Faithful prayer asks not merely for healing but for patience and discernment and continuing faithfulness. By comparison, a superstitious act is easy and instantaneous.
Just as an injured athlete needs to take a break, my friends needed to
take some time to rest. And like the paralytic at Capernaum, they could
depend on others' faith and not just their own.
In my capacity as an editor for Baker Academic and Brazos Press, I annually attend the meetings of the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature. These conferences always provide occasion for reflection on current trends in theology and biblical studies.
The pressure to keep up a relentless facade of merriment is not a Christian pressure. We may not be able to completely escape this, but perhaps we can lessen it by not confusing it with discipleship.
Despite all the attention given to remembering the al-Qaeda attacks of
September 11, 2001, little attention has been given to one conspicuous
aspect--the event has no name.
