Over the past few weeks I’ve been writing a youth ministry curriculum for Lent 2026. It’s been a cathartic experience as the 24-hr news cycle reveals every few hours yet another way that the U.S. government is being dismantled by billionaires who obviously do not care about the American people, especially those who don’t fit their narrowminded view of what’s “normal” or “good.”

The words flow through as easily as the air I breathe, as I am reminded of the power of the Gospel and am excited to help young people understand what the “BROligarchy” (not sure who came up with this term but i LOVE *and hate* it) obviously does not. The main focus for the curriculum is on how we are invited to live in the freedom of the Holy Spirit and partner with God to co-create the kingdom here on earth. One of the theological readings I share in it comes from Kenda Creasy Dean’s book, Innovating for Love (highly recommend for churches/groups looking to reimagine/vision/renew their ministries). In regards to Jesus’ teachings, she states,

Jesus’ idea of happiness meant flourishing (eudaimonia), which is a state of knowing you are beloved and blessed, something closer to joy. In the ancient world, eudaimonia was a communal good. My ability to flourish depended on whether you were flourishing too. For Jesus, the route to such flourishing is love – self-giving, not self-fulfilling, love – the kind that willingly sacrifices so that others may live. When Jesus took on death and resurrection, he wasn’t “doing a good thing.” He was demonstrating divine love, which for Jesus meant you lay down your life for your friends.” -Kenda Creasy Dean

Everything I learned in Sunday school (and Bible study and in youth group) taught me about this self-sacrificing love, love that leads us to cross the street (read: go out of our way) to care for a stranger in need. The Parable of the Good Samaritan, the Woman at the Well, the radical hospitality Abraham and Sarah showed the strange travelers, and so many other stories in the Bible all tell of this sense of mutuality and connectedness; where love is what binds us together. It is through love that we are made free from the chains of sin and darkness that blind us from seeing the worth of our neighbor, and even our own worth.

My deepest yearning is that every person realizes their worth as beloved children of God and that they are able to shine in a way that inspires those around them to realize their worth as well. Unfortunately, what is happening in our government right now is the opposite of this. It’s the antithesis to EVERYTHING I was ever taught about what it means to follow Jesus in this way of self-giving love that values the neighbor and the stranger and those who are most vulnerable among us.

Watching the current events unfold makes my heart ache, as my neighbors live in fear for their lives. As the body of Christ, when one of us suffers, we all suffer. When one of us mourns, we all mourn. This sense of mutuality is one that calls us to care for one another, yet it seems so many people who claim to follow Jesus have forgotten this.

It didn’t occur to me that writing curriculum for youth would seem so radical, to proclaim the Gospel and actually call people to live it out in our every day lives. Yet here we are.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.