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
Hidden in Paul’s argument is one of the secrets of the spiritual life. Read more
We aren’t given superhero powers, but we are given supernatural gifts. Read more
1 Corinthians 3:9-17 In I 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
Revelation 19:11-16 St. John’s Revelation forces me to consider the crucial, age-old question of how to act like a Colossus of Rhodes and straddle the river of living waters that flows from Holy Scripture. On the one side, I have to plant my foot into the 1st century Roman and Jewish world; on the other, I have to plant my foot in my own world in 21st century America. On the one side, I have to look with wonder and... Read more
Revelation 11:15-19 In Revelation 11, St. John continues his theme of the destruction of the Old Covenant and the birth of the New Covenant. The Mystery of God has been accomplished (or revealed), as the gospel is preached (Revelation 10:7). What is this Mystery? It is the revelation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. According to St. Paul, it is the tearing down of the dividing wall between God and man and between Jew and Gentile, and it is God... Read more
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Friday of Pentecost Sunday (Ember Friday) – 2 Corinthians 3
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