Disciples believe they have seen Jesus and tell Thomas about it. Ordinarily, not a big deal. Except for the fact the disciples watched Jesus die just a few days earlier. How can they reconcile the two? How can people know facts and believe something else entirely? Setting aside a supernatural experience such as the Resurrection, … Continue reading “Facts To Believe In”
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Now What?
I miss you. I miss how we were once together. I miss the life we shared. I feel so lonely, so bereft inside. I need to go out for a little while, alone. Perhaps I could go to where they laid you. So it was that “on the first day of the week, Mary of … Continue reading “Now What?”
What Is Our Quest?
“All the chief priests and the elders took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. They bound him, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.” “After Pilate had Jesus scourged, he handed him over to soldiers to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor… stripped off his clothes and … Continue reading “What Is Our Quest?”
Dying While We Are Still Alive
Jesus is summoned for a sick friend but upon arriving “found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.” When Jesus tells Lazarus’ sister, Martha, “Your brother will rise,” she mistakenly thinks Jesus means a “resurrection on the last day.” He does not. Together they go to the tomb where Jesus “cried … Continue reading “Dying While We Are Still Alive”
Blind Spots
“As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth,” who was thus judged a sinner. Disciples, influenced by their culture’s values, ask if his blindness is the sin of “this man or his parents.” Jesus replied, “Neither,” “it is so the works of God might be made visible through him.” Jesus then healed … Continue reading “Blind Spots”
Drawing Meaning From Our Well
Jesus is journeying and thirsty, in need of water. He sits down at a well where a “woman of Samaria came to draw water.” He asks for and she provides him with water to quench his thirst. She asks for and he provides her with water to quench her thirst. They drink up water that … Continue reading “Drawing Meaning From Our Well”
Peaceful Trans-Figuring
“Jesus took Peter, James, and John” “up a high mountain.” There they saw Jesus, “transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light.” “And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared.” When we look at Moses and Elijah we see ancient figures bound to the kingdom of Israel. When we … Continue reading “Peaceful Trans-Figuring”
Led By The Spirit
“At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry.” Jesus is led away from family, friends, even physical sustenance and he is hungry. Yet Jesus has been led by the Spirit to this … Continue reading “Led By The Spirit”
Lovers Gonna Love
Jesus said to his disciples, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” From whom have we heard it said, “hate your enemy?” It is from the cult of Militarism. Militarism trains its soldiers to hate enemies. Haters gonna hate. Be it soldiers of nationalism or white … Continue reading “Lovers Gonna Love”
The Inchained
Jesus is disobedient to the rulers of his time; the “scribes and Pharisees,” so too “the Sanhedrin.” He will not be chained by them, made subservient to their divisive rules or system. He is free and encourages others to be free. He encourages people’s common unity; “be reconciled with your brother.” As agitating as the … Continue reading “The Inchained”