2 Timothy 1:1-14 I want to discuss predestination and free will this morning. There – that ought to wake some of us up! All throughout St. Paul’s incredible opening to his second letter to Timothy he asserts, side by side, two fundamental truths of life in Christ. First, your salvation, your faith, and your good works are all by the grace of God that comes through Jesus Christ. Second, you are the one who is to actively keep this faith... Read more
2 Corinthians 3 You and I are God’s love letter to the world. That is St. Paul’s message this morning. “You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart” (verses 2 and 3). St. Paul has done it... Read more
Galatians 5:16-25 In 1938 Orson Welles delivered what may have been the most electrifying radio address ever given. He and his Mercury Theater group staged a radio version of H.G. Wells’ “War of the Worlds” that scared people out of their wits. During this program, he portrayed how the earth had just been invaded by the Martians, who, even as he was speaking, were in the process of conquering the United States. Despite his warnings that this was only a... Read more
1 Corinthians 2 St. Paul is making a very important argument here in I Corinthians 2, but if we treat the Bible as a collection of individual verses to cherry pick for argumentation or meditation, we’ll miss his point. He seems to be arguing like this: 1. No one knows the things of a man except the spirit of a man. 2. In the same way, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 3. We... Read more
1 Corinthians 12:1-13 Have you ever wanted to be a superhero? I wrote a novel when I was in college about a guy name Tom Noone who wanted to be a superhero named Zolton – but that’s a different story! Growing up, I liked the Hulk, among other superheroes. My favorite villain was the Hulk’s nemesis, the Leader. The Leader had also been belted by gamma ray but instead of it making him green and strong, it made him green... Read more
1 Corinthians 3:9-17 In 1 Corinthians 3:16 St. Paul makes a startling statement that, if we truly understood it, should make your whole body tingle with electricity. For he asks: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God?” The meaning of Pentecost is this: the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ has filled the Church to make us the living Body of Jesus Christ. Simple, but so extraordinarily profound that even once we understand the significance of Pentecost,... Read more
Revelation 22:1-17 Revelation is for us. By “revelation” I mean both St. John’s biblion, as well as the entirety of God’s revelation. Revelation is for us. As far as when the events of St. John’s Revelation will take place, by now you will have noticed that I believe the Revelation is primarily about what Jesus Christ has already done. But what Jesus Christ has already done has cosmic significance for every time and every place, for what He did was... Read more
Revelation 21:9-27 I love playing the word association game. If someone says “Light,” then I might say “Dark.” If they say “Black,” I might say “White.” Actually, knowing me, I’ll go out of my way to find something to say other than the obvious. If you said “White,” I’d be more likely to say something like “Knight” or “Rabbit.” But I’d like to play a one-word, word association game. But when I give you this one word, I want you... Read more
Revelation 21:1-8 Initial, progressive, final. Remember that: it will help you understand how Revelation can actually be a revelation of Jesus Christ in your life. Too often, we approach St. John’s Revelation as if it were St. John’s Obfuscation. I can hear it now: “The first lesson is taken from the twenty-first chapter of The Obfuscation of St. John.” And all the people said, “Huh?!” I know I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it one last time: I don’t... Read more
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Monday of Trinity Sunday – Luke 1:1-25
Luke 1:1-25 I love the opening of St. Luke’s Gospel because I feel, even more than in the other Gospels, that St. Luke is talking to me. “You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me?” we ask. St. Luke’s answer (which is really God’s) is, simply, “Yes.” Why do I feel as if St. Luke is talking to me? First, Luke is the only Gentile privileged to have been inspired to write a book of the Bible. In fact, he... Read more