John Lee Wagas
Writer / Chaplain / Nerd
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Unlike Moses, Elijah, and Jesus, I have very little experience with being on a mountain. Between these three figures, there have been a multitude of encounters set on mountains: from Sinai to Horeb, Carmel to Calvary, Tabor to Hermon. As for me, there’s just one—Mount Pilatus. In the summer after my sophomore year of high school,…
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Throughout the summer between third and fourth grade, my parents and I would go to our neighborhood trail once or twice a week and spend an hour helping me learn to ride a bike. They would always be there to accompany me, ensuring that I had my helmet, knee pads, and shoulder pads on, and that…
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At my elementary school, we had an assembly every semester where awards were handed out for stuff like Good Citizenship, Public Speaking, and—of course—Class Clown. I’d gotten a few awards like Budding Artist and Perfect Attendance before, but they seemed pretty trivial compared to what I really wanted: to be on the Honor Roll—a mark…
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It seems rather odd, at least to me, that Jesus asks a rhetorical question—one that, he above everyone else—knows the answer to: Whom are you looking for? Jesus asks this to Judas, the Roman soldiers, and the Chief Priests’ guards who came in the midst of his prayer and the disciples’ slumber so that he…
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Written for the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 20, Track 2, Year B, Revised Common Lectionary Words can themselves be magical in the sense that they exhibit power in the sense that both possess the ability to compel, receive, and affirm. Remember to say the magic words—“please” and “thank you.” But tied to their power…
“When love chooses, it chooses with a perfect sensitivity for the unique beauty of the chosen one, and it chooses without making anyone else feel excluded.”
— Henri Nouwen, The Life of the Beloved
10th
May ’22
Philosophy & Religion
Truly God, Truly Man: An Application of the Yin-Yang and Hegelian Models to the Christological Theories of Chalcedon and Monophysitism
An examination of the Yin-yang and Hegelian dialectic models followed by an exploration of their relation to the contrasting Christological approaches of Chalcedon and Monophysitism from early patristic Christianity.
8th
Dec ’23
Religion & Theology
Radical, Ravishing, Holy Love: Eroticism, God, and Divine Love in Christian Mysticism
A contextualization of the erotic and sexual ethics in the broad Christian tradition paired with an examination of erotic spirituality in Christian mysticism through the medieval monastic figures Bernard of Clairvaux and Teresa of Avila.
7th
July ’23
Religion & Theology
Bridging Divinity & Humanity: Personhood in Eastern Orthodox Theology
Drawing from the works of numerous contemporary theologians in order to analyze Eastern Othrodoxy’s approach to personhood, particularly regarding the subjects of relationship, identity, and purpose.
2025
March 17
Earth & Altar
From the Shire to the Altar
In this article reflecting on the eucharist, .
Between the vibrant hardcover spines bearing the names of familiar authors and the thick binders of my teacher’s lesson plans lay an unassuming black paperback. Its title, The Hobbit, rendered in a humble typeface, seemed almost hidden amid the vivid hues of nearby books. I was in third grade then, entranced by stories of time travel and talking animals penned by Mary Pope Osborne and Lemony Snicket…: You’re Not Alone2023
October 26
Spartan Media Group
Faculty focus on human connection
This article from my time as an undergraduate at San Jose State University.
Religious studies senior John Wagas is currently enrolled in Zárate’s Middle Eastern Traditions asynchronous course. “For me, at the heart of it, is engaging in religious conversation in the first place,” Wagas said…: You’re Not Alone
John Lee Wagas 