A deeper study of the Psalms is helping me understand why this ancient poetry has continued to be treasured and how they apply to the most challenging contemporary struggles. This came to thought when the Charlie Hebdo killings occurred and the West responded with increasing concern about the jihadist form of Islam. Could the Psalms […]
Years ago I stayed in a Bed and Breakfast where an intriguing book lay on the bedside table: “Founding Mothers”. When I saw it was by one of my favorite radio commentators, Cokie Roberts of NPR, I plunged in and wasn’t disappointed. What a marvelous concept: telling the too-often forgotten stories of these passionate and […]
As you study Jesus’ parables’, it becomes obvious quickly how important the Sower and the Seed story is, one of the few to appear in all three synoptic Gospels. (John’s Gospel doesn’t contain any parables.) But even more noticeable is that the Sower and the Seed story leads the rest, in Matthew (Matt. 13:3-17), Mark […]
December has been a month of pouring over Luke’s Gospel. If you watched the Luke Webinar * then you already know how much the evangelist is responsible for grounding the birth of Jesus in history, as well as learning of his deep ties to the Hebrew Scriptures. One of the earliest examples of these Old Testament […]
You may have more in common with Zechariah than you realize—the one that Luke writes about in his opening chapter (since there are a number of Zechariahs throughout the Scriptures). This Zechariah loved God, no doubt about that, having served in the ‘family business’ of being a priest his entire life. That can be like […]
