“’I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty’” (Rev. 1:8). Somewhere in the course of my theological education, I picked up a version […]
Learn more“Truly this man was God’s Son” (Mk. 15:39). When we get to the end of the story of Jesus’ crucifixion, we really have reached the summit of the Gospel. It’s not the end of the story, as we […]
Learn more“Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say – ‘Father, save me from this hour?’ No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name” (Jo. 12:27-28). Old-time Episcopalians […]
Learn more“Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (Jo. 3:14). The season of Lent is forty days long: […]
Learn more“After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up” (Hos 6:2). Here we are, mid-stream in Lent: deep enough into it to have found our footing and hit our stride, but […]
Learn more“Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things” (Mk. 8:33). Peter can never get it quite right. No sooner has he confessed that Jesus is the Messiah, just […]
Learn more“For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be to this generation” (Lk. 11:30). What is the “sign of Jonah”? There are three versions of Jesus’ saying about […]
Learn more“Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God” (1 Pet. 3:18). The morning after Monday night’s “wintery mix” this past week, I snapped a picture of […]
Learn more“Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here…’” (Mk. 9:5). Peter was speaking the truth: it was good for the disciples to be with Jesus, to see the glory of the Lord. […]
Learn more“In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed” (Mk. 1:35). Our Gospel today is taken from the first chapter of Mark, from the […]
Learn more“They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority” (Mk. 1:22). In our Gospel reading, we catch Jesus at the beginning of his ministry: fitting enough, as tonight we celebrate the new ministry […]
Learn more“The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me’” (Jo. 1:43). Jesus called twelve apostles to be his followers, to be his inner circle or small group. He was […]
Learn more“Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it” (Matt. 10:39). The court is still out on William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury: the court, that is, of […]
Learn more“The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders” (Ps. 29:3). “Onomatopoeia”: that’s a spelling bee word for a particular phenomenon where the word that’s coined resembles the sound that’s made. You know […]
Learn more“Light has sprung up for the righteous, and joyful gladness for those who are truehearted” (Ps. 97:11). They say that when the universe came into being with a big bang, the explosion was accompanied by an initial flash […]
Learn more“Let it be with me according to your word” (Lk. 1:38). Every so often, things pivot on a single moment. Our Gospel reading is a case in point. When the angel appeared to the Virgin Mary with the […]
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