It’s no accident, no coincidence, that temptation follows baptism. John offered a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Jews were familiar with the forgiveness of sins: they gloried…
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Prestige, status, honor, respect, deference—marks of power and authority. The authority comes by virtue of the office, the position. We tend to show respect and deference to a police officer…
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The resurrection—one of the essentials of the Christian faith. I’m not really sure that a person can properly call him or herself a Christian without believing in Christ’s resurrection and…
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You’d think, after what had happened there just the day before, the Temple officials would be on the lookout to bar Jesus from the Temple: strict orders to the gatekeepers. …
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The Sons of Thunder had it coming, not that Jesus owed it to them, of course. But who among them really was going to argue that he had outdone James…
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There’s just enough distance between Jesus and his followers as they walk along that, though their words aren’t distinct to him, Jesus can tell they’re arguing. The church continues to…
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Jesus is mean. We don’t like mean Jesus. Mean Jesus is too much for us. Can you imagine Jesus insulting someone or treating anyone like a second-class person? You don’t…
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We want—and, indeed, need—time for ourselves. Self-care is important! And Christ shows us a model of sacrificial living that may well feel exhausting: when do I get time for me,…
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Isaiah was unsparing in pointing to the God-defying behaviors and choices all too common all around him in his day. What we mostly remember about Isaiah, I suppose, are his…
It must have been around 1980 or so. I was sitting in a theater watching a movie and eating Jujyfruits—turns out they’re still making those. I noticed an ad on…
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