Have you ever received a gift that just keeps on giving? Sloganeers love to invoke this phrase in advertisements to entice gift givers with the promise of a gift so good that it will unleash its original sense of excitement long-term. In most cases we can spot the sales pitch, but in other cases we […]

“Do not be afraid” is God’s constant refrain, beginning with scripture’s earliest stories in Genesis and continuing until the Bible closes in Revelation: “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last” (Rev. 1:17). God’s empowering litany gives merciful courage to Joseph in a dream and to shepherds in the fields. It is […]

John the Baptist, just last week crying out in the wilderness with a voice unmistakable and bold, has dramatically changed his tone. Now imprisoned by Herod, he has abandoned his confident pitch that pulsed at the river Jordan’s banks. His confidence tottering and proclamation fading, John now implores about his cousin Jesus, “Is he the […]

John the Baptist was in the wilderness. He went there with a message. It takes courage to cry out to the occupiers of the wilderness with a vision of hope. He did it with nerve, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” The crowds were there from all regions. It seems they […]

Predictions are pointless, Jesus tells his disciples. What they wanted to know, he says, neither angels nor even the Son could tell them. Upon their first hearing, these words of Jesus may whistle by, their sharp edge of warning falling on the dull side of awareness. In our attempts to manage the unknown, we miss […]

Rulers are defined by their power over others. They can levy taxes, conscript youth into armies, open or close borders, and enforce policies that direct the daily lives of the people in their realm. When Pilate interviews Jesus, he says to him, “Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power […]

“What’s this world coming to?” The circumstances that call forth this question are different for different people, but the question occurs to nearly all of us at some point in our lives. The gospel reading for this Sunday speaks comfort and encouragement to people who feel powerless in the face of huge changes. The world […]

In our gospel today, some Sadducees come to Jesus with a question. Their intent is to embarrass the teacher and to demonstrate how ridiculous the notion of resurrection is. Who could imagine such a thing? The scene they paint features would-be husbands lining up and waiting, like contestants on The Bachelorette, to see “Whose wife […]