“I believe…in the resurrection of the body.” I grew up in a Presbyterian church where the preacher focused on interpreting the Bible, expository preaching plain and simple. The physical space had very little adornment. The windows were rose-colored stained-glass (ironic, I always thought)1The video linked is of Petra’s “Rose-Colored Stained […]
Christianity
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A sermon for the Fifth Sunday of Easter (May 7, 2023) Yesterday was the coronation of King Charles III, whose mother the Queen once worshipped here, in this congregation. Like many of you, I watched the service, and I was struck by a particular prayer uttered when the Archbishop of […]
The following is a series of experts from Chapter 8, “Raised Imperishable,” in my book Beautiful and Terrible Things. When I teach courses on the Bible one of the first interpretive rules I put forward is this: The Bible doesn’t answer all the questions that we want to ask. My […]
“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 […]
First reading and Psalm• 1 Kings 19:1-4, (5-7), 8-15a• Psalm 42 and 43 Second reading• Galatians 3:23-29 Gospel• Luke 8:26-39
A reflection for Easter Sunday from Emil Brunner, Eternal Hope, (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1954). “But it is putting things the wrong way round to assert, as has been recently done, that the faith in the resurrection is ‘nothing other than faith in the Cross as a saving event’ (4). The […]
This is an entry in the “Acrostic Contemplations.” 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 […]
Today in the Church Calendar 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 […]
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 […]
The Diocese of Lexington (KY) is offering a 5-week “Spiritual Exercise” formation class. The live Zoom sessions started last week, but you can view the videos for yourself at your own pace. Tonight (March 1, 2021) I will be leading a discussion of the importance of the study of the […]