Shane Claiborne

"What's that?" one of the kids asked, with big gleaming eyes.

"That's a firefly" I said, with a smile, realizing it was his first firefly-sighting.

"Why does it glow like that?"

I thought for a minute. "I'm not sure. I think God just felt extra wild one day and said, "I think I'll make a bug that glows in the dark."

"God is cool" the kid said, grinning from ear to ear.

One of the most beautiful things we get to do here at The Simple Way is plant gardens in the concrete jungle of North Philadelphia -- and see kids discover the miracle of life, and fall in love with the Creator of life. Gardens have a special place in the human story. After all God first planted humanity in a garden in Eden. And the most redemptive act in history began in a garden in Gethsemane. And the story ends in Revelation with the image of the garden taking over the City of God, with the river of life flowing through the city center and the tree of life piercing the urban concrete.

Now, as we approach 15 years of community here at The Simple Way, we have half a dozen lots that we are gardening on. And we are seeing a neighborhood come back to life. I will never forget the haunting words of a neighborhood kid who once said years ago, "It's easier to get a gun in our neighborhood than it is to get a salad." His words broke my heart. And they have continued to fan a flame all these years to try and change that reality.

When a kid pulls a carrot out of the ground for the first time it is magical. The more they see things that are alive, the more filled with wonder they become at the God who made all this wild and wonderful stuff like fireflies and butterflies, hummingbirds and earthworms - and you and me. Sometimes it's hard to believe that there is a beautiful God when so much of what you see is ugly. It's hard to believe in a God that is a lover of life when there is so much death and decay and abandonment.

So we talk alot these days about "practicing resurrection" -- by making ugly things beautiful... and turning vacant lots into gardens... and loving people back to life. Not a bad encore after Easter here. After all, resurrection is something we get to do every day. Every day is Easter. We are resurrection people.

Our latest experiment in resurrection has been a new greenhouse which we completed this past week. We built it on the fire-scorched land where our houses burned down almost exactly 5 years ago. Now our park flaunts this solar-powered greenhouse with a 200-gallon fish pond that can hold over 1000 fish that will fertilize the water where plants will grow... an integrated system of fish-farming and hydroponics that mimics what nature does naturally. Building on some of the most creative techniques in urban farming, we are now cultivating life in these post-industrial ruins, where we see the dark side of the global economy every day. Each morning we wake up on the wrong side of capitalism. But we see hope. We are building a new world in the shell of the old one. We see grass piercing concrete. We see a neighborhood coming back to life, rising from the dead. We now have a little oasis in the "food desert" of North Philadelphia.

In the end - it's all about small things with great love. What's important to us is not how much we do, but how much love we put into doing it. We want you to know that we are committed to taking your financial gifts and doing small things with great love.

It is no coincidence that the images Jesus uses for the "Kingdom of God" are very small. The Kingdom of God is like yeast, which you cannot even see. It's like light - and salt... little things that have unprecedented power. And one of those images is mustard.

Mustard was an interesting metaphor. It was an invasive plant. Jews had laws against growing mustard in their gardens, because it would take over the whole garden, leaving them only with mustard. It's like the wild kudzu we have down south that can cover an entire house with greenery, or like the wild weeds that crack the foundations of our houses here in Philly. It's a beautiful and scandalous image. Mustard is a humble plant though - it didn't grow huge like the cedars of Lebanon, or the giant redwoods in California. Mature mustard only stands a few feet high, a modest little bush.

One thing that mustard, light, salt, yeast all have in common is that they take over - they are invasive in the best sense of the word. Everywhere we look we see this dazzling invasion of grace in the world - spreading like wild mustard. It is happening on our block as gardens take over vacant lots. It's happening around the world as new communities sprout like seedlings. And you all are like the hidden heroes of the garden. You are planting seeds that you may never even see the fruit of - so thank you.

Here are some seeds to remind you of the incredible movement that we are all caught up in. Thanks for making it possible. And thanks be to our Lord Jesus - the seed that died so that we all can live. Please remember us in your prayers as we continue to practice resurrection. And know that you are in our prayers as you cultivate life and interrupt death right where you are.
Here is a prayer that we pray every morning, and that we prayed as we dedicated the new greenhouse last week. We invite you to pray it with us. Somedays you can replace "Kensington" with your town name... and other days we hope you will leave "Kensington" in and remember us.

Almighty God,
we praise you for all you have done.
Help us with all that you want us to do.

"What's the difference between a flute and a stick in the mud?" our priest asked on Sunday. He then went on, "The stick in the mud is full of itself. The flute has been emptied of itself so it can make music." That's a good image for Fat Tuesday and...

