The Work of Reconciliation

September 3, 2023
People were just floored by how Jesus spoke and taught.  “[H]e taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law” (Mk 7:29).  The rabbis said,…
“When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened” (3:10).  Hallelujah!  That’s what God has…

The Gift of the Way

January 8, 2023
In Matthew’s account, Jesus tells John the Baptist that it’s good for John to baptize Jesus, in order to “fulfill all righteousness.”  Jesus, who had no sin and did no…

In and Out

August 14, 2022
          “[D]o nothing out of favoritism” (5:21).  Remember Joseph and his eleven brothers?  I guess Jacob just couldn’t help himself.  Well, he had learned from the best: his mother, who…
I dread getting God’s Word wrong.  In the interests of full disclosure, this proclaimer of God’s Word also dreads parts of God’s Word.  There are parts that seem hard to…

Good as His Word

November 28, 2021
Maybe you’ve heard the phrase “Put it in writing”?  Get it in black and white: not just words in the air, but something we can hold on to, show others—a…

Forgive to Live

September 13, 2020
          “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive others…
This life is a mess!  It’s a messy, messed-up mixture.  The news is always mixed, and our joys seem always tinged with the shadow of sadness.  This is not a…

Seeds of Life

June 7, 2020
George Floyd should not have died in police custody.  Businesses, homes, and lives should not be burned to the ground.  But there’s no building without tearing down, no creating without…