Posts from January 2025

Paul begins the whole letter with the words, “Paul, a servant of Christ.” This opening might not catch us off guard, but maybe it should. What does it say about the Church that we would willingly gather around a letter written by someone who considers himself nothing more than a servant? It is common to give our attention to those who are the most charismatic and most successful. Many books are sold on the premise that a successful person will…

Romans is full of complex theological teaching – about sin and atonement, about law and grace and justification, about Spirit and flesh. But the apostle Paul has not written any of this complex theology for its own sake. It’s all adding up to something: a church. A church composed of people from different ethnic, social, and religious backgrounds who now bring different religious priorities into the church. All the rich, dense teaching that Paul offers in Romans takes on a…

Here is the real drama, the central dramatic foundation from which all other story is derived. It is the drama that occurs within the most secret crevice of the human heart, where the deadliest battle is being fought. We are pulled to conform to the present world in its present age of sin. And we are pulled to be transformed into the image of Christ, set free from sin. How aware are we of the forces that tug on us…

Luke 2 tells the story of Mary and Joseph losing track of their 12-year-old Jesus when they leave Jerusalem and Jesus quietly stays behind. By the time his parents realize he’s missing and conduct their search for him, it’s more than three days. They finally find him, upbraid him, and return home with him. And somehow, Mary comes to “treasure” this in her heart, Luke tells us. Apparently, Mary eventually decides that that time she lost her son was something…