Fall 2023 | Cover Photo and Introductory Note

“Christian” is an embattled word these days, stressed by forces eager to colonize it for ideological reasons or twist it into something unrecognizable. The writers of this Reflections respectfully decline to join the daily game of contortion and distortion, with its constant demand for winners and losers. Contributors here embark on a different path, where Jesus is a vivid figure whose words reach out to the present moment and compel a response. These divergent stories have this much in common: a moral imagination illuminated by a divine spark. They discover a more generous definition of neighbor, a tougher commitment to a healthy politics and earth care, a deeper reading of the American past. An authentic faith cannot be bullied or ignored: it is busy enfleshing a divine dream of joy and homecoming. As alumna Karis Ryu ’23 M.A.R. writes, “His voice calls from a place unknown.”

Cover photo by Mohamed Nohassi/Unsplash