Latest Articles
December 22, Advent 4C (Micah 5:2-5a; Luke 1:46b-55)
Is Matthew so embarrassed by Bethlehem’s lowly status in Micah that he feels the need to punch it up a little?
Joy Sunday and Blue Christmas (Zephaniah 3:14-20; Isaiah 12:2-6; Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 3:7-18)
The Advent 3 readings present an awkward tension.
How do we preach about a vigilante murder?
As preachers consider their response to the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a sermon from the Gilded Age might guide the way.
Readers Write
The Century invites readers to submit first-person narratives inspired by the word gravity.
The Christmas of Baby Tommy
We raised our kids without a religious narrative. My young son stumbled upon one on his own.
After every election, I turn to Tolstoy
His challenges to the left and right alike are devastating and timely.
December 15, Advent 3C (Luke 3:7-18)
I am struck by just how different my baptism prep process is from John the Baptist’s.
Unfinished business (Philippians 1:3-11)
Paul challenges us to consider what really matters.
The grace of apocalyptic imagination
As the depth of the climate crisis is revealed, our despair grows. But God hovers at the edge of doom.
Respecting the Ten Commandments, in all their ambiguity
I’m posting them in my classroom—and teaching my students about how people interpret them differently.
The gift of words
Here are some books and other wordy presents the CC staff will be putting under the tree this year.
What is poetry in the face of war?
Mosab Abu Toha’s poems are about Gaza. Reading them I saw all people who suffer.
Microbes in the manger
God is humbly present in every living creature. Maybe closer than we’ve imagined.