Search Results

This passage plays a key role in the Gospel according to Mark’s understanding of why Jesus dies and what his death means. It describes the Christian gospel and the community it creates as utterly different (...)

In “Glory Days,” Bruce Springsteen sings of that high school baseball player who “could throw that speedball by you. Make you look like a fool boy.” Not being a gifted baseball player, I dreaded those (...)

During the month of October (Pentecost 18-21), we are treated to a rare opportunity–a run through the book of Job, in shorthand. Over these four Sundays, there are readings from the beginning, middle, and end (...)

Esther is a strange and difficult book for several reasons, first and foremost because it is apparently non-theological. God never appears in the Hebrew version of the book, which is the form translated in most (...)

Proverbs 31:10-31 is the famous poem celebrating the “capable wife.” It is often cited in praise of wives and mothers, and is among the most popular and familiar texts from Proverbs. Of course, “popular” and (...)

How are the faithful to respond in times of pressing difficulty? The Hebrew Bible contains many rich traditions to address such questions. In this passage, the prophet Jeremiah offers a lament or complaint to God. (...)

This is the first time that Wisdom, personified as a woman, speaks in the book of Proverbs (see 8:1-36; 9:1-6). As the first speech, it carries particular importance because it sets the stage for what (...)

Having been introduced to King Solomon in last week’s reading, we meet him now eleven years later, as he finishes the work for which he is perhaps best remembered: building of the Temple in Jerusalem. (...)

In many ways, the message in this text of Proverbs is quite simple: wisdom is better than foolishness. The same point gets echoed in the New Testament text for today, when Ephesians 5:15 counsels, “Be (...)

“Be careful then how you live…” These verses continue instructions regarding the Christian life. This life is the result of the reconciliation that God has brought about in Christ (cf. Ephesians 2:13-18). Its focus is (...)