I remember reading about Jesus’ parables and laughing as a minister confessed, when asked if he would ever write a book on them, that the pastor would when he finally understood “The Shrewd Steward” (see Luke 16:1-13). By that time he had only been preaching about 50 years. I share that because if you’ve ever […]
Archive | Miscellaneous
Why was Lazarus’ resurrection so Important to Early Christians?
You start to notice this focus on Lazarus in the earliest centuries of Christianity through the art. In the Roman catacombs alone there are over 55 paintings of Lazarus’s resurrection. Roughly an equal number exist of Roman sarcophagi, the marble caskets in which nobility were buried, depicting this life-affirming story relayed only in John’s Gospel. […]
The Ascent Psalms: Great Traveling Companions
As Easter approaches, what can we do differently this year to approach history’s most seminal event, Christ Jesus’ resurrection and ascension? Please join me in considering taking a page from ancient Israel’s practice by looking at The Ascent Psalms. If we were contemporaries, for example, of Mary and Joseph in the 1st century, this would […]
Where Even Angels “Long to Look”
Do you ever come across a snippet of a verse that so captures your thought and heart that you stop everything to stay with it? Maybe you see how it’s translated across multiple Biblical versions. Maybe you simply sit with it for awhile, listening for further inspiration because you know its coming if you’ll be […]
Psalm 137 and Popular Culture
Just when you think popular culture has shelved the Bible as passé, along comes a haunting version of Psalm 137 sung by American singer-songwriter, Don McLean,* and captured on this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTnspbSjKVc A lament over the destruction of Jerusalem, McLean’s version of Ps. 137 captures the ache of those who were taken from their homes and brought to […]
