fears, and something of their hearts, even when they may be wrong or harmful. Loving them does not require minimizing differences, but recognizing their humanity, listening where possible, and praying toward reconciliation rooted in humility, because love is the reason for human existence.
 
Enjoy this podcast that originally aired on February 7, 2025. Use the buttons below to listen or read more.

Rev. Phil reflects on Jesus’ explicit command to love enemies and pray for those who hate us, arguing that for Christians this is practical, foundational guidance rooted in the belief that God’s love underpins reality and human purpose. He introduces an upcoming multi-episode exploration of loving political enemies: people we disagree with personally, politicians we oppose, and opponents within the broader political system. Duvall acknowledges his own privilege and notes that loving enemies can seem easier for those with less at stake, contrasting this with Jesus as a marginalized person under an oppressive regime for whom enemy-love was costly and risky. He emphasizes that Jesus’ command is not to excuse evil or become a doormat, but to avoid losing one’s soul to hatred, calling privileged listeners toward sacrificial, costly love
 
Enjoy this podcast that originally aired on January 31, 2025. Use the buttons below to listen or read more.

.Maybe the most controversial and universally ignored statement of Jesus’ entire ministry is when he says, love your enemies and pray for those who hate you. It seems the universal response to Jesus’ command is “No. No thank you.” We do not at all seem interested in this, and we who call ourselves Christian often relegate this command to either a suggestion or a description of being an idealistic superhuman. It is neither of these things. Loving our enemies is not a suggestion. It is, however, a description – not of a superhuman, but of something you and I can learn to do in real life if we are interested in taking Jesus seriously.I get that we are skeptical of Jesus’ admonition to love our enemies and pray for those that hate us. In part this skepticism comes from a shallow understanding of love simply as warm and affectionate feelings. And being commanded to feel warm feelings and think happy thoughts about those who hate us rightfully seems ridiculous. Try to remember that when Jesus talks about love, he is not appealing to your emotions or sentiments: He is talking about the lens through which you view people, and the actions you take towards them. He is talking practically.So let’s think practically. Political and ideological division are at the front of our minds these days, and I understand why. For the record, when you hear people say, “Politics should never get in the way of our relationship,” I disagree. 
Enjoy this podcast that originally aired on January 25, 2025. Use the buttons below to listen or read more.

Rev. Phil presents two contrasting, “technically accurate” portrayals of Jesus—one echoing a John Fugelsang quote and another written in a similar style—to show how people often interpret Jesus to fit and validate their current beliefs. He argues that calling Jesus a socialist or a capitalist is anachronistic, and notes that even in Jesus’ time people tried to categorize him for their own benefit, often to dismiss rather than engage his teachings. Using Kurt Cobain and Nirvana as an analogy for how controversial figures become safe over time, he warns that distance lets us make Jesus into whatever we want. Rev. Phil says Christians can’t separate Jesus from politics because discipleship touches all of life and Jesus taught about social structures and communal life, but Christians also must not co-opt Jesus for partisan agendas; his practical, transformative love should reshape beliefs about politics, economics, and society.