Those Who Have Not Seen, and Yet Believe

19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and hisContinue reading “Those Who Have Not Seen, and Yet Believe”

Every Person Counted

“Now all the tax-collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. 2And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ 3 So he told them this parable: 11b ‘There was a man who had two sons. 12The younger of them said to his father,Continue reading “Every Person Counted”

Sadness Makes Room for Joy

Blow the trumpet in Zion;   sound the alarm on my holy mountain!Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,   for the day of the Lord is coming, it is near—2 a day of darkness and gloom,   a day of clouds and thick darkness!Like blackness spread upon the mountains   a great and powerful army comes;their like has never been fromContinue reading “Sadness Makes Room for Joy”

Shining Faces

29 Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. 30When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his faceContinue reading “Shining Faces”

Dandelion Living

5 Thus says the Lord: Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals   and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the Lord.6 They shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited saltContinue reading “Dandelion Living”

How to Build a New World

When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: ‘The Spirit ofContinue reading “How to Build a New World”

Wise Travelers on a Wild Path

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’ When King Herod heard this,Continue reading “Wise Travelers on a Wild Path”

An Embodied Sanctuary

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed areContinue reading “An Embodied Sanctuary”

Named For Abundance

57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah afterContinue reading “Named For Abundance”

The Reign of Christ

33 Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ 34Jesus answered, ‘Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?’ 35Pilate replied, ‘I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you overContinue reading “The Reign of Christ”