Photo by Travis Simon

By Emi Iwanaga

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. –Luke 2:7

Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne…And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God. –Revelation 5:6-7,16

My Glorious Gender

The balance.
His presence now and to come.
Beauty of Christmas celebrated; His touches–loving, personal, perfect…
Intensity of End of Ages proclaimed; His revelation–awesome, overpowering, just.
Lit candles in a decked room–tree trimmed, memories of the house full of relatives enjoyed…
End of year reading Revelation of the seven scroll–famine, death, antichrist, the Lamb with seven horns and multitude of eyes takes and opens.

The balance.
Enjoyment of Him in the present; living life in Him no matter what the day brings…
Awareness of Him in the end; giving praise and honor and glory to the Mighty.
That glory the shepherds experienced in the field…
That glory which will be experienced in the end of ages;
may both resonate by faith in my heart giving blessed, sacred, truthful balance to my day.

The balance.
The Jesus of today, the God of the end.
The yin, the yan.
Live, thrive, no strife, harmony.

The balance?
Submit.
Let Him live out the yin and yan through me.
No struggle, no strife. Harmony.
Submit.
Not to the yan gender; but to my Maker, the Potter.
To His majesty, to His power; to He in me.
Surrender and all His glory will radiate through my glorious gender.
No struggle, no strife. Harmony.

And the angels and all beings said amen and amen, falling down on their knees…on their faces.

Emi Iwanaga served thirteen years as a missionary in Amazon Valley in Brazil, over 20+ years as a children’s ministry director, women’s ministry director, and pastor’s wife, and is currently a spiritual director.

Photo by Giuseppe Milo

By Jerrica KF Ching

I view gender as an aspect of one’s culture and one’s self-identity. Gender is multi-faceted, and comes complete with biases, prejudices, and everything in between. In an article by Tinkler, Zhao, Li, and Ridgeway (2019), social invisibility is described as certain behaviors that are generally less seen, heard, or recalled. Social invisibility can work in both positive and negative ways; those who are viewed as socially invisible may not face criticism from others, but they also may not be noticed for helpful contributions.

Additionally, the authors go on to propose that for Asian Americans, both men and women are stereotyped as more feminine and nonaggressive compared to White men and women. Continue Reading »

Photo by Sonny Abesamis

By Melanie Mar Chow

I am thankful for the new beginnings of another year of life and ministry. As we begin the AAWOL blog for February in the still-new 2020 year, the focus is based on yet another new set of themes. The newest book by AAWOL founder, Young Lee Hertig, titled The Tao of Asian American Belonging: A Yinist Spirituality will supply our blog themes for the rest of the year. Continue Reading »

Photo by Theo Crazzolara

By April Yamasaki

“Fiat justitia, ruat caelum” – Let justice be done though the heavens fall.

When my husband was in law school, this Latin quote was prominently displayed at the front door of the university’s law school building. The ancient roots of this quotation are unclear, but the meaning is unmistakable: Justice is to be done whatever the consequences, even if the heavens should fall. Continue Reading »

Photo by Guido Soraru

By Casey Iwanaga

There’s no such thing as justice
Well not complete justice
Justice is a word that doesn’t exist by itself
Along with it comes hypocrisy, jealousy and revenge
God is just
Just not just the way we hope
Not just the way we think
And not just when we want
God is purely just
Uncorrupted by jealousy and revenge
Perfect in his very existence Continue Reading »

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By Ajung Sojwal

The yearning to comprehend justice is particularly poignant this season after Christmas, having heard bold proclamations from the Prophet Isaiah like, “His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forever more” (Isa.9:7). As I examine our general sense of justice, I am increasingly unsure if any human being or any profession truly understands what justice is. I find that the older I get, the more I am ready to toss out my imaginations of justice. I am coming to terms, rather sorrowfully, that justice — that is, the kind prophets dare to proclaim — continues to be an apocalyptic imagination. Continue Reading »

Photo by Irina Gheorghita

Presented by Angela Ryo

Jesus’ greatest longing, like that of the prophet Micah, was for the coming of God’s reign on the earth—that day in which God’s justice and love would permeate this earth as it does heaven. He also taught us to pray for God’s Kingdom to come. As we start out the new year, I would like to pray the prayer Jesus has taught us to say as adapted from “The Holy Longing” by Ronald Rolheiser: Continue Reading »