J.R. Houck
@hopefulmystic.com
Queer Episcopalian trying to find someway of making sense of faith in a world that seems more intent on weaponizing it then practicing it.
Come find me on my website as I start journeying through the Lectionary Readings. https://hopefulmystic.com
Come find me on my website as I start journeying through the Lectionary Readings. https://hopefulmystic.com
Pinned
J.R. Houck
@hopefulmystic.com
· Dec 3
βλέπομεν γὰρ ἄρτι δι’ ἐσόπτρου ἐν αἰνίγματι, τότε δὲ πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόσωπον· ἄρτι γινώσκω ἐκ μέρους, τότε δὲ ἐπιγνώσομαι καθὼς καὶ ἐπεγνώσθην.
I've started Paul Tillich's "The Socialist Decision," and I would say this has a lot to say to our current moment, particularly to an American Church enraptured by fascism.
January 15, 2026 at 3:18 AM
I've started Paul Tillich's "The Socialist Decision," and I would say this has a lot to say to our current moment, particularly to an American Church enraptured by fascism.
Just one of many examples of blasphemy this administration gets up to on well an hourly basis at this point.
January 15, 2026 at 3:15 AM
Just one of many examples of blasphemy this administration gets up to on well an hourly basis at this point.
Looking at the ESV and the NRSVue side by side, the ESV feels way more stilted than the NRSVue, but both sound better when they hew closer to the RSV. The NRSVue is at least a big improvement over the NRSV in readability and the flow of the text. The ESV gets a plus in having nice Bibles to buy.
January 13, 2026 at 9:49 PM
Looking at the ESV and the NRSVue side by side, the ESV feels way more stilted than the NRSVue, but both sound better when they hew closer to the RSV. The NRSVue is at least a big improvement over the NRSV in readability and the flow of the text. The ESV gets a plus in having nice Bibles to buy.
In the Baptism of Christ we see both His humility and His divinity. He humbles Himself before John and receives his Baptism but when He rises from the water YHWH speaks and the Spirit descends like a dove to lie on His head. This wasn’t a baptism of repentance but the anointing of a king.
THE BAPTISM OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST | JANUARY 11, 2026
In the Baptism of Christ we see both His humility and His divinity. He humbles Himself before John and receives his Baptism but when He rises from the water YHWH speaks and the Spirit descends like a ...
hopefulmystic.com
January 13, 2026 at 6:28 PM
In the Baptism of Christ we see both His humility and His divinity. He humbles Himself before John and receives his Baptism but when He rises from the water YHWH speaks and the Spirit descends like a dove to lie on His head. This wasn’t a baptism of repentance but the anointing of a king.
It never really stops surprising me how incredibly difficult it is to find a decent Bible that includes the Apocrypha. Along the same lines, there are like only two leather-bound editions of the NRSVue. Beginning to believe Episcopalians really don't read the Bible lol.
January 13, 2026 at 2:00 PM
It never really stops surprising me how incredibly difficult it is to find a decent Bible that includes the Apocrypha. Along the same lines, there are like only two leather-bound editions of the NRSVue. Beginning to believe Episcopalians really don't read the Bible lol.
The desire to find ways to control speech online runs deep in both parties and they genuinely don't care how this will hurt people they claim to want to protect.
It appears that some members of the Democratic Party are supporting KOSA.
The act purports to be about protecting children, but it could weaponize Trump's FTC to target LGBTQ+ content on the internet.
Evan Greer writes for EITM in this latest op-ed.
Subscribe to support our journalism.
The act purports to be about protecting children, but it could weaponize Trump's FTC to target LGBTQ+ content on the internet.
Evan Greer writes for EITM in this latest op-ed.
Subscribe to support our journalism.
Op-Ed: With KOSA, Elizabeth Warren is Betraying the Trans Youth She Claims to Protect
Evan Greer writes for EITM: "KOSA’s re-emergence comes during a moment of existential crisis for the Democratic party."
www.erininthemorning.com
January 12, 2026 at 7:08 PM
The desire to find ways to control speech online runs deep in both parties and they genuinely don't care how this will hurt people they claim to want to protect.
I keep thinking about this article from February of last year and how we were at this point still early in this fascist regime. Lots of people were still operating under the impression they were just misguided or ill-informed.
We continue our countdown of the 10 most-read articles of 2025, and at #8 is this essay from Mac Loftin.
