The phrase or hashtag #MeToo became viral in social media in recent days (October 2017). “Me Too” is not a new phrase; the African-American social activist Tarana Burke started using it ten years ago, but it became a media trending topic recently. This phrase represents a public acknowledgement that a person (although women are sadly…
Jesus, the Immigrant
Jesus was an immigrant. All Christians are also immigrants. Therefore, Christ identifies himself with us and understands our situation. As his followers we should imitate his example and learn from him. We should have compassion for those foreigners who come from different regions and countries because we recognize that we all are also strangers and…
Confessions of an Immigrant
My story is like many others. When my wife and I got married and came to the United States, we told our parents that we would be back in two years. Our plan was to study at a seminary in Dallas and after our graduation to return to the city where we were born, grew…
Reflections About Money and Contentment
This semester I am part of a professors’ reading group about the relationship of economics and Christian theology. We are reading several books and discussing relevant issues regarding a theology of work, stewardship, and economics. Obviously every author and participant has a unique perspective about different topics, but in our group we all come from…
Everybody Can Learn!
Formal education at educational institutions has become in many ways the most popular understood form of education that in general we have the tendency to equate our ability to learn with our GPA or success at school. In this way, if adults earned good grades at educational institutions, it is assumed they “know” how to…
The blessing of Shalom and the Vandalism of Shalom
These days (2013) have been filled with contrasts for me. In a way, we all face these contrasts, but when they are too close to each other, the tensions they produce literally move us from joy to tears. On the one hand, my baby daughter is now two months old. My wife and I celebrate…
My dad: five years after his passing
It has been five years since my dad, Javier Esqueda, passed away unexpectedly. The huge hole my family have without him will continue for the rest of our lives and it has been very hard to get used to the idea that he is not with us anymore. I still struggle to refer to my…
My Professor is Wise
Several years ago I had a Latin professor who made us memorize a phrase that it has been in my mind ever since. The Latin expression is “magister meus doctus est” and means “my professor is instructed or wise.” Obviously, my Latin professor was teasing when he made us memorize that phrase, but in reality,…
The Pain that Death Brings is Real, but we Hope for Eternal Consolation (My Dad, one year later)
Death is always a tragedy. Even though we consider death as a normal and a common expectation in our human existence, the reality is that death is completely unnatural. Death is an intruder that destroys our original purpose, affecting everybody around us. The pain and hole we experience when a loved one dies are as…