Beautiful and Terrible Things: A Christian Struggle with Suffering, Grief, and Hope is out and available from the publisher and all the usual places where you buy words on pages (and words in pixels and spoken, the Kindle and audio versions are available too!). The description from the publisher: Bible […]
con•stan•cy – “the quality of being faithful and dependable.” “Constancy” is a word that I learned from and only ever hear in the Eucharistic prayer. As we offer to God the gifts of bread and wine that we have brought forward and placed upon the altar, we ask God to […]
This is an entry in the “Acrostic Contemplation.” “Immediately the father of the child cried out, ‘I believe; help my unbelief!’” – Mark 9:24 “And to the centurion Jesus said, ‘Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.’ And the servant was healed in that hour.” – […]
This is the first entry in my “Acrostic Contemplations.” This started as a simple writing exercise: start at the beginning of the alphabet and write a bit about some thought, idea, character, concept, etc. It required only a modicum of discipline and even less insight. I was inspired to create […]
My back was sore as I scrambled off the floor and the pile of wrapped presents to slide onto the couch and pick up my glass of port. I stretched and observed to Elizabeth that it has been a really challenging fall. There were three main challenges that I had […]
Today in the Church Calendar1 we remember the slaughter of the Innocents by Herod (Matt. 2:13-18). There can never be justification or explanation sufficient for the death of the innocent, wherever and whenever, and I will make no efforts to do so. But the prayer that we offer in the […]
“Put the apocalypse back into Advent” is a phrase that has been making the rounds of the internet for the last few years, a riff on the “kept Christ in Christmas,” no doubt. For many Christians it is a curious concept, what can the apocalypse possible have to do with […]
Call for Papers It is a pleasure for the executive committee of the International Organization for Targumic Studies (IOTS) to invite you to the IOTS conference, connected to the international SBL conference on 17-21 July 2022 in Salzburg. The conference will accept proposals on the following topics: Targums of the Tora Targum […]
Those of us who grieve loved ones who are no longer with us view All Saints’ Eve and All Saints’ Day in a different way. We remember those who have gone before us, often too soon, and we try and do so in hope. The resurrection is that hope, “the […]
It is hard to believe that we are approaching nine years since Mack died, the threshold at which he will have been gone longer than he was with us, but the 9th Annual Mack Match was this past weekend, bringing that reality home to us. Reflections will take longer and […]
The following is an excerpt from Beautiful and Terrible Things, chapter 8, “Raised Imperishable.” A recent comic by my friend Michael Jantze made me think again about how we refer to death. I may be pushing my exegesis of 1 Cor. 15:20, but I think there is significance in Paul’s […]