Rome Matters
I have been spending some time over the summer in Paul’s Letter to the Romans. The letter is a missionary tract in many ways. Paul asks the sisters and brothers in Rome to join him in mission to Spain. … (read more)
new testament
Spain Matters
Over the past few weeks, I have been spending some time in Paul’s Letter to the Romans. What a document! Luther considered it “the most important piece in the New Testament.” Melanchthon judged it the “summary of all Christian doctrine.” … (read more)
The Scroll at the Heart of Heaven
Recently a friend of mine asked if I thought we were nearing the end of the world. (“We are nearer than previously, I suppose,” I answered sagely.) My friend had been reading his newspaper, I think, and might have felt … (read more)
Rahab, the Harlot Heroine
In chapter two of James we find a classic New Testament statement regarding the relationship between faith and works. “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead” (v. 26). The New Testament church … (read more)
A Parish as Big as the World
I have been thinking lately of a little word from the New Testament — a word, like so many, that has changed dramatically over the years. It is a little word with big implications — paroikos, from which we derive … (read more)
Called!
It is a little word, in many ways, and unassuming. Yet it is large enough to convey our deepest Christian identity — and our mandate as Christians in the world. “Kaleo,” in New Testament Greek. “Called.” “In the use of … (read more)
Don’t Just Stand There …
I can picture the disciples even now. How earnest (and pathetic) they must have appeared, on that first Ascension Day! Jesus was gone. And there they stood, drop-jawed, staring away after him. Motionless. As if suddenly overcome by some kind … (read more)
We are Convinced!
Let me give you a word for Holy Week. “Krinantas.” You will find the word in one of my favorite Holy Week verses, 2 Corinthians 5:14. There are a series of wonderful Holy Week words in this little verse. We … (read more)