Latest Articles
December 29, Christmas 1C (Luke 2:41-52)
Twelve years into this parenting gig, Mary knows there’s not much she can do to keep her son safe.
Diplomatic evangelism
Emily Conroy-Krutz chronicles the complex relationship between Protestant missionaries and the US Foreign Service in the 19th century.
The wisdom of a kinswoman (Luke 1:39-55)
Mary’s first move is to set off to visit Elizabeth.
Did enslaved people write the New Testament?
Candida Moss argues that when early Christian texts were written, unpaid laborers were in the room where it happened.
Reading into the gaps
“Because certain scribal puns appear only in Galatians,” says Candida Moss, “we have to consider that they come from the secretary rather than Paul.”
December 24 and 25, Nativity (Luke 2:1-20)
When does tonight become tomorrow? Is it the first glint of daybreak? The first breath of the baby?
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.
