John 16

Christians are taught to practice imitatio Christi, empowered by the Holy Spirit. What if we flipped this narrative?

We are often told that “negative” emotions are to be ejected, tossed aside, and forgotten as quickly as possible.

We are not the first to face complex global crises and wonder, “How can we possibly come back from this?”

Early-20th-century European and North American missionaries grew concerned about it—but never in their own churches.

To know any truth about God, we must be drawn into the life of the Trinity. But how?

The Gospel of John addresses a community facing trouble because of its faith in Jesus. Its original readers needed to hear a message of affirmation. No wonder Jesus says "I will not leave you orphaned" and promises the disciples peace.

When we are overwhelmed by our daily struggles, when we get weary because of the dehumanization that results from hatred and greed, Proverbs 8 and Psalm 8 remind us how God conceives of us as human beings crowned with glory and honor.

For my money, John’s is the only Gospel in which Jesus seems really lonely.

Paul’s daunting promise to the Romans haunts me: “Suffering produces endurance,” he assures the Romans and us, “and endurance produces character and character produces hope.” Recently I stood in the pulpit of my church and looked over the top of a white, 32-inch-long casket at a young couple from my congregation. Their six-month-old son, who had been happy and healthy just days before, had died in his sleep. The unfathomable suffering of the family was shadowed by a church filled with mourners for whom the scene enacted their most dreaded fears.

This Sunday's readings provide Bible backup for a nonscriptural word.