Jesus rsquo love for the weak and marginalized is made manifest in a powerful account in Luke rsquo s Gospel as is the human willingness to label and disenfranchise people we consider less worthy In today rsquo s narrative Jesus suggests that we start to identify who we truly are in relationship

As we ponder Jesus rsquo confrontation with the Sadducees regarding life in the world to come we are compelled to ask ldquo Do I believe in resurrection rdquo How one answers this question orients how we live today It is a question that is not so much answered intellectually though it is not

The question was put to Jesus ldquo Lord will only a few be saved rdquo His answer like many a teacher rsquo s regarding more mundane matters like quizzes and tests is a variation on ldquo study hard rdquo Jesus instructs the questioner and the crowd ldquo Strive to enter through the na

It can be hard to tell the truth Sometimes no one wants to hear it either because people have already determined a path they feel is more advantageous to them or they are more comfortable ignoring it Sometimes we are all those people For those who read Flannery O rsquo Connor the shocking real

People of faith find themselves often perhaps daily tottering on the precipice of disillusion swaying from their own questions wondering if they have been suckered by some mug rsquo s game that tells them to be satisfied with God rsquo s promises instead of the cold hard reality of this world r

The Preacher Qoheleth says that ldquo all things are vanity rdquo His intent is not I think to be cynical though Qoheleth can provoke this among the world-weary His wisdom is rather the product of a hard-boiled realism which knows the truth of desires and ambitions that often consume us H

In every age evil takes on a new name and a new face Auschwitz sexual abuse Sodom human trafficking The personification of God in the Old Testament takes many forms but goodness remains the same and unchanged God who loves us and desires relationship with us In Genesis 18 God is presented

There is something charming about the account of Abraham serving the three men who suddenly appear at the oaks of Mamre It is not simply that Abraham offers unbidden hospitality and service or that they respond to his offer of food with a simple ldquo Do as you have said rdquo but that along w

The Christian relationship to the law of Moses is complicated particularly in light of what the Apostle Paul said about the law in his letters But Paul understood that the law rsquo s origin lay with God and that it was not insignificant but rather was fulfilled through Christ Jesus ldquo the ima

The English word crisis originates with the Greek noun krisis which is itself a derivative of the verb krin ldquo to judge rdquo A crisis is a time of decision encapsulating danger and opportunity in equal parts and the biblical eschaton the time of God rsquo s judgment is grounded upon t

The language of the Bible can be gently potent Biblical texts are not usually wordy nor do biblical characters elaborate their feelings in lengthy soliloquies A few words are offered to be pondered measured and considered People speak directly but sometimes the meaning is mysterious or opposed

Years ago the band U2 recorded ldquo I Still Haven rsquo t Found What I rsquo m Looking For rdquo Could Jesus rsquo first disciples have said that To know what you are looking for you have to know what you need When you know what you need you need to know where to look for it in order to ide

The prophet Elijah ldquo went to Zarephath of Sidon to the house of a widow rdquo While Elijah was at the widow rsquo s home her son died Already bereft of a husband which itself often led women into poverty in the ancient world she has now lost her son the remaining source of her emotional

Body and blood bread and wine mdash these are basic components of the human being and the stuff that sustains human life These basic and foundational realities speak to the ordinary humanity of Jesus and one of the deepest mysteries of the church Without the Incarnation we could not speak of Jes

The mystery at the heart of human life is discovered in our relationships whose outlines might be simply explained but that are ineffable at the core How we love and live for one another defies description We struggle for words to make real what we know through experience When one of my sons as

The Jewish feast of Pentecost also known as the Feast of Weeks originally celebrated the spring harvest It was a pilgrimage festival that took place 50 days after the end of Passover By the time of Jesus Pentecost was also celebrated as a joyous remembrance of the giving of the law at Sinai See