“The vice president’s mangling of the Christian ordo amoris is just a smokescreen for the largest deportation operation in American history.”
www.christiancentury.org/features/van...
“The vice president’s mangling of the Christian ordo amoris is just a smokescreen for the largest deportation operation in American history.”
www.christiancentury.org/features/van...
J. D. Vance, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and the parable of the Good Samaritan
The vice president’s mangling of the Christian ordo amoris is just a smokescreen for the largest deportation operation in American...
www.christiancentury.org
January 12, 2026 at 3:57 PM
I keep thinking about this article from February of last year and how we were at this point still early in this fascist regime. Lots of people were still operating under the impression they were just misguided or ill-informed.
I'm a bit late today but here's today's reflection.
FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY | JANUARY 11, 2026
In the Baptism of Christ we see both His humility and His divinity. He humbles Himself before John and receives his Baptism but when He rises from the water YHWH speaks and the Spirit descends like a ...
hopefulmystic.com
January 11, 2026 at 10:06 PM
I'm a bit late today but here's today's reflection.
Reposted by J.R. Houck
I'm reposting this homily because it's important not to lose sight of the mission and purpose of the church, which is to spread the life-giving, death-defeating message of the God who became flesh and dwelt among us. Christ keeps me Christian, and as an Episcopalian, I believe this: Love wins.
January 9, 2026 at 6:41 PM
I'm reposting this homily because it's important not to lose sight of the mission and purpose of the church, which is to spread the life-giving, death-defeating message of the God who became flesh and dwelt among us. Christ keeps me Christian, and as an Episcopalian, I believe this: Love wins.
I'm reposting this homily because it's important not to lose sight of the mission and purpose of the church, which is to spread the life-giving, death-defeating message of the God who became flesh and dwelt among us. Christ keeps me Christian, and as an Episcopalian, I believe this: Love wins.
January 9, 2026 at 6:41 PM
I'm reposting this homily because it's important not to lose sight of the mission and purpose of the church, which is to spread the life-giving, death-defeating message of the God who became flesh and dwelt among us. Christ keeps me Christian, and as an Episcopalian, I believe this: Love wins.
“The riddle and insight of biblical faith is the awareness that only anguish leads to life, only grieving leads to joy, and only embraced endings permit new beginnings.”
The Prophetic Imagination by Walter Brueggemann
The Prophetic Imagination by Walter Brueggemann
January 9, 2026 at 6:36 PM
“The riddle and insight of biblical faith is the awareness that only anguish leads to life, only grieving leads to joy, and only embraced endings permit new beginnings.”
The Prophetic Imagination by Walter Brueggemann
The Prophetic Imagination by Walter Brueggemann
We live in a country that has embraced a cult of death and therefore demonic forces. Death has possessed many.
The relevancy of scripture is in its ability to constantly call our attention to reality.
SECOND SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS | JANUARY 4, 2026
It can be dangerous to insert oneself into biblical narratives. Often we want to see ourselves as the heroes, but in reality most of us likely have more in common with Herod than we do with the famili...
hopefulmystic.com
January 9, 2026 at 3:50 PM
We live in a country that has embraced a cult of death and therefore demonic forces. Death has possessed many.
Reposted by J.R. Houck
A war budget of 1.5 trillion dollars (proposed for 2027) is $4,322 for every man, woman, and child in America.
Mars is a voracious god.
(Artwork: “The Face of War,” Salvador Dalí, 1941)
Mars is a voracious god.
(Artwork: “The Face of War,” Salvador Dalí, 1941)
January 8, 2026 at 1:18 AM
A war budget of 1.5 trillion dollars (proposed for 2027) is $4,322 for every man, woman, and child in America.
Mars is a voracious god.
(Artwork: “The Face of War,” Salvador Dalí, 1941)
Mars is a voracious god.
(Artwork: “The Face of War,” Salvador Dalí, 1941)
As we are seeing day after day, the principalities of empire are captured by death, and those who are captured by death are possessed with the demonic. To serve death is demonic, and those that serve the principalities of empire serve death much as Herod did.
The relevancy of scripture is in its ability to constantly call our attention to reality.
SECOND SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS | JANUARY 4, 2026
It can be dangerous to insert oneself into biblical narratives. Often we want to see ourselves as the heroes, but in reality most of us likely have more in common with Herod than we do with the famili...
hopefulmystic.com
January 7, 2026 at 8:21 PM
As we are seeing day after day, the principalities of empire are captured by death, and those who are captured by death are possessed with the demonic. To serve death is demonic, and those that serve the principalities of empire serve death much as Herod did.
