1 Timothy 6:6-21 As we finish the first full week after Lent, continuing in the way of the Cross to meet Jesus at Golgotha on Good Friday that we might meet Him at the empty tomb on Easter Sunday, we hear this morning once again about the need to divest. The rest of the world is telling you how to invest, but God, through St. Paul and through Lent, is telling you to divest. Divest yourself of yourself, empty yourself... Read more
1 Timothy 4 During this season of Lent, on this Ember Friday, we continue the theme of Ember Days and especially that of Lent. “What should I give up for Lent?” That’s the question we often hear. This can become a mere formality, as with any part of the spiritual life, and it can even become flippant. When I lived on Long Island, surrounded by Irish and Italian Roman Catholics (and a few Jews), we token Protestants heard about... Read more
John 10:1-30 – Part I I’m trying something a little different today. Since I found so much to say about Jesus the Good Shepherd and us as the good sheep, and since the lectionary divides John 10 into several readings, I’m going to write an extended meditation on John 10 over the next 3 lessons, beginning today and concluding on Monday and Tuesday of next week (Lent 2). Sometimes the simplest stories are also the most profound ones. Exhibit A:... Read more
The glory God has in store for us is far greater than the suffering He has permitted. Read more
John 9:24-41 I love the sighted man in John 9: he’s one of my favorite characters in all of the Bible. He’s got guts, he’s got charm, and he knows how to poke disbelievers in Jesus Christ in the eye. He had the kind of irrepressible attitude that all of the rest of us blind men who were healed need to have. I call him the sighted man because that is who he is after he has experienced Jesus Christ:... Read more
John 9:1-23 “I AM!” Jesus, being God, says. I AM. I exist. I am the origin and source of all being. I am the Creator and Sustainer of all reality. I am before and after time and in time and outside of time. I am the definition of love and beauty and truth and good. I AM. When I AM speaks, things happen. When I AM first spoke, He spoke the world into existence, out of nothing. I AM said... Read more
John 8:45-59 Jesus Christ is the most amazing mystery in the world! As we were reminded of yesterday, Jesus Christ is I AM, God Almighty Himself. Just in case you missed it, He says it most clearly in 8:58. The Jews still don’t understand Who HE IS, and so one last time (in this particular encounter) He says, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” This time, our English translations get it right. Jesus Christ is... Read more
John 8:12-44 “Who are you?” This is the question the Jews asked Jesus. To us, the answer may seem obvious. It reminds me of an episode of Get Smart in which a man who was supposed to be dead re-appears. “Montabello!” Max Smart’s sidekick, 99, exclaims out of surprise. “Montabello!” another character gasps. “Who are you?” dim-witted Max asks. The Jews in John 8 are not so much dim-witted as dark-hearted. Who is Jesus? He Himself has told us, and... Read more
John 8:1-11 “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” What would it have been like to have heard these words from the lips of Jesus Christ? Imagine that you are filled with guilt, true guilt. You have been engaged in one of the most sinful behaviors known to mankind: adultery, the behavior in which you break your vows before God and man and act in such a way as to sever all of the most relationships in... Read more
Luke 15:11-32 “But what about me?” says the other son. And with him I, too, say “Yeah, what about me?” More about the other son in a minute. But first, what about the prodigal son? You realize, of course, that the little titles in your Bible are not inspired and are technically not part of the Bible. While we’re at it, the chapters weren’t introduced into Bibles until the 13th Century and verses not until the Geneva (or “Breeches”) Bible... Read more
Give Us This Day
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In