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The preacher who chooses to preach this passage has no easy task. Walter Brueggemann calls it a “dangerous poem,” and rightly so.1 It portrays a people without sense and a world without order, overcome by (...)

If it seems to you that the passage from Isaiah has cropped up recently, you are correct. Besides this day, Isaiah 65:17-25 was an alternate lection for Easter Sunday last March. The chances are good (...)

In the Gospel for the previous Sunday (Matthew 3:1-12), we heard the stirring words of John the Baptist at the Jordan River concerning the one who is to come. The Messiah, he said, will baptize (...)

As I write, fall is already upon me, summer is long past, and winter is rapidly approaching. With the exception of Alaska, I live in one of the furthest northern states in the US, which (...)

Ephesians carries a message of “identity formation,” reminding Gentiles that they are “no longer aliens and strangers” (2:1–22), guiding them in understanding their new identity and socialization (4:17–6:9)… …and persuading them that in light of God’s (...)

In this scene, Jesus is somehow transformed. Moses and Elijah appear and then strangely disappear. Peter is perplexed. James and John are anonymous. God quotes Godself. Disciples are overcome with awe. Jesus tells them to (...)

Mystery marks this transfiguration scene. Jesus is transfigured. Jesus is transfigured. Moses and Elijah appear and then strangely disappear. Peter is perplexed. James and John are anonymous. God quotes Godself. The disciples are overcome with (...)

The temptation of Jesus has seemed to spark the human imagination for millennia. Paintings and stained-glass windows that show Jesus confronted by the devil abound. Take for example Botticelli’s “Three Temptations of Christ” painted on (...)

At Jesus’ baptism, the heavenly voice announces, “This is my Son, the Beloved.” Immediately afterwards, Jesus is tempted by the devil, who treats Jesus as if the reality of his identity is the question: “If (...)

Today’s passage is part of Peter’s sermon following the original, powerful experience of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The experience of the Spirit began with a sound like a strong wind and tongues of fire (...)