Reflections for

All Saints Day, Nov 01, 2013

Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18; Psalm 149; Ephesians 1:11-23; Luke 6:20-31

Blogging Toward Sunday

In the heavenly places

Ephesians 1:15-23

May 06, 2013 by Barbara Rossing

The preacher faces several challenges in these Ascension texts. How can we present Jesus’ departure from the earth as an occasion for not sorrow but celebration? How to translate the kingship and hierarchical language into imagery that speaks to a world no longer governed by kings and monarchs?

Feminist biblical scholars note a third challenge: How can we counter Luke-Acts' use of the Ascension to exert a degree of social control?

Books

The Myth of Persecution

How Early Christians Invented a Story of Martyrdom

by Candida Moss

The Myth of Persecution, by Candida Moss

Spring books

Apr 23, 2013 reviewed by Greg Carey

Candida Moss unravels a common misperception: that Christianity faced murderous government-sanctioned persecution for its first three centuries, a period in which “the blood of the martyrs” supplied seed for the growing church. Grounded in ten years of research on martyr traditions, Moss’s basic position will surprise few historians.

Features

Discovering the saints

A church meets a cloud of witnesses

Apr 04, 2013 by Benjamin J. Dueholm

When my senior colleague proposed a ten-week sermon series on the saints, I was hesitant. Would anyone find this interesting?

Living by the Word

Sunday, November 25, 2012

2 Samuel 23:1–7, Daniel 7:9–10, 13–14; Revelation 1:4b–8; John 18:33–37

Nov 13, 2012 by Stephen Fowl

It is the Feast of Christ the King, the final Sunday of the church’s liturgical year. All of today’s passages reflect on kingships—those of David, God and Jesus. Although Christians in America are far removed from any direct experience of a king, these passages can teach us about our own political life.

Faith Matters

Saints and doubters

Oct 26, 2012 by Stephanie Paulsell

Faith and doubt are often posed as opposites. Yet Thérèse of Lisieux and Virginia Woolf are part of the same history.

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Revised Common Lectionary © 1992 the Consultation on Common Texts. Used by permission.