Amid the recent police violence in Oakland and the sure temptation of some protestors to resort to violence, I wrote this little reflection inviting all Occupiers to a renewed commitment to nonviolence.

There is a verse in the Bible that says, "Our battle is not against flesh and blood but...

There was an occasion in the '60s where a bunch of hippies surrounded the Pentagon and tried to exorcise the demons. It didn't work. Despite their valiant effort, not much happened that day.

Nevertheless, I am one of those Christians who believes in angels and demons. But I think...

This morning, at the National Prayer Breakfast, Barack Obama named Dorothy Day as a "great reformer in American history." Who woulda thunk it?

I think President Hoover called her a threat to national security.

Here's the exact quote from the President's speech:

We can't leave our values...

Today, as the United States celebrates Veteran's Day, the Church celebrates Martin of Tours, a conscientious objector to war whose Feast Day is recognized by Christians around the world on Nov. 11. It is fascinating, even Providential, that Veteran's Day falls on a Church holiday that remembers one of the...

A reporter recently asked me, "As a Christian leader, does your faith have anything to say about Wall Street?" I said, "How much time do you have?" My faith has a lot to say about Wall Street.
Theologian Karl Barth said, "We have to read the Bible in...

Today (Oct. 4) Christians around the world celebrate the life of St. Francis of Assisi, one of the
bright lights of the Church and one of the most venerated religious figures in history.

The life and witness of Francis is as relevant to the world we live...

Last night death was interrupted. Duane Buck was set for execution. His execution would have been the second this week and the eleventh this year in Texas alone... and two more executions are scheduled for next week. When Presidential candidate Rick Perry celebrated his 234 executions as Texas governor last...

"Do you think God sent Hurricane Irene?" a young man asked me with a curious look in his eyes that was as innocent as it was pensive.

My mind flashed back to a headline I remembered reading yesterday about Glen Beck pronouncing the hurricane as "a blessing"...

I was in Baghdad in March 2003, where I lived as a Christian and as a peacemaker during the "shock-and-awe" bombing. I spent time with families, volunteered in hospitals and learned to sing "Amazing Grace" in Arabic.

There is one image of the time in Baghdad that will never...

This past weekend Christians around the world celebrated one of our holiest holidays: Pentecost. Pentecost, meaning "50 days," is celebrated seven weeks after Easter (hence the 50), and marks the birthday of the Church when the Holy Spirit is said to have fallen on the early Christian community like fire...

Reprinted with permission from 'Divine Rebels: American Christian Activists for Social Justice' by Deena Guzder. The following is a foreword by Shane Claiborne. Text copyright 2011 Chicago Review Press. Published by Lawrence Hill Books, an imprint of Chicago Review Press (distributed by IPG). Available in May 2011.

I remember hearing...

As a Christian, Easter marks the most stunning act of grace and enemy-love in human history -- Jesus' death and resurrection. As Jesus was being tortured and executed, he cried out for mercy, even for those terrorists who hurt him. As his buddy Peter picked up a sword and cut...

Imagine what would happen if a massive popular movement of ordinary Americans decided to voice their concern about military spending -- by withholding $10.40 from their 1040 tax forms this year? A simple, small, symbolic, but concrete gesture of protest to the $200,000 dollars a minute being spent on militarism...

Growing up in the Bible belt in East Tennessee, I can remember an entire campaign built around "What Would Jesus Do?" There were WWJD bracelets, stickers, and t-shirts.

Today there is a new campaign. As legislators in D.C. debate cuts in the federal budget, Christian leaders around the country are...

There's a part of the Christmas story we don't always tell the kids or teach in Sunday school: All the Christmas cheer was rudely and abruptly interrupted.

According to the birth narrative told in the Gospel of Matthew, right after the birth of Jesus, there was a slaughter in the...

We know Santa's not scheduled to show up for another few weeks, and the kids aren't even out of school yet, but thousands of folks around the world have been partying for the past week. To celebrate the release of Common Prayer, a new resource to help the...

Critiquing the thick irony of the Christmas season is fair. It's ludicrous that we celebrate the birth of the homeless baby Jesus by indulging in the biggest consumer spending of the year, scurrying around trying to find something to buy for people who have everything.

Nonetheless, there is something beautiful...

There's some interesting talk stirring about how it may be necessary to cut defense expenditures to decrease the deficit. Even though the $533 billion budget is the elephant in the room and the $200,000 spent every minute on the endless war on terror is the gushing, bleeding wound of America,...