Is Our Town everybody’s town?
The play’s universal themes rest on a Christian eschatological vision.
Which new books deserve a spot under the Christmas tree?
We asked our contributing editors to each pick two.
A sabbath way of life (Deuteronomy 5:12-15; Mark 2:23-3:6)
My forebears were a little shortsighted with their strict sabbath codes, but they weren’t entirely wrong.
No one is in charge of their own birth (John 3:1-17)
Nicodemus’s problem is the power of evil, and he can’t find his own way out of it.
June 3, Ordinary 9B (Mark 2:23-3:6)
It's inevitable that the story of Jesus healing in Capernaum won't end well.
May 27, Trinity Sunday (John 3:1-17)
John 3:16 is about crisis, but not the crisis of God brooding in heaven waiting on us to make a choice.
The focus and function of The Witness of Preaching
Some of the book's strengths are also its limitations.
The binary Christianity of Marcus Borg
Borg knew the way out of authoritarian faith. But did he know the way home?
Setting off alarms
I know of a congregation that, for many years, provided a “living nativity pageant” in its community. The church is in the center of town and has an expansive front lawn. On a certain December Sunday afternoon each year, it would fill that lawn with live sheep and goats and donkeys, costumed shepherds and wise men, a gaggle of angels, an innkeeper, a manger, and, of course, the holy family.
Epiphany of the Lord: Matthew 2:1-12
The Magi's alien exoticism is an intrinsic part of Matthew's story.
Dismissed in peace
Last year, humanities professor Stanley Fish wrote a piece about selling his books. The books that had nourished his academic soul for half a century were wheeled unceremoniously out of his home. The ostensible reason for this sale was downsizing—Fish was moving from a house to an apartment. But the real reason was that he was approaching the end of his scholarly career, and the exit of his library was a symbol of a phase of his life coming to a close.
Blogging toward Christmas: Vital hope
In my lectionary column on Luke 2:1-4, I focus on the theme of hope. Whenever I think about hope, I remember the story of Rabbi Hugo Gryn. He was the senior rabbi at the West London Synagogue when he died almost ten years ago.
Sunday, December 28, 2014: Luke 2:22-40
Luke’s first two chapters are a metaphorical retirement home for elders who are “looking forward to the consolation of Israel.”
Nativity, December 24 and 25, 2014: Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)
It is not as though Mary and Joseph have a choice.
The Power and the Glory, by Graham Greene
This is a picture of ministry shorn of all romanticism, polite piety, and social support, of ministry sustained only by Christ.