By Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder I must admit the title of this article refers me to an unusual source. Yes, as I write a biblical commentary, I cannot help but recall a song that is not rooted in the Bible. It is a pop song – not a hymn, spiritual or sacred anthem – that pricks my attention. I am not a Janet Jackson aficionado, but her song, “The Pleasure Principle” from 1987 has a few lines that are still appealing... Read more
By Barbara Kay Lundblad Is there room in our lives for visions we cannot explain? Have we closed our minds to truth that doesn’t fit our rational categories? In her book, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Annie Dillard shares stories of doctors who performed early cataract surgery in Europe. When a doctor removed bandages from one girl’s eyes, she saw “the tree with the lights in it.” Those words sent Dillard on her own journey. “It was for this tree I... Read more
By Matthew L. Skinner Jesus was concerned about the very poor. I’m not trying to pile on Mitt Romney after the bad week he had. I think he and most other politicians are concerned about poverty, too, despite their occasional inability to do much about it. But their concern differs greatly from Jesus’. More about them later. (more…) Read more
By Kathryn Schifferdecker “Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:30-31 NRSV). (more…) Read more
By Rev. Angela Zimmann Once every four years, it happens like clockwork: Primary Season, when all across America voters trek to the ballot box to make history while our presidential contenders battle for every vote. This year, we watched as Mitt, Newt, and Rick traveled from Iowa to New Hampshire to South Carolina and saw the casualties occur along the way. Michele Bachmann is gone, Rick Perry fizzled, and Jon Huntsman faded away. Now it’s on to Florida for the... Read more
By Greg Carey Readers almost always gravitate to the same question. Why do Simon and Andrew, then James and John after them, abandon everything to follow Jesus? Mark leaves no doubt as to the immediacy of their response. Seeing Simon and Andrew casting for fish, Jesus says, “Follow after me, and I will make you to be fishers for people.” And immediately, Mark emphasizes, they leave their nets and follow Jesus. Likewise, Jesus immediately calls James and John while they... Read more
By Luke A. Powery This upcoming weekend leads into the day which celebrates the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King was a preacher, pastor, and civil rights activist. When people remember Dr. King, one of the first things they may think of is his “I Have a Dream” speech delivered before the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963 for the March on Washington, D.C. for Civil Rights. He was a gifted orator rooted in the black church... Read more
By Andy Watts Christians seem to have a genetic disposition for describing people and events through a biblical lens. It makes sense. We are story-formed people, and the Bible shapes our political, moral and social imaginations. It follows, then, that our judgments about Presidents and presidential candidates will also arise from our Bible-shaped imaginations. (more…) Read more
By Susan K. Hedahl The enactment of religious rituals for children in the Jewish faith of Jesus’ time is the background of this only biblical glimpse we have of Jesus’ early infancy. This luminous text of hope from Luke’s Gospel is pictorial in its rendering of Jesus presentation at the temple. As a newborn, he is brought by his parents to be circumcised and officially named, following the custom of their faith. (more…) Read more
By Eric Barretto Our culture today is full of laments about the Christmas holiday. Some bemoan the ever earlier advent of the season. Doesn’t it seem that Christmas decorations line the aisles of stores earlier and earlier every year? Doesn’t it seem that Christmas songs are piped into elevators earlier and earlier every year? Doesn’t it seem as if all the fall holidays are melding into one long anticipation of Christmas? Before long, we might wonder if Labor Day will... Read more
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