I learned from the best. You’ll hear me say that a lot. I’ve been parented well, taught well, mentored well. The late Sallie McFague helped me to fall in love with theology as a field of study. One way she did this was by showing relevance and genuine excitement for every theologian she taught. She also combined teaching how others have historically believed alongside helping her students to think about and articulate what they believe. I try to do this when I’m teaching.

I think everyone is a theologian. I think we all have thoughts about what we believe. When I’m teaching in the classroom, I’m asking students to situate those beliefs within the history of ideas and to articulate them without contradiction. One good way to do this is to develop a religious core belief that everything else is built around. 

Working with Sallie McFague over 25 years ago, I named a core religious belief that I still hold: God is with us. For many Christians, this is the meaning of Emmanuel, celebrating the birth of Jesus. For me, this is a central tenet.

God is with us.

It sounds straightforward but it has a lot of other implications I like. That means God isn’t against us. God doesn’t leave us. Ever. For any reason. And that “us” is everyone – my friends and family, people who work my last nerve, the rocks, trees, chickens, snakes and squirrels. All of us. I find this both challenging and comforting, but far more comforting than hard. 

So it’s a simple message and today is as good a day as any to remember. 

God is with us.

Amen. Ase. Peace. 

​Dr. Monica