The relevancy of scripture is in its ability to constantly call our attention to reality.
SECOND SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS | JANUARY 4, 2026
It can be dangerous to insert oneself into biblical narratives. Often we want to see ourselves as the heroes, but in reality most of us likely have more in common with Herod than we do with the famili...
hopefulmystic.com
January 7, 2026 at 2:34 PM
The relevancy of scripture is in its ability to constantly call our attention to reality.
Reposted by J.R. Houck
Honestly, I didn’t expect my writing to be this focused on empire and principalities, but it’s hard not to read it into so much of the biblical narrative. If religion has any value in modernity, it’s to be a constant reminder that we don’t have to choose this.
I just want to say I wrote this before the events that transpired yesterday.
SECOND SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS | JANUARY 4, 2026
It can be dangerous to insert oneself into biblical narratives. Often we want to see ourselves as the heroes, but in reality most of us likely have more in common with Herod than we do with the famili...
hopefulmystic.com
January 4, 2026 at 9:57 PM
Honestly, I didn’t expect my writing to be this focused on empire and principalities, but it’s hard not to read it into so much of the biblical narrative. If religion has any value in modernity, it’s to be a constant reminder that we don’t have to choose this.
Honestly, I didn’t expect my writing to be this focused on empire and principalities, but it’s hard not to read it into so much of the biblical narrative. If religion has any value in modernity, it’s to be a constant reminder that we don’t have to choose this.
I just want to say I wrote this before the events that transpired yesterday.
SECOND SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS | JANUARY 4, 2026
It can be dangerous to insert oneself into biblical narratives. Often we want to see ourselves as the heroes, but in reality most of us likely have more in common with Herod than we do with the famili...
hopefulmystic.com
January 4, 2026 at 9:57 PM
Honestly, I didn’t expect my writing to be this focused on empire and principalities, but it’s hard not to read it into so much of the biblical narrative. If religion has any value in modernity, it’s to be a constant reminder that we don’t have to choose this.
I just want to say I wrote this before the events that transpired yesterday.
SECOND SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS | JANUARY 4, 2026
It can be dangerous to insert oneself into biblical narratives. Often we want to see ourselves as the heroes, but in reality most of us likely have more in common with Herod than we do with the famili...
hopefulmystic.com
January 4, 2026 at 2:11 PM
I just want to say I wrote this before the events that transpired yesterday.
Went to the local coffee shop this morning, and several tables here are suffering from what can only be called severe "youth pastor" vibes.
December 31, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Went to the local coffee shop this morning, and several tables here are suffering from what can only be called severe "youth pastor" vibes.
One thing about writing is I read 20x more words than I end up writing, and sometimes I can read whole books and nothing comes of it, but that’s also the fun part because as I have gone along, things just pop back up there in that head of mine.
A culmination of all my thoughts on Advent and Christmas.
First Sunday After Christmas | December 28, 2025
In the beginning, before anything that was made was made, the Son of God’s mission to earth was crystallized. To be born of a virgin, to be crucified on a cross, to rise from the dead, to defeat death...
hopefulmystic.com
December 30, 2025 at 7:55 PM
One thing about writing is I read 20x more words than I end up writing, and sometimes I can read whole books and nothing comes of it, but that’s also the fun part because as I have gone along, things just pop back up there in that head of mine.
Reposted by J.R. Houck
DEMONS—a ten-week online course through Dostoevsky’s most prophetic novel. You can register at wolc.com/demons
December 28, 2025 at 6:17 PM
DEMONS—a ten-week online course through Dostoevsky’s most prophetic novel. You can register at wolc.com/demons
Jesus Christ, the light of the world, has given to us the Gospel of Peace, and in it is the mission of the Church and to the Christians who are part of it. We are a gathering of people called out from the world to be for the world,...
A culmination of all my thoughts on Advent and Christmas.
First Sunday After Christmas | December 28, 2025
In the beginning, before anything that was made was made, the Son of God’s mission to earth was crystallized. To be born of a virgin, to be crucified on a cross, to rise from the dead, to defeat death...
hopefulmystic.com
December 29, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Jesus Christ, the light of the world, has given to us the Gospel of Peace, and in it is the mission of the Church and to the Christians who are part of it. We are a gathering of people called out from the world to be for the world,...