Authors /
Roberta Bondi
Roberta Bondi is emeritus professor of church history at Candler School of Theology.
Monastic mentors: Luke 20:27-38
I would just as soon skip the first part of this Gospel reading. The Sadducees are trying to trick Jesus by getting him to respond to an impossible question about the resurrection. According to the law, if one of two brothers dies before his wife has children, then his brother marries her. But what if there are seven brothers, and each marries the woman in turn? To whom will she belong at the resurrection?
November 2, 2004
One plot at a time: Luke 21:5-19
If I could tell when the end times were on their way by the number of wars, famines, earthquakes and plagues that are afflicting our world, I’d say, “Wow! Here they come!” The Middle East, Africa, Asia, Latin America—you name it, atrocities are taking place. Even in the United States of America, the home of the free, the hope of the huddled masses, the place where no one really has to go hungry, human-caused disaster is everywhere.
November 2, 2004
Sin of scorn: Luke 18:9-14
The first time I heard the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector was as a small child attending vacation Bible school at Pond Fork Baptist Church. I remember the end of the little curtained balcony where our class was held, sunlight coming into our room rejoicing through a dusty window, the buzzing of insects in the July fields outside, a flannel board with figures stuck on it, and best of all, the anticipation of a story, followed by Kool-Aid and cookies.
October 19, 2004
The short one: Luke 19:1-10
I knew the tale of Zacchaeus as we’ve all heard it—a short bad man climbs a sycamore tree to get a glimpse of Jesus—until I heard Charlie Cook preach on it one Sunday in the mid-’70s. Charlie was a short good man, and one of the most extraordinary pastors I have ever known.
October 19, 2004
God 101: Back to school with Julian of Norwich
I find the return to school every fall very exciting. I like the start-up rituals. I still have to have new stuff—pens, notebooks, calendars, and of course new shoes....
August 28, 2002
Surprised by beauty: Shining with god's glory
I was away on a retreat recently when the mirror surprised me....
August 29, 2001
Set free
Perpetua, Macrina, Theodora, Sara, Syncletica, Melania the Younger and Melania the Elder, Hildegard of Bingen, Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Ávila—I didn’t hear about any of these great women of fa...
May 24, 2000
Continuing education
Easter is upon us. The dogwoods, fruit trees and azaleas are dazzling our eyes. My students and I are reading texts by Theodore of Mopsuestia....
April 19, 2000
Glimpses of goodness
Science fiction, mystery, comedy, serious drama, cartoons, art film—with the exception of musicals, slashers and cowboy pictures, I love movies....
March 15, 2000
Diabolical sentimentality
Ever since I was a child, my mother has observed the season of Christmas in the same way....
February 16, 2000
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Remembering
I remember myself as an insomniac nine-year-old, lying sleepless in bed after my parents had turned out the lights....
January 5, 2000
A true teacher
I have been dreading this semester. Bill Mallard, my colleague in historical studies at Candler School of Theology, is retiring at the end of the year....
December 1, 1999
Heart's home
As a woman who tries to live out Benedictine values as a layperson connected with a particular monastery, I try to spend at least a week every year at St. Benedict's Monastery in St....
October 27, 1999
Acquainted with death
It was my last day at St. Benedict's Monastery in Minnesota, where I had been leading a retreat on Julian of Norwich. Since St....
September 22, 1999
Blood and water
"Blood is thicker than water." Though I didn't always know precisely what they meant by it, this is a saying I heard from relatives on my mother's side throughout my childhood....
July 28, 1999
Unknown places
When I came home from the hospital with a broken ankle, I was feeling fragile and sick from pain and the anesthetic I had been given....
June 2, 1999