Scripture
Why I came back to the lectionary
My job as a preacher isn’t to change the game. It’s to run the plays well.
Bearing the scars
Years ago, at a barbecue in Argentina, I realized I was the only person present who wasn’t a survivor of torture.
April 7, Easter 2B (John 20:19–31)
Thomas’s experience with the risen Christ is a testament to the possibilities Easter creates.
Overshadowed by the Twelve
Holly Carey turns up the brightness on the most faithful disciples in the gospels: the women.
March 31, Easter 1B (Mark 16:1–8)
Resurrection flies in the face of everything we know to be true.
Confronting difference in a spirit of peace (John 12:12-16)
Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem is full of confrontation.
March 29, Good Friday (John 18:1–19:42)
On the cross, the God-man who has repeatedly declared “I am” now begins to say that he is not.
March 28, Maundy Thursday (John 13:1–17, 31b–35)
How might the church’s history have been different if foot washing had caught on more widely?
March 24, Palm Sunday B (Mark 11:1–11)
Jesus moves in the same direction as other pilgrims but at a pace and purpose that is his own.
March 24, Passion B (Mark 14:1–15:47)
We fix our gaze on the cross because if we look away we will miss something vital.
We would see Jesus (John 12:20-33)
This is a fearful time, especially for those who are being targeted by some of the currents of our cultural wars.
Reading scripture through the experience of disability
Julia Watts Belser sees in the Torah a God who is in love with the creative possibilities of difference.
March 17, Lent 5B (John 12:20–33)
“If you really want to live you’ve gotta die” is a puzzle that could leave you off kilter your whole life long.
Good news that doesn’t fit on a sign (John 3:14-21)
What has always interested me about the John 3:16 signs is the singular focus.
To forgive is exclusively divine
Ancient Israel’s war with Amalek is a lesson in repentance and covenant.
March 10, Lent 4B (Numbers 21:4–9; John 3:14–21)
When John 3 came up I used to preach on the dangers of fixating on one verse. Now I cringe at that memory.
Third spaces and more (John 2:13-22)
Churches often live in an uneasy relationship with their property.
March 3, Lent 3B (John 2:13–22)
Whatever Jesus is attacking, it isn’t the practices of the people coming to the temple to worship.