The Problem of Listening

February 14, 2024
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.  Those are funeral words, graveside words, goodbye words.  I’ve baptized many, marking them with water.  Today, I mark you with ashes.  Nothing in Scripture…

The Light of Invincible Life

February 11, 2024
I’ve been trying to take Mark’s account—what Peter told Mark—in order this year.  Today, with our forty-day walk to Easter about to begin, I’m jumping ahead.  Today is Transfiguration Sunday. …

What’s Happening

February 4, 2024
“They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach” (1:21).  From the shores of Galilee, Jesus and his four new disciples…

Faith Doesn’t Give Up

January 28, 2024
Walking along the beach is one of my happiest times.  What is it about that meeting place of water and land: the sound of the water?  The breeze?  The birds? …

The Gospel of God

January 21, 2024
In Mark’s telling, it can feel as if things happen rapid-fire: this, then this, then this, sort of breathlessly.  It may have been just like that.  It may also be…

More Than Anything

January 14, 2024
Not purification but preparation.  Jesus didn’t need any purification.  His baptism wasn’t for his purification; rather, it was a sign of his dedication, his official consecration, if you will.  His…

Where It Begins

January 7, 2024
Mark’s version, church tradition tells us, is based upon Peter’s recollection.  Mark was secretary and personal assistant to Peter in his last years.  Mark’s—Peter’s—account begins, not with a genealogy, nor…

Water, Tree, Word

December 31, 2023
It’s hard to know what to make of Revelation.  It can feel daunting, and not just because there’s so much going on, so many things to try to keep track…

Who Comes First?

December 24, 2023
          John testified concerning him.  He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed…

Return to Me

December 24, 2023
Over these Sundays, I’ve been sharing with you what prophets of the Old Testament had to say about the one who was going to come.  He would be the fulfillment…