Mark 9:14-29 Today, the Sunday before the beginning of Lent, is traditionally Transfiguration Sunday on the liturgical calendar – an opportunity to remember the story of Jesus transfigured on the mountain, revealing his divine glory to Peter, James, and John and conversing with Moses and Elijah, two of the towering figures of Israel’s story. It’s …
Mark 4:35-41 One of the great highlights of a trip to Israel is taking a boat across the Sea of Galilee, which is the location of many of the events of Jesus’ ministry in the Gospels. It’s a beautiful place and on a sunny day when the wind is calm the surface of the lake is …
An Enemy Has Done This Matthew 13:24-30 When I was a kid, I used to love going to my grandpap’s little farm rural western Pennsylvania, where he kept a huge garden filled with marvelous things. I remember working with him on a weekend in the spring, watering young plants in the hot bed, and then …
“An Enemy Has Done This:” The Power of God and the Presence of Evil Continue Reading »
The lines at the box office stretch all the way around the block. It is opening night at a play that has left all the critics buzzing. The audience is curious as they begin to settle in their seats, curiously checking their Playbills for a hint of what is to come, a look at the …
Psalm 13 The morning of Saturday, November 1, 1755 dawned as another beautiful day in the seaside town of Lisbon, Portugal. It was All Saints Day, and most of the population was in church that morning, reflecting the fact that Lisbon was one of Europe’s most religious countries in the 18th century. Of its 250,000 …
Shaking the Foundations: An Introduction to Theodicy Continue Reading »
I had just finished officiating at a funeral yesterday when I came into the office and heard the news about the horrific shooting at a Connecticut elementary school. Death is the enemy that stares us all in the face on a daily basis, but there are certain days that make it seem like the enemy …