One of the big Jewish holy days is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement: the day above all others for seeking God’s forgiveness for the failure to live as God…
My mother-in-law grew up in The Bronx, attending, as I found out several years back, a Presbyterian church. In the same neighborhood were many Jews, observant Jews. “Did you know…
Another Pharisee wants to hear more, see more, know more. That’s good. When anyone invites additional conversation, additional connection-building, let’s make the most of the opportunity. After all, when is…
We have all been inconvenienced. Hopefully, it hasn’t been at midnight. But, you know, any midnight call . . . it’s coming from someone who feels as if there isn’t…
“[F]ull of joy through the Holy Spirit”: let’s start there. The Holy Spirit brings the gift of joy, beloved. We want to be happy. Sometimes, we are. What we really…
It may not feel or seem as if much yields to the name of Jesus these days. It’s as if the name Jesus has sort of become an empty but…
Acta non verba—deeds, not words. That would be great. But, we get carried along, carried off by a feeling, and say things, and then we figure out the feeling and…
“Not one of us” (9:49). I am not interested in hindering others, but I am interested in strengthening the church: healthy, vital, vibrant, whole. The church is strengthened when we…
Which of them would be the greatest. I don’t even know where to begin. Maybe at your high school graduation, there wasn’t any category, Most Likely to Succeed, but everybody…
Now back once more on the Jewish side of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus returns to a place he had previously visited. Luke does not tell us exactly where these…