brian shivers

Today we honor the life, legacy, work, and vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  To say that we are deeply indebted to this preacher, prophet, and visionary leader would be a gross understatement. His message of audacious faith and hope in the face of oppression and injustice beckons us all to continue to pursue his dream of true equality and justice for all. Several years ago, I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Atlanta as a part of a seminary course on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. taught by noted King scholar Dr. Rufus Burrow, Jr. The most important and transformative moment of this journey was our visit to the Robert W. Woodruff Library at the Atlanta University Center. Our group was escorted into a small room in the library where spread out before us was a small portion of the expansive collection of original Dr. King documents from the Morehouse College King Collection - handwritten notes for and early copies of “A Knock at Midnight” and “Letters from the...

Today, I will commit myself to... stand with the oppressed; speak alongside not for those who have had their voices silenced; work toward justice for those who struggle daily for their human rights; demand equality and equity for all; seek to understand life experiences that are not like mine; listen to the perspectives of others; treat everyone with respect; see all people as fully human; honor the dignity of every person. I will not do this perfectly. I ask for your forgiveness in advance for when I will fail. Please tell me when I have fallen short if I am not aware of the shortcoming. I commit myself to doing this today. Tomorrow, I will try again.

Ready or not, here we go. The calendar has flipped, and we find ourselves standing exposed at the beginning of the unknown; standing unsure before something new; standing vulnerable in uncharted territory. There is so much to worry about. There are so many uncertainties. There are so many what ifs. Faith, Hope, Love Feel threatened. But here and now today and tomorrow for the new year I declare my resolve... to believe the best about those around me; to stand up for the rights of all; to seek justice for the oppressed; to own my privilege; to understand my preconceptions and prejudices; to work against systems that perpetuate them all; to call out hatred; to hold my beliefs with confidence in open hands; to listen to all perspectives; to honor the humanity of everyone; to see beauty in the world; to learn more about that which feels threatening; to fight for those who are othered because of      their gender identity,      ...

God of all time and space, of all our endings and new beginnings, we cling to your promised presence in the midst of both as well as in the journey of life that happens in between. As we stand before the unknown of the coming year grant us the peace and grace to meet all of our yet to be's with the comfort and confidence that come through your Spirit. Lord of that which was and that which is yet to be, much has transpired throughout these last twelve months - many comings and goings, failures and successes, celebrations and sorrows, regrets and joys. Fill us with the strength to move through the difficulties we have faced and the remorse over that which we have left undone. Grant us a new found energy and commitment as we face that which is to come. Transform us into instruments of your grace. When we pray your kingdom come, may it be evidenced not only in our words, but also in the sweat of our brow and the callouses on our hands. Where there is injury,   ...

The real war on Christmas  has nothing to do with  a greeting or  the proper decorations atop the tree.  The real antithesis  to the news of this child born long ago  in an out of the way town  is found in our incessant desire for more; oppression of any person or people groups; obsession with power; manifest destiny;  hoarding of goods and riches; systematized racism;  classism; nationalism parading as religious piety; xenophobia; fear; supercessionism. These and more hold the good news at bay not the manner in which we greet one another  for less than one twelfth of the year.  May we have a Christmas filled  with fear and awe  of the One who became flesh  that we might be saved  from ourselves.

There was so much build up; so much anticipation. We had waited so long. Our expectations were so high. But things didn't go the way we had planned. This wasn't exactly what we thought we were waiting for. This wasn't what we had hoped for. For what did all of our waiting get us? A baby. We wanted the sky to split. We wanted the earth to shake. We wanted retribution. We wanted our kind of justice; the Dirty Harry, Punisher kind of justice. We wanted freedom at the expense of the oppressors. We wanted our enemies to be dispatched. And what did our deepest desires get us? A baby. A newborn baby. Born in an out of the way town. Born to a yet to be wed couple. Born in the manner in which all babies are born. Born through water and blood. Born crying with his first breath. This is who we got; A baby. Yet, somehow we have received more than we bargained for. Babies have a way of changing everything. And this baby does just that. This birth turns ever...

Advent Week 4   This week we light the fourth candle on the Advent wreath. We light this candle in love;  Jesus is love. Matthew 1:18-25 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.  Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.  But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."   All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:  "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," whi...

Advent Week 3   This week we light the third candle on the Advent wreath. We light this candle in joy;  Jesus is our joy. Isaiah 35:1-10 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,    the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly,    and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,    the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord,    the majesty of our God.  Strengthen the weak hands,    and make firm the feeble knees.  Say to those who are of a fearful heart,    ‘Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God.    He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense.    He will come and save you.’  Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,    and the ears of the deaf unstop...

This Advent, I am considering what it means to be "Theotokos", the God bearer. I love the anticipation that characterizes Advent. However, it seems to me that it is not enough to passively wait for the arrival of hope, peace, joy, and love. Rather, this waiting is active. I must remember that ultimately the calling is to birth hope, peace, joy, and love into the world. That is a here and now proposition. And along the way, do I have the courage to join in singing Mary's song, the Magnificat, the Ode of the Theotokos? "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the power...

Advent Week 2   This week we light the second candle on the Advent wreath. “We light this candle in peace; Jesus is our peace.” Isaiah 11:1-10 "A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.  The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.  His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear;  but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.  Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins.  The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a...

Last year on this day, I was on a bus heading for Selma, AL to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the first march from Selma to Montgomery to demonstrate for voter's rights for African-Americans. Over 50 years ago, when that first group of demonstrators got to the Edmund Pettus bridge (a bridge named after a Confederate brigadier general, a US Senator, and Grand Dragon of the Alabama Ku Klux Klan) they were met by local law men and an angry posse who greeted their peaceful march with the violence of swinging billy clubs, tear gas, fists, and feet. The moment was captured on camera and was broadcast across the country. The day became known as Bloody Sunday. As our bus got closer to Selma, the traffic slowed to a crawl. Several of us decided that we would disembark and walk the remaining two miles into Selma. It was a surreal and emotional experience. As we walked I began to imagine what those original marchers must have felt when they set out on foot to the state capital w...

On Ash Wednesday many will gather together, sing hymns, pray, hear the word proclaimed, eat the bread, drink the wine, and have ashes smeared in the shape of a cross on their foreheads. Ashes? Really?! What an odd way to begin a religious season. Yet that is the way many of those who try to follow the teachings of Jesus will mark the start of the forty days of Lent, the season in the Christian calendar that stretches from Ash Wednesday to the Saturday before Easter (not counting the Sundays). We enter this holy season with a smudge of ash on our skin and the words "Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return" ringing in our ears. And somehow this strange activity seems... right. For in those ashes and through those words, I am reminded of my own mortality, and my body is honored as more than a vessel for my soul. When the ashes are smeared on my forehead I am reminded that there is solidarity among all of us, even with the Christ (or perhaps especially w...

Sermon from 
December 27, 2015 Watch the sermon here Listen to the sermon here Luke 2:41-52 "Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Assuming that he was in the group of travellers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, ‘Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.’ He said ...

Advent Week 4 This week we light the fourth candle of Advent Wreath. "We light this candle to symbolize the gift of God’s love in Jesus Christ." Psalm 89:1-4; 20-26  "I will sing of your steadfast love, O LORD, forever; with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.I declare that your steadfast love is established forever; your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens. You said, "I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to my servant David: 'I will establish your descendants forever, and build your throne for all generations.'" Selah Then you spoke in a vision to your faithful one, and said: "I have set the crown on one who is mighty, I have exalted one chosen from the people. I have found my servant David; with my holy oil I have anointed him; my hand shall always remain with him; my arm also shall strengthen him. The enemy shall not outwit him, the wicked shall not humble him. I will crush his foes be...

Advent Week 3   This week we light the second candle on the Advent wreath. “We light this candle in peace; Jesus is our peace.” Philippians 4:4-7 "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Psalm 67 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah that your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you. Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Selah Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you. The earth has yielded its i...