“Follow me,” Jesus says, and four young men immediately leave what they are doing to be with him. It is impossible to know what was in their hearts… Maybe Jesus’ words excited their imagination and stirred hope for a world very different from the one in which they lived. Poverty was everywhere. Nutrition was poor, […]

“What are you looking for?” Jesus’ question cuts to the heart of our humanity. What will satisfy the ache in our heart for that something more that is so hard to name? What do we need to live a life of joy and purpose, a life in which the light of love and abundance cause […]

Jesus stands in the shallows of the Jordan River, his feet in the mud. Wading toward John the Baptist, he is surrounded by the confused, the wandering, the lost, the sad, the broken, the fearful. People like us. They come, confessing their sin and hoping it is still possible to change their lives and know […]

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